A Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) is an individual or firm that provides professional counsel on investments.  Generally, he or she, or the company, must register with the Securities & Exchange Commission if they have more than $25 million in assets under management.  

His or her counsel may extend into a wide range of wealth management concerns including the buying and selling of securities, tax planning and management, estate planning, charitable gifting, cash-flow management, risk planning, personal financial action plans and alternative investing (e.g., real estate, hedge funds, private equity funds.)

Additionally, he or she may be a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Chartered Financial Consultant (CFC) or Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or a Certified Financial Planner  (CFP).

RIA-client relationships are often long term.  A good RIA will have gained the trust of his or her client enough to learn the personal details of their lives.  These, in turn, help structure their counsel, preparing clients to move successfully through major life transitions.

Fees charged by RIAs vary in type.  They may be calculated as a percentage of assets under management or one an annual basis. 

At Fairport, this fee is structured according to counsel and services received by clients.   

A Registered Investment Advisor is not a stock broker. 

What’s the difference?
An RIA has a fiduciary responsibility to each client to provide full and complete disclosure of all fees, conflicts of interest (if any) and investments made with only the client’s best interests in mind. 

A stock broker has no such responsibilities.  He or she is simply authorized to buy and sell securities at the client’s directive. 

At Fairport, we take our fiduciary responsibilities with each client seriously, professionally, personally.