This is a great article highlighting the significant value and the advantage Independent Registered Investment Advisors (RIA) have over traditional wirehouse advisors. Jillian DelSignore from ETF.com covers the distribution issues and challenges of Exchange Traded Funds (ETF).
“For the advisor, however, it’s: Can they access the ETFs they want for their clients? That may sound like a given, but it’s far from it.”
“For example, as an RIA, an advisor can access any ETF they want. Depending on where they custody their assets, some of those ETFs are commission-free, even though that became irrelevant last year when the major custodians entirely did away with commissions on ETFs. As an RIA, the ETF world is your oyster.
Now, if you instead are an advisor at, say, Morgan Stanley or Wells Fargo, the ETF world is not your oyster. Your world consists of a subset of ETFs on the market based on what your platform has approved for your access. Keep in mind that this is not unique to those two firms.”
You can find the complete article at https://www.etf.com/sections/features-and-news/when-advisors-cant-access-your-etf