10 Reasons RIAs Should Specialize Now

Specializing is one key strategy that registered investment advisors should be using to grow and meet the evolving needs of clients in every market environment, according to executives from three advisory firms who spoke Thursday during the American College of Financial Services webcast "Why Now is the Right Time for RIAs to Specialize." The growth that Akron, Ohio-based RIA Sequoia Financial Group has seen since its founding about 30 years ago has "afforded us the opportunity for specialization," said Heather Welsh, a comprehensive financial planner who serves as the firm's vice president of wealth planning. Noting that she's been with the firm for 15 years, she said the company had about 20 employees when she started there and "we're closing in on 190" now. "Going from wearing many hats to being able to drill down and really develop specialization has been an incredible benefit of our continued growth," she said. Within her wealth planning team, "we've been able to build out sub-specializations," she added. Welsh and the other advisory firm executives who spoke pointed to several reasons why it is in the best interest of RIA firms to start specializing if they haven't already done so. Check out the gallery to see 10 good reasons why now is a good time for RIAs to specialize, according to the executives.