Starting your business as a financial advisor is an exciting prospect. You're setting the foundation for a successful future and commitment to growth. Whether you are creating a platform to last the duration of your career or working to formalize/upgrade your established enterprise,effective entity planning and setup will serve as the base on which you can build and hopefully as a springboard for future generations.

But there are important considerations to navigate when setting up an entity that are almost always overlooked and go beyond using your state’s website or an online filing service to establish an entity. 

The decision to form an entity structure for your financial practice is a critical step for experienced independent financial advisors. Many advisors address this topic after a specific need for it has arisen, but addressing it proactively allows you to establish the right structure with less stress and take advantage of numerous other benefits along the way. This article highlights the signs indicating when it's time to establish an entity and the risks associated with not doing so.

As a small business owner and advisor, your attorney or accountant will provide many reasons why you should consider forming a corporation or limited liability company. These reasons include limiting personal liability, the ability to share equity, and possibly reduce taxes. For independent Registered Investment Advisory firms and insurance agencies, the setup and use of an entity is relatively routine – you file and form your business entity, and clients and/or carriers contract with that entity and pay that entity directly.