Voya Financial Advisors, the broker-dealer arm of Voya Financial Inc., has launched a hybrid RIA platform, in what the company says is an effort to give its existing broker base the "flexibility" to meet a wide range of customer needs.
In a statement to BenefitsPro, Tom Halloran, president of Voya Financial Advisors, said the motivation behind the platform's development was to keep current with the fee-based advisory model trend, which he called "one of the fastest growing business models in wealth management today."
"It was important for Voya to offer a solution in this space to both attract talented advisors the we have not had access to before and meet the needs of our current top advisory reps and their clients," said Halloran in an email.
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It also comes as the Department of Labor is finalizing its proposed fiduciary rule, which some have predicted will be released as early as 2016.
The proposal's Best Interest Contract Exemption would insist extensive disclosure requirements on brokers hoping to earn commissions on product sales.
Much analysis has suggested that the so-called BIC exemption will be too onerous and expensive for brokers to comply with, and that it will force much of the broker industry into offering fee-based compensation models in IRAs.
Halloran did not say that the effort behind Voya's hybrid RIA platform was motivated in any way by the DOL's proposal or the possibility that it will transform the broker-dealer industry to a fee-based model of compensation.
"Our teams have reviewed and analyzed the proposal carefully," said Halloran. "We are confident that our cumulative experience and knowhow positions us to respond quickly to changes that arise in the industry."
He said the launch highlights Voya's evolution to a broker-dealer that delivers "holistic" advice and guidance with a focus on retirement readiness.
The hybrid RIA model grew almost 22 percent annually between 2004 and 2013, according to data from Cerulli Associates.
Affiliated hybrid RIAs will have access to the full range of Voya's technology resources, according to a company release, including its proprietary WealthSolutions platform, designed to help manage fee-based businesses.
Voya Financial Advisors grew to $9.92 billion in 2014, up 25 percent from the previous year, according to the company.
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Nick Thornton
Nick Thornton is a financial writer covering retirement and health care issues for BenefitsPRO and ALM Media. He greatly enjoys learning from the vast minds in the legal, academic, advisory and money management communities when covering the retirement space. He's also written on international marketing trends, financial institution risk management, defense and energy issues, the restaurant industry in New York City, surfing, cigars, rum, travel, and fishing. When not writing, he's pushing into some land or water.
