Advisory research firm wants to get wealth pros talking. Paladin Registry has just launched a blog to give high-end independent wealth managers a forum for debating issues that affect their businesses and the services they provide their clients.

“We developed this blogsite after talking to hundreds of professionals who said they had little or no voice in regard to the resolution of these issues and conflicts,” says Paladin CEO Jack Waymire. “We found this a little surprising because most of them belonged to associations, but we were told the associations’ agendas were focused on the needs of the majority of their members versus the unique needs of higher-quality professionals.” After all, he adds, the concerns of an experienced advisor who works with ultra-wealthy families differ substantially from those of a comparative neophyte catering to the mass affluent.

The site’s contributing editors introduce discussions with brief – and deliberately inflammatory – postings that touch on a range categories including “Breakaway Brokers,” “Reality-based Compliance,” and “Innovative Technologies.” Paladin encourages advisors to participate by responding to the postings and by submitting discussion-starters of their own.

Across the bow

A posting entitled “Incidental advice? Who are they kidding?” starts, “Wall Street fights mandatory disclosures for its brokers on the basis they are sales reps and that any advice is incidental. That must mean brokers are paid to sell and not provide the advice investors need to achieve their financial goals. Wouldn’t that be an interesting disclosure?”

Waymire describes the writing as “short, punchy and provocative.” And that, he says, is in keeping with Paladin’s goal of fostering frank and open discussion in the advisor community. “Our goal is to provide an electronic meeting-place with immediate feedback for independent professionals who compete with the Wall Street marketing machine.”

Paladin’s registry contains ratings, profiles, and disclosure statements for over 400 financial planners, advisors and wealth managers who are responsible for total investor assets of more than $25 billion. Paladin says it is adding new advisors at a rate of about 25 a week. The Sacramento, Calif.-based firm also provides investor education services.

Paladin advertises in Family Wealth Report. Separately, Family Wealth Report has been selected to participate in Paladin’s “Preferred Provider” program, which matches qualified financial advisors with product and service vendors to the wealth management space. –FWR