For financial advisors contemplating a move to independence, the prospect often carries equal parts excitement and anxiety. Questions about costs, compliance, technology infrastructure, and client reactions can quickly overwhelm even the most experienced professionals. Nelly Mubashi, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Compliance Officer at RIA Innovations, has built her firm’s entire model around eliminating exactly those concerns.
“The goal was really for us to have an integrated platform that advisors can just plug into and find any of the services that they would need in order to service their client,” Mubashi tells The Wealth Advisor’s Scott Martin. The Seattle-based firm has evolved from a single-advisor practice into a comprehensive institutional platform provider supporting approximately $11 billion in assets under management—and the journey began with her own breakaway story.
From Personal Experience to Platform Provider
In 2008, Mubashi and her business partner, Greg Headrick, faced a familiar crossroads. After their regional firm was purchased by a wirehouse, the pair sought alternatives to maintain control over client relationships and business operations. Rather than accepting another employer’s constraints, they assembled the partners, technology, and infrastructure needed to launch their own RIA.
The firm flourished, and industry colleagues kept asking how they could replicate the model. By 2011, Mubashi’s practice began offering outsourcing services to other advisors. The formal RIA Innovations brand launched in 2015, codifying years of experience into a turnkey platform. The breadth of services now available reflects real-world lessons learned through trial and error—mistakes today’s advisors can avoid altogether.
“We’ve been adding services over the years based on feedback and demand from advisors,” Mubashi notes. “We’re looking to be that central hub for advisors to come for a one-stop-shop service. Advisors can rely on us, and they don’t have to hire multiple vendors and providers. We do most of it.”
The Economics of Outsourcing Versus Building In-House
When advisors contemplate independence, the budget calculations can quickly become daunting. Hiring dedicated staff for operations, billing, compliance, and technology requires substantial overhead before considering economies of scale. Mubashi argues the math makes outsourcing compelling even before factoring in the headaches.
“Do you hire more people, or do you outsource back office? And if you outsource back office, what kind of services are they providing versus the people that you can hire in-house?” she asks. “If you’re hiring someone in-house, are you hiring a sales assistant and are you hiring an operations person? Are you hiring a billing person? There are all of these aspects of running an RIA that require certain expertise that you wouldn’t get by hiring person by person, unless you get a really, really brilliant person who knows all of that.”
RIA Innovations’ pricing transparency addresses another common pain point. Unlike competitors that require discovery calls to discuss costs, RIA Innovations publishes detailed pricing on its website, breaking down costs by service type—from percentage-based fees for back office and compliance work to flat annual rates for technology support and per-filing charges for tax preparation. Advisors can calculate their potential expenses before initiating contact, eliminating awkward budget negotiations or surprise fee schedules. The structure remains flexible enough to accommodate advisors who want comprehensive support or just specific services.
“Nobody likes reaching out to a company and asking for pricing and then the company’s saying, ‘Well, let me call you or let me set up an appointment,’” Mubashi says. “Then you’re going in blind, you have no idea what you’re going to pay.”
Technology, AI, and Advisor Efficiency
Recent developments in artificial intelligence have created both opportunity and confusion across financial services. Many advisors recognize AI’s potential for efficiency gains but lack the technical expertise, compliance framework, or resources to implement solutions independently. Mubashi positions RIA Innovations as the logical partner for introducing AI-driven tools and advanced technology at scale.
“Advisors are looking for efficiency. They’re looking for easy ways to service their clients, less time doing meeting preparations, more time spent meeting with clients and talking to the clients,” she explains. “I think it’s important for us to keep evolving and keep offering what advisors need. It makes sense for us to also look into integrated services, better platforms, and we’re constantly assessing vendors. We’re always looking at these new technologies and how we can use it and how we can offer that service to advisors.”
The platform approach allows RIA Innovations to negotiate favorable terms with technology vendors while maintaining compliance oversight—two areas where individual advisors struggle to compete. Economies of scale mean advisors can access enterprise-grade tools at costs impossible to replicate independently.
Cultural Fit Over Asset Thresholds
Despite published pricing that makes cost calculations straightforward, Mubashi maintains a personal role in advisor onboarding. Every prospective client speaks with the business development team first, then meets directly with her before joining the platform. The screening process prioritizes compatibility and working relationships over asset size.
“We’re looking at cultural fit more than anything else,” says Mubashi. “I’m always making sure that these advisors are a good cultural fit, that they will be successful in our platform, and that they are someone that we want to work with. So, it is less about the AUM and more about the advisor, their practice, and how they handle their practice.”
Internally, Mubashi says the team describes their approach as maintaining a “no jerk zone.” Professionalism and reasonable expectations matter more than balance sheet figures. The strategy appears effective—RIA Innovations maintains high retention rates, with some advisors remaining on the platform since 2009, Mubashi notes. Flexible contracts requiring only 30 days’ notice to terminate create confidence rather than dependency.
Easing the Transition Anxiety
Advisors leaving wirehouses or even aggregators often wrestle with concerns beyond operational logistics. Client retention questions loom large, particularly when departing from prestigious brand names. Mubashi’s personal experience breaking away from UBS provides credibility and practical guidance.
When she left UBS, clients immediately questioned what would happen to their accounts and whether proper safeguards would remain in place. Mubashi found success explaining the custodian relationship. “Once you start breaking it down to we’re not holding your money, we custody with Fidelity, Schwab, whatever other custodians are out there. These are big companies, they’re household names,” she recalls. “You probably have a 401(k) with these custodians already, and we are just providing the advice.”
Framing the change as continuity in the advisor relationship rather than upheaval in asset custody helped clients recognize that their long-standing professional partnership remained intact—only the institutional backdrop had shifted. “It makes things a lot easier on the client side to be able to understand that, and that makes the jump a little bit easier,” she adds.
The platform’s experienced staff has guided dozens of breakaways through ACAT (automated customer account transfer service) processes, regulatory filings, and client communications. Advisors handle what they excel at—client relationships and investment advice—while RIA Innovations manages the operational heavy lifting.
“It is challenging. It is scary. It is stressful. But it is something that a lot of advisors I would say need to do, not just to get paid more, but just for ease of mind—just being able to choose whatever products, securities, and your service offering to your clients that you want to build your company upon,” Mubashi explains. “It makes a huge difference to have control over your own practice or your own company and being able to just not think about what will be next.”
The Changing Independence Landscape
Mubashi observes that the wealth management industry has transformed dramatically even in just the past five years. Consolidation continues among RIAs, but simultaneously, platforms like RIA Innovations have made independence accessible to advisors who might have remained captive a decade ago. The emergence of comprehensive outsourcing options fundamentally changes the career decision calculus.
“We try to make the move as easy as possible for the advisors so that they’re not stressed about this,” she points out. “We really try to make it in a way where advisors don’t have to worry about anything.”
Recent inquiries include advisors fleeing aggregators after multiple acquisitions have eroded their original value propositions. For professionals seeking stability and autonomy, establishing independence with institutional support might appeal in ways that neither wirehouses nor serial acquirers can match.
Looking back on her own decision, Mubashi expresses no regrets despite early challenges. “I think now there’s a lot more resources for advisors, and if we had moved now, we would’ve not had all the challenges that we had back in 2008 because there’s a lot more platforms like ours that are helping out advisors,” she says.
For advisors questioning whether independence fits their practice, Mubashi’s message remains straightforward: examine the services, review the transparent pricing, and if the economics make sense, initiate a conversation. Two phone calls determine mutual fit. Everything after operates according to a plan.
“If that all goes well, then we move on to the onboarding side, which is usually pretty smooth,” she concludes. “The easier you make it to advisors, the less stressful the onboarding and the transition looks like.”
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Additional Resources
- Contact RIA Innovations: 855-499-2755 or info@riainnovations.com
- RIA Innovations Website
- Meet the Team
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Disclosure
NWAM, LLC dba Northwest Asset Management and RIA Innovations is an SEC registered investment adviser.
