Since this is basically my entire life and the info takes a long time to gather...

The RIA landscape is changing very fast- not a lot of options if you have under 50m, but it is shifting every year. Bc your custodian will be the biggest decision-maker down this road- here is a quick overview (2020).

IBKR is usually the preferred for small size (they have a SEC-sketchy 'friends and family option' for up to 25m)- but there are a lot of new custodian/tech providers like Altruist that are trying, but generally considered unproven. The problem here is that technology moves FAST- a lot of these small guys seem like they're bringing something new to the table, but they do not have the capital to keep investing and eventually Fidelity and Schwab overtake them. And when you start to take on clients in the 2m and up range, you really want a smooth UX that is modern & dependable into the future. I am optimistic that something emerges here in the next 5 year, but I am hedged against it.

After consolidation- MS will introduce an option with E-Trade but its not clear what will come of it, and Schwab will roll out a option with TD as well. It is hard for an Independent RIA to trust these guys, since they are public firms and just trying to gather assets, and they might have to start pulling some new levers because of low interest rates and declining fee revenue. If you want to see the danger of starting an RIA with a small firm- follow the trail of the firms that were bought up by E-trade over the years and are now at the mercy of MS- not somewhere I would want to be.

AUM minimums- anyone under 50m will be asked to join existing RIA with Schwab, for Fidelity have to be over 100m to be independent, Pershing flat-out only interested in over 150-250m. These numbers go UP over time.

LPL I should mention... but they are often the backup or the 'easy' provider who will help you a lot in transition and in the m&a process, but really limits your technology. Plus they are their own custodian which is just bad. The reality is they are not a TON better than someone like Ed Jones.

The consolidation in the industry is NOT GOOD for independent and especially small RIAs. The 'free trade' thing was 12 months ago... but it's still being worked out in the RIA world. Fidelity is deciding whether they want to go Schwab's route and dictate a certain percent of client assets must be held in cash so they can sweep it into their bank- or whether it will move back to a custody fee ($10,000), or the likely eventual equilibrium of custodians taking a cut of your wrap fee.

So yeah that is the state of the RIA world

FYI- practices sell for around 1x sales, with some type of earn-out for a year or two, and sometimes with the opportunity for either owner or custodian financing. I think getting the CFA behind your name and spending a few years at an RIA will give you a great couple years to get the experience you need and be in a place to think about owning your own business.

RIAs are anything from hedge funds to financial advisors to family offices.... so even though the platforms (custodians) that we use are getting more restrictive (regulation has to do with this too)- it is still really a dynamic space and will keep evolving.

You will probably want to familiarize yourself with Interactive Brokers and see what they offer- that is probably the only option that would fit your needs at the moment. They have 'decent' api integration and low minimums. They also are pretty upfront about their costs- you pay a low commission but they are up there with the best execution out there and do not sell order flow or trade against your clients. IBKR was the first to use automated trading, and I think it is still founder led. But their margins are being competed away by Fidelity and Schwab, and their future isn't clear either.

Just remember that finance is NOT the merit-based tech world where your skills and talent are appreciated above all else. It is mostly just who you know, what you have done for them lately, and who works the hardest. That is why people often say that spending time networking is a better use of time than the CFA- my most successful peer got his MBA in NJ, worked as a scrub at a HF shop across the water in NY, got to know the guys well and was invited to split off with them and start their own HF. This became a family office, and now he lives in the Cayman working for one of the wealthiest families in the world making 7 figures.