Trust, Transparency, and Treasury: RIA vs. Broker-Dealer

There’s a quiet tension building in modern finance: who do you trust with your clients' idle cash? Accountants today aren’t just reconciling ledgers and closing books, they’re helping clients make strategic decisions about spend, cash flow, and even where money should sit between invoices. That means understanding who’s really on your side.

Enter the difference between a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) and a Broker-Dealer (BD). On paper, the distinction might seem like regulatory jargon. But in practice? It can shape how much your clients earn, how much they risk, and how much transparency they can expect.

The Fiduciary Difference

Rho’s investment manager RBB Treasury LLC operates as an RIA. That means we have a legal fiduciary obligation to put client interests first. We don’t push products because they benefit us. We recommend investment vehicles, like money market funds, U.S. Treasury bills, and mutual funds, based on what makes the most sense for your business.

Some competitors, by contrast, operate as broker-dealers, and the difference matters. Broker-dealers are not fiduciaries. They are permitted to sell investment products that may earn them commissions, even if those products aren’t the best choice for the client. That conflict of interest is often hidden behind compelling marketing claims.

Take this email from a competitor’s representative, recently sent to a Rho customer:

"If you bought a mutual fund 6 months ago at $10 and it's now at $9.98, you've lost 20 basis points. Annualized? 40 bps lost."

Sounds scary, right? But let’s unpack that with the help of Michael Dombrowski, Rho’s Corporate Treasury Advisor:

• Selective Time Framing: They cherry-picked a short time window to make the return appear negative, ignoring any gains, yield distributions, or market conditions before or after.

• Inaccuracy: Morgan Stanley’s own NAV data shows only a 1-cent difference between Jan 1 and today.

• Ignoring Total Return: This approach completely overlooks the distributions clients have already received, which reduce their cost basis and increase share count.

• Fear-Based Tactics: Suggesting the client's board might not approve mutual funds? That’s not just disingenuous, it’s manipulative. Instead, accountants should help clients create an investment policy statement that includes mutual funds and document board approval properly.

And let’s talk about teaser rates: if a competitor’s website shows a fund paying 3.99%, but they advertise 4.34% by adding a "bonus," that extra juice can disappear overnight. That’s marketing, not a model built on trust.

Why This Matters to Accountants

As an accounting advisor, your clients look to you for more than financial statements. You’re the first call when cash flow gets tight, when expansion plans take shape, or when it’s time to optimize every dollar. Recommending a treasury platform built on fiduciary duty, not commissions, makes your guidance stronger.

With Rho, you get:

• A modern investment platform backed by a century-old bank and built with compliance at the core

• Conservative options like Treasury bills, money market funds, and mutual funds

• Transparent yields with no teaser rates or fine print

• Education and tools designed specifically for accountants and their clients

Unlike broker-dealers that lead with offers, Rho leads with principles. Mike says it best:

“It’s about letting accountants do what they do best: help businesses grow responsibly. We’re here to offer structure, not spin.”

Whether your client has $20,000 or $20 million sitting idle, our job is to help you make every dollar work harder, safely, transparently, and with your priorities in mind.

RIA vs. Broker-Dealer: Pros and Cons That Matter

Understanding the difference between a fiduciary-first versus fiduciary-last model isn’t just compliance trivia, it’s the line between strategic stewardship and transactional sales. At Rho, we sit on the same side of the table as you, like a partner, whereas others sit across the table from you selling you products. For accountants advising clients on where to park idle cash or how to evaluate treasury platforms, we’ve created a list what matters most across the two categories:

RIA’s (Registered Investment Advisor) “Fiduciary-First” Approach:

• Client-first obligation – RIAs are legally required to act in the best interest of the client, with no hidden commissions or backdoor incentives.

• Transparent product selection – Recommendations are based on what’s right for the business, not what pays the firm.

• Aligned long-term interests – RIA platforms like Rho are designed to grow with clients, not to churn for margin.

• Built-in education and governance – RIAs help clients create investment policies, secure board approvals, and make sound, consistent choices.

• Stable returns over flash – Conservative strategies like Treasury bills and money market funds minimize risk while keeping liquidity intact

Broker-Dealer’s “Fiduciary-Maybe” Approach:

• Suitability standard, not fiduciary – Products only need to be “suitable,” not necessarily optimal or in the client’s best interest.

• Commissions and incentives – Sales reps and your firm may earn bonuses based on product placements, creating potential bias in recommendations.

• Short-term marketing tactics – Teaser rates and time-boxed incentives can paint a misleading picture of performance.

• Opaque communication – Emails like the one from the Brex rep rely on fear tactics, misleading math, and cherry-picked data.

• Riskier product exposure – Lack of transparency around liquidity, fund strategy, or performance can leave clients and their advisors exposed.

What Accountants Should Do Now

In a world where flashy yields and aggressive marketing dominate inboxes, accountants have a responsibility, and an opportunity, to lead with discernment. As the financial landscape evolves, it’s not enough to simply compare rates. Now is the time to look deeper, ask better questions, and guide clients toward decisions rooted in trust, transparency, and long-term strategy. Here’s how forward-thinking accountants can take proactive steps to protect their clients, elevate their advisory role, and champion fiduciary-first financial infrastructure.

• Ask vendors whether they operate as RIAs or broker-dealers

• Look past headline rates and dig into product mechanics

• Recommend that clients develop and document investment policies

• Educate your team on the benefits of fiduciary-first treasury management

And most importantly? Partner with Rho that treats trust as more than a tagline.

About Will Lopez

Will Lopez, chief-architect to People Advisory and fellow accountant, has dedicated his career to supporting accounting professionals and small businesses with more than 20 years of public- and private-sector experience, including founding and building a modern, cloud-based accounting firm.