You know the names of the U.S. senators from your state, and maybe even your representative in Congress. But the way Washington works, it's the staffs of those members of Congress who do much of the real work in serving constituents and managing committee hearings, who write the speeches and craft the legislation. The analogy to this year's IA 25? Often it's the people without the corner offices, without the household names, who are bringing the advisory industry into the future.
In the 14th edition of the IA 25, we highlight those people who may be flying under the radar, but are nonetheless influential now and, in our estimation, will continue to be so.
Our prime exhibit is Department of Labor Secretary Tom Perez. While advisors active in the ERISA space long have dealt with DOL, its new fiduciary rule will affect all advisor channels — the wirehouses and the independent BDs, but also RIAs — who are more used to complying with SEC and FINRA (and state) regs than the complexities of ERISA. Perez himself took a back seat during the first go-round of the DOL rule's proposal, but he's now its main evangelist, and the rule will affect the entire industry for years to come.
Read the May 2016 cover story in Investment Advisor for an introduction to these under-the-radar flyers, and stay tuned to ThinkAdvisor for month-long coverage of the honorees, including extended profiles of each that will be published daily.
Meet the 2016 IA 25 Technology Leaders. As a testament to the vital role technology plays in advisors' businesses and their clients lives, we recognize those IA 25 honorees who are providing innovative technology services in this slideshow, published April 25.
April 27: Chris Paulitz, Senior Vice President, Membership & Marketing, Financial Services Institute
The most influential people in our lives are the advocates and educators who speak on our behalf and teach us how to stand up to the challenges we face. Meet the IA 25 honorees who are doing just that in this slideshow, published May 2.
By shaping the landscape in which they work, regulators play a huge part in advisors' lives. We highlight the impact those regulators have in this slideshow, published May 9.
