Charles Schwab aims to spotlight the RIA brand in a high-net-worth online advertising campaign that should launch soon.

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In theory, the Schwab ads will promote the RIA channel and not the firm's direct discount brokerage business.

But it's hard to know how effective they will be unless the Schwab name is prominently displayed.

Can Schwab use its significant cachet with mass affluent retail investors to push readers of Forbes.com and WallStreetJournal.com to a local independent advisory firm?

If not, then all the long-awaited ads really do is get the Schwab name out there one more time.

It's also interesting that this kind of broad-based push has to come from Schwab and not any umbrella organization that serves the RIA industry.

Individual brokerage firms have their own promotional campaigns that propagate the storyline the brokerage channel has created for itself over the years: happy retirees, risk-adjusted returns, personal service.

RIAs have had to adopt a more grassroots-style approach.

Either way, we will have to watch the Schwab site, RIAstandsforYou.com, closely to see how successful this push becomes.

The messaging is simple, stressing RIA independence and the transparency of a fee-based aproach. The word "fiduciary" doesn't come up -- instead the materials just say advisors "do what's best for you."

Tags: Offbeat

We've talked about Meridian Rock Capital around here before, but the company's rock star image is still making waves even though it's delayed opening its doors until October.

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You might recall Meridian Rock from its initial PR splash a few months ago.

With hard rock guitarist turned finance columnist "Duff" McKagan -- formerly of Guns 'n' Roses -- in front and portfolio management advice from Independent Advisory, the company seemed like a natural press magnet.

McKagan would use his cachet in the music world to attract clients who wanted a sympathetic perspective on their unique lifestyle and cash flow requirements.

And all those celebrities would bring in the rest of the high-net-worth crowd.

The latest news is that Meridian Rock has delayed its launch until October -- possibly due to "market conditions."

In the meantime, it's still a testament to the power of niche marketing. You're probably not a former rock star, but you might have been in the armed forces, an academic, a dot-com whiz kid, an athlete, or had some other past life.

You might really enjoy sailing or charity work now. These are what makes you and your firm special. You might not necessarily want to attract only ex-academics, but simply letting them know where you come from can't hurt.

Tags: CFP Board | family offices | financial planning | investment advisors | marketing

Former Investment News reporter Charlie Paikert, now writes for Reuters, and yesterday wrote a story singling out the CPWA designation as "a widely-recognized title in the industry for its focus on solving wealthy clients' complex needs beyond merely managing a portfolio."

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But the way CFPs are positioned is not great for those holding that designation.

The consumer press is generally blind to distinctions among professional designations for financial advisors, but this story breaks with that history and indicates the consumer press may actually be getting smarter about professional issues.

How often do you see coverage about differing designations of financial professionals? Have you ever seen a story explaining the difference between a CLU or ChFC versus a CFP?

In paying respect to the CPWA, a new designation created by the Investment Management Consultants Association, Paikert may have overstated how well recognized it is.

My guess is most people have no idea that a CPWA is a Certified Private Wealth Advisor and calling it "widely recognized" is a stretch.

But Paikert's short article does succeed in raising the issue that professional designations for advisors are different. He touches specifically on the CFP versus the CFA certification, and then singles out CPWAs for being focused on issues relevant to ultra-high-net-worth individuals.

If the consumer press starts picking up on the theme that the CFP is not the best designation for advising UHNWIs, that would indeed pose a serious issue to the CFP designation's dominance as the premier designation for advisors.

Challenges to the CFP business model and the positioning of the CFP versus CFA are issues we've covered on A4A recently, which makes this story noteworthy.    

Tags: high net worth

According to the Barclays Wealth Insights report release this week, 41 percent of the more than 2,000 high-net worth individuals surveyed reported they wish they had more control over their finances.

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