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El Camino Real Financial Advisors


Helping Investors find their way
What is an Institutional Platform?

An “Institutional Platform” is the trading platform use by registered investment advisors (RIA’s) to execute (buy and sell) the investments for their clients. Because RIA’s are fiduciaries, they utilize trading platforms and brokerages that are stripped of the fees and costs normally associated with retail brokerage firms like Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. RIA’s use brokerages firms like TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab & Co. and Fidelity, etc. to transact your investment buys and sells. An analogy would be you shopping at a big box warehouse like Costco and Sam’s Club; you do it for the savings.

By using TD Ameritrade, and other custodians, ECRFA has access to a wide range of products and services that help us serve you, including:
  • A full range of investment products and services
  • Extra trading services called “Block Trading” or trading all or a group of clients in one transaction to save on transactions fees
  • A full range of investment account types including retirement accounts, charitable giving and education accounts
  • Separately managed accounts (3rd Party Account Managers) for investors who want access to institutional caliber money managers who specialize in a special investment style or sector and usually have minimums that much higher for regular retail customers
  • Technology and service support so investors can access all their accounts online, view positions, balances, and account histories.
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