Tips for Successfully Transitioning Your Team
Whether you’re a solo advisor or a member of a team, there are many things to do to help your transition goes smoothly, such as hiring a competent securities attorney,  abiding by the terms of your employment agreement, and making sure you only take the information you’re entitled to. But when you’re leaving as a team, there are several additional points to consider. Read on for some advice on how to successfully transition your team.

Determine your collective and individual goals.
Don’t take for granted that everybody shares the same goals, says Rick Rummage, managing partner and career coach at The Rummage Group, Reston, Va...More

Points to Ponder When Deciding Whether or Not to Keep Your Commission Business
When you’re becoming an independent registered investment advisor (RIA), one of the many choices you have is whether to keep or give up your commission business. It’s not always an easy decision and there are many factors that need to be considered when determining whether to go the pure fee-based RIA or the hybrid RIA route. Read on for some questions to ask yourself as you make your decision.

What’s my asset-base?
It’s important to consider how much of your assets are currently fee-based, as opposed to commission-based. And what’s your product mix? For example, are you locked into proprietary products? Or do you do a lot of variable annuity business, which might not be as compatible with a fee-only model...More

ADVISOR Corner

Advisor Corner: Six Questions to Ask Yourself in 2011
As the year comes to a close, it’s a good time to take stock of where your business is today and where it is going. That includes thinking about your current business model, how you're serving your clients’ needs and where you are looking to take your business in the future.  In this issue, we speak with Tom Nally, Managing Director of Institutional Sales at TD Ameritrade Institutional, to guide us through six questions advisors should be asking themselves.

Question 1: Do I have a business plan in place, and how can I develop and stick to that plan in 2011?

Business plans are important because they are a roadmap to help take you where you want to go. They may not be hard to make, and they don’t have to be complicated. But in order to be the most effective, you have to take a long, hard, and honest look at your personality, your business today and your hopes and dreams for the future...More