Road to Independence

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  Key Systems for a Healthy Independent Advisory Business, Pt. 8: Your Custodian

  By Mike Patton  |  May 24, 2012

  In the final post in his series on what constitutes a healthy RIA firm, advisor Mike Patton considers the key role of a custodian in running your practice more efficiently.

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  Key Systems for a Healthy Independent Advisory Business, Pt. 7: Operations, Take Two

  By Mike Patton  |  May 21, 2012

  The other issues regarding operations—notably compliance, budgeting, forecasting and business analysis—that are essential to running your RIA firm.

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  Key Systems for a Healthy Independent Advisory Business, Pt. 6: Operations

  By Mike Patton  |  May 7, 2012

  Your ops—including your CRM, rebalancing software, backup systems and more—are literally the backbone of your practice; here’s what I use, and why

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  Key Systems for a Healthy Independent Advisory Business, Pt. 5: Client Retention

  By Mike Patton  |  April 30, 2012

  In the fifth of a series of posts on what makes an advisory business healthy, advisor Mike Patton focuses on how to build trust and comfort with your new clients.

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  Key Systems for a Healthy Independent Advisory Business, Pt. 4: Client Acquisition

  By Mike Patton  |  April 23, 2012

  In the fourth of a series of posts on what makes an advisory business healthy, advisor Mike Patton focuses on the best way to make a good first impression with client prospects.

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  Key Systems for a Healthy Independent Advisory Business, Pt. 3: Marketing as Problem Solving

  By Mike Patton  |  April 16, 2012

  As part of a series on building a healthy advisory business, advisor Mike Patton asks you to think about marketing a little differently: what problem is your prospective client trying to solve?

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  3 Key Systems for a Healthy Independent Advisory Business, Pt. 2: Marketing Overview

  By Mike Patton  |  April 9, 2012

  The second in a series of blogs on what I consider the key points of success when starting and building an independent advisory practice. The focus of this blog: the basics of marketing.

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  3 Key Systems for a Healthy Independent Advisory Business: Overview

  By Mike Patton  |  April 1, 2012

  As I celebrate my fifth anniversary of going independent, the first in a series of blogs on what I consider the key points of success when starting and building an independent advisory practice.

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  What I Do in My Practice, Pt. 5: Taxes and Home Buying

  By Mike Patton  |  March 27, 2012

  Yes, it’s a good time to buy, considering the prices available in much of the country. But don’t forget the tax issues when buying a rental home.

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  What I Do in My Practice, Pt. 4: Clients’ Tax Filing Status

  By Mike Patton  |  March 19, 2012

  Some reminders on your clients’ tax filing status: Death, married filing separate, looming divorce.