RIA Central has launched its bid to be the Facebook of RIAs

Thanks for this coverage on RIA Central. It’s fascinating to see RIAs and other financial advisors using networking platforms to get together online.

Two other sites that we’re aware of are the Financial Advisor Forum (http://fintech.ning.com/profiles/members/), which has 302 members as of this morning, and AdvisorConnect at http://advisorconnect.groupsite.com/join. Both vet their members as RIA Central does.

We also appreciate your mention of AdvisorTweets. While it celebrates social networking in the sense that it aggregates what advisors of all stripes are tweeting about, it is not actually a site where advisors interact.

Thanks for the mention, Pat!
I love what you guys are doing at RIA central…the FA community needs more sites like this. We have a similar philosophy at https://advisorconnect.groupsite.com/join .
To date, we have 130 Advisor members from across the country with books ranging from $25 million to several hundred million. Most advisors are independents, working through broker/dealers. Some are RIAs. Collectively our advisor members manage over $5 billion in assets – mostly in fee based accounts – with a diverse mix of stocks, bonds, EFTs, funds, and alternative investments. Each advisor brings different experiences and unique perspectives to the community and powerful social tools on the site allow advisors to exchange, capture, and share knowledge, resources, and best practices with each other anytime. It’s like having all of the networking and educational benefits of being at a conference at your finger tips – whenever you need it – and without ever leaving your office. Come check it out! https://advisorconnect.groupsite.com/join

I think these types of social networking communities are the next wave of social media, and the successful ones will be centered around people and professionals with common interests, issues and goals. My congratulations to all of you who have launched these venues. Facebook and even LinkedIn are not pure platforms anymore as they continue to be diluted by spammers and marketers…and most everything is public. Stay tuned, our company (Wired Advisor-http://www.wiredadvisor.com) will be launching a unique social network as well in the coming months!

Another site that allows advisors to communicate with each other, as well as industry thought leaders, is Andy Gluck’s Advisors4Advisors. Advisors4Advisors also offers webinars on key topics, industry related news, and technology reviews by members who use the software/hardware being reviewed in their own practice. We have found the site to be a valuable resource in our practice.