Compliance Outsourcing Has Doubled in Last 3 Years

A recent survey of registered investment advisers sponsored by WealthManagement.com and LPL Financial reports a significant increase in the number of firms outsourcing compliance and other non-revenue generating functions.  The percentage of firms outsourcing compliance has doubled over the last 3 years.  Nearly 1 in 5 RIAs now outsource compliance, a function deemed to be “necessary, but behind-the-scene activit[y] with less direct linkage to the customer experience.”  Other often-outsourced activities include HR, taxes, and bookkeeping, as advisors become more “focused on the activities that are most critical to their businesses” while “it is getting increasingly efficient to outsource those functions less important to growth and client satisfaction.”

OUR TAKE: Outsourcing compliance has become an accepted practice especially for advisers that don’t have the resources to hire and retain internal compliance talent.  A third party firm brings on-demand knowledge, scale, depth, experience, and independence.

https://www.wealthforge.com/hubfs/WM-2016-RIA-Trend-Report.pdf?t=1476715934334