Insights
What a registered investment adviser is, in plain terms.
The letters RIA appear on many financial websites, this one included. Here is what they mean, who oversees the firms and what the label does not tell you.
The short version
An investment adviser is a person or a firm paid to give advice about securities, such as stocks, bonds and funds. A registered investment adviser, or RIA, is one that has registered with a securities regulator. In the United States that means the Securities and Exchange Commission or a state.
The main federal law is the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. States add rules of their own.
Registration is a legal step, not a grade. It means the firm has filed a public form, keeps required records and can be examined by its regulator.
A brochure that calls its firm registered has to say this plainly.
The cover of Acrylic Financial's brochure reads: "Registration as an investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training."
Who regulates an adviser
Which regulator an adviser registers with depends mostly on its size, with exceptions written into the law. Larger firms generally register with the SEC. Smaller firms generally register with the state where their main office is.
A firm registered with the SEC may still have to file a notice with the states where it has clients. That is called a notice filing. The people at a firm who give advice are registered too, usually as investment adviser representatives, and most states require them to pass a qualifying exam first.
Our guide to checking an adviser on IAPD shows how to look up both.
The duty an adviser owes
Under federal law, an investment adviser owes its clients a fiduciary duty. The SEC describes it as two duties working together.
- Duty of care
- Advice in your interest, based on a reasonable understanding of your goals, your finances and how much risk you can accept.
- Duty of loyalty
- The adviser may not put its own interest ahead of yours, and must tell you plainly about its conflicts of interest so you can decide with the facts.
The duty covers the whole advisory relationship, not only the moment a recommendation is made. Its scope follows what you and the adviser agree. Our guide to fiduciary duty and suitability compares it with the standards for brokers and insurance agents.
How advisers are paid
Advisers are usually paid in one of a few ways: a yearly percentage of the assets they manage, an hourly rate, a fixed price for a defined piece of work such as a financial plan, or a mix. Our guide to how advisory fees work goes through each one.
Some people at advisory firms are also registered representatives of a broker-dealer or licensed insurance agents, and can earn commissions in those roles. That is legal and common, and it must be disclosed. The useful question is which role a person is acting in for a given recommendation.
At Acrylic
Acrylic Financial, Inc. is a registered investment adviser, CRD 288263. Its brochure says certain of its supervised persons are also registered representatives of a broker-dealer or licensed insurance agents, and may receive commissions in those capacities.
When acting in an advisory capacity through Acrylic, they are held to a fiduciary standard. When acting as registered representatives of a broker-dealer or as insurance agents, they operate under the rules and standards for those roles, and that work is not conducted through Acrylic.
Form ADV Part 2A, brochure dated March 3, 2026, Items 1, 5E and 10A.
The documents you receive
An adviser has to put the important facts in writing, and give them to you before or when you sign an agreement.
- Form ADV Part 2A
- The brochure. It covers the firm's services, fees, conflicts of interest, disciplinary information, brokerage practices and custody.
- Form ADV Part 2B
- The brochure supplement. It describes the people who will advise you: their education, business background and any disciplinary history.
- Form CRS
- The relationship summary. A few plain pages on services, fees, conflicts and the standard of conduct, with questions you can ask.
A firm must update its brochure at least once a year, and tell clients about material changes.
Acrylic Financial's current brochure is dated March 3, 2026, and its current Form CRS is dated April 30, 2025. Both are on our disclosures page.
Where your money is held
Most advisers do not hold client money themselves. Your account sits at a custodian, usually a bank or a broker-dealer, in your name. The adviser gets authority to manage it, and often to deduct its fee from it.
Statements come to you straight from the custodian, so you can check what the adviser reports against an independent record.
At Acrylic
Acrylic does not accept or maintain physical custody of client funds or securities. Clients receive account statements directly from the qualified custodian. Item 12 of the brochure names the custodians Acrylic requires clients to use and explains the limits and the conflict of interest in directing accounts to them.
Form ADV Part 2A, brochure dated March 3, 2026, Items 12 and 15.
What the label does not tell you
RIA tells you a firm is registered and that it owes a fiduciary duty when it gives advice. It does not tell you whether its services fit you, what it charges or which conflicts it has. Those answers are in the documents above.
Every Form CRS includes questions for you to ask. Three are a good start with any adviser:
- Given my financial situation, should I choose an investment advisory service? Why or why not?
- How will you choose investments to recommend to me?
- What is your relevant experience, including your licenses, education and other qualifications?