An RIA custodians list beyond the Big 3

investmentnews.com:

It’s not an exaggeration to say that your choice of RIA custodian is one of the biggest and most impactful decisions you can make as an individual RIA or RIA firm. After all, your chosen RIA custodian reflects your brand and, most crucially, handles your client’s accounts and assets.  

Many RIAs today simply choose one of the Big 3 RIA custodians and barely give that decision a second thought. For many RIAs with at least $100 million in AUM, Schwab, Fidelity, or Pershing – the largest RIA custodians by assets – are the prime choices.  

But what if your RIA firm does not meet their minimum asset requirements? There are thousands of other smaller RIA custodians that cater to RIA firms with assets that are below the minimum asset requirements of the big three. How do you choose the right one for your business? What is the best custodian for a new RIA? We’ll tackle these and other pertinent questions in this article. 

RIA custodians are independent entities tasked with managing or maintaining client assets on behalf of the RIA firm that partnered with them.  

RIA custodians help ensure that RIA firms do not betray their clients’ trust and misuse their clients’ assets. 

One example of why an RIA custodian is necessary is the recent high-profile fraud case brought against FTX and Alameda Research CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and other co-accused. In the case, he and several colleagues were convicted of fraud, partly for comingling client funds, then using them for investments. 

RIA firms are required to have an RIA custodian under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The Act states that RIAs should have a separate, independent entity to handle their clients’ assets, such as funds and securities.  

The SEC does not directly regulate