Registered investment advisers need to do more to have their voices heard above the din of brokers on key regulatory and legislative issues such as the fiduciary standard and adviser examinations, executives at TD Ameritrade Inc. said at the custodian's annual adviser conference in San Diego.
“We had an SEC commissioner say to us, 'We don't really hear from advisers very much, but we hear from brokers a lot. We want to hear more from advisers,'” Skip Schweiss, who oversees TD's retirement plan service platform, said on the sidelines of the conference.
To that end, the custodian is planning to roll out a new tool this spring that is aimed at encouraging its advisers to embark on a collective, grassroots movement to reach out to policymakers.
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The tool, which is still being developed but will likely be a website or application available through the firm's custodial platform, will give advisers direct access to the email addresses and contact information of their senators and representatives, and send alerts to advisers to weigh in on issues important to the profession. It will feature templates of advocacy letters, as well as information, news and blogs on regulatory issues relevant to advisers, Mr. Schweiss said, although the final details are still being hammered out.
“As RIAs continue to grow in size and influence, we're focused on finding ways to amplify your collective voice and communicate your views directly to policymakers,” said Tom Nally, who heads the RIA custody unit at TD, during his opening speech at the conference. “Elected officials do still pay attention to their constituents.”
The goal is to keep registered investment advisers from being drowned out by lobbying efforts of large brokerage firms, according to Mr. Schweiss, who is also managing director of adviser advocacy and industry affairs.
For example, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, one of the largest financial services trade groups,
spent nearly $7.4 million on lobbying last year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
“The SIFMAs of the world spend many, many multiples on lobbying than the adviser groups do,” Mr. Schweiss said. “So the adviser groups have to be more nimble and more vocal.”
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The investment adviser industry already has a number of its own trade groups, such as the Investment Adviser Association, and the three organizations — the CFP Board of Standards Inc., the Financial Planning Association and the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors — who collaborate through the Financial Planning Coalition. But those groups do not spend nearly as much as the brokerage industry. IAA
spent $120,000 in 2014, and the Coalition
spent $50,000, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
And Mr. Schweiss thinks a more individual approach could be more effective.
“It's one thing to hear from trade organizations, it's another thing to hear from constituents,” he said.
It was not clear yet what the tool would be called. The idea, which they have been working on for several months, was developed by Kristin Petrick, who heads the firm's media relations and external communications, according to Mr. Schweiss.
Mr. Schweiss, who said he had “toured” the new tool, said it could be a microsite on TD Ameritrade's investment adviser website or a tab titled something like “Make my voice heard,” available on the firm's trading platform, Veo.
(More: TD Ameritrade Institutional launching Veo One dashboard for advisers)
The goal was to make it easier and more clearly important for the more than 4,500 advisers who use TD Ameritrade's custody services to voice their opinions, although the company was considering opening it up to advisers outside TD's platform as well.
Mr. Nally said TD was also engaged in its own advocacy efforts in Washington on behalf of investment advisers. TD Ameritrade, which includes a retail and asset management side, spent a total of $4.9 million on political contributions in the 2014 election cycle,
according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
The extent of TD Ameritrade Institutional's political contributions, however, are about $25,000 per year through a political action committee, according to firm spokesman Joseph Giannone.
The uncertain regulatory environment, particularly around the fiduciary standard and advisers examinations, is “one of the biggest challenges” for RIAs, Mr. Nally said.
“We have to remind ourselves that regulatory uncertainty is our new normal,” he said. “But we continue to run a marathon, not a sprint.”
