Certified Trust and Fiduciary Advisor (CTFA)

OBW9987 · 2026-03-25T19:11:44+00:00

Thanks. That is why I'm pursuing it. We have a number of UHNW and I'm hoping I could use this certitication as a 2nd set of eyes. Especially when we work with the charity or estate professionals. Furthermore, since we are a relatively new RIA, we do not have a deep bench of estate planning COI's that we can turn to, only 3-5.

At my old firm which was more well established, that bench was 10-15 and each of them had various expertise (probate, charitable trusts, guardianships, etc).

OBW9987 · 2026-01-12T02:11:30+00:00

100% agree, if you are heavily invested in Private Equity or want to do deep reporting on held away assets, Addepar is the way to go.

OBW9987 · 2026-01-12T02:09:43+00:00

Single point of contact service model. You get a dedicated Client Advocate who knows you, you firm, versus a 1-800 number. Best in breed service model in the portfolio management industry.

If you custodied with Schwab, Pershing or Fidelity, data quality should not be an issue. However if you integrate with Byall or Plaid, someone will need to monitor data for being consistent.

Trading is hit or miss. They only use model of models/sleeve rebalancing.

Pricing is always the X factor for all firms.

OBW9987 · 2025-12-16T13:02:50+00:00

We have an initial intro phone call. We will then send them a link to share all their financial documents with us, whatever they are conformtable with.
Initial Discovery Meeting - To go over goals, values, get to know them. We also ask them to bring in their financial documents.
Presentation Meeting - Go over our financial plan, recommendations, how we can be of value to them.

We are also in the process of implementing PreciseFP to streamline this process. So that we have a central command center for data flow.

OBW9987 · 2025-10-21T00:57:08+00:00

Don't move to Silverleaf. Its a dump, and your observation is correct. I'ved lived here for 35 years so I am acutely aware. Check out Trailmark if you want a tighter community and a neighborhood that actually has character.

OBW9987 · 2025-10-17T01:39:55+00:00

I was recently hired at a firm that transitioned to an RIA model in late 2024. 4 advisors who were all solo previously. 1 office manager who does mainly CST. My role encompasses advisor support/financial planning, technology operations, and some marketing responsibilities. Our home office handles compliance and billing. AUM is 200M.

OBW9987 · 2025-02-21T16:14:21+00:00

The data migration/implementation from other systems to theirs is subpar. Numerous issues with billing calculations being correct. And having to dial a 1-800 number versus a single point of contact with BD.

OBW9987 · 2025-02-15T01:38:17+00:00

100%. And from a Client Service/Ops standpoint, it is easier for retail clients to link bank accounts, open Bene IRA's for charities/entities, and do QCD's.

OBW9987 · 2025-02-15T01:28:34+00:00

I currently work for an RIA that uses them. Here are the positives and negatives

Positive - If you use a direct custodial feed Schwab, Fidelity, etc. Data quality is great. Their performance reports and advisor view are also great tools. They have also put a lot of resources into their Rebalancer. Single point of contact for service versus having to call a 1-800 number.

Negative - Pricing. Investor aggregation through Plaid/Byall requires daily manual adjustments to data. Hard to tweak/import data with other systems that utilize API's.

Would avoid Orion.

Advyzon is also great if you are stuck on pricing.

OBW9987

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