A Houston-based firm that provides consulting services to registered investment advisers is taking its act on the road.

Directly on the heels of its decision to open its first out-of-state office in Orlando, Fla., in February, RIA In A Box opened another location earlier this month in New York City.

Although the firm's headquarters will remain in Houston, Zachary Gronich, RIA president and lead consultant, has moved north to run the New York office.

"We've set up in the states we have the most business. Texas is still first," Gronich says. "New York is the financial capital of the country, if not the universe, so if we have a Manhattan office we're not playing on the sidelines, not to say Houston is exactly the sidelines."

The five-year-old firm offers a one-stop approach to professionals who decide to become registered investment advisers by stickhandling through the sometimes-arduous online application and regulatory compliance process, which varies from state to state.

"It's like when you hire a CPA to do your corporate tax return. You want it done righ the first time," Gronich says. "You spend a couple thousand dollars and the process is completed in a few days rather than three or four weeks by yourself messing around with government forms."

Although the process can take as long as two or three months in states such as California, the procedure in Texas is relatively smooth, taking about two weeks for those not familiar with the system, according to Gronich. The application must also be approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Gronich says RIA has set up about 700 individual firms to date, including 107 in the first half of 2009. The firm's typical client mix includes CPAs or attorneys broadening their client offerings to former broker-dealers working for large firms who want to break out on their own.

The turmoil in the financial services sector in the past 20 months has certainly contributed to the firm's business, he adds.

"When the big wirehouses are laying off thousands and don't care how long you've been with the firm, a lot of people are figuring they're better off setting up their own business," Gronich says. "One of our newest clients is a broker in Maryland, who had worked at the same broker-dealer for 28 years. They just walked up to her and said you're out of here and she had to get out that day."

Justin Nichols, manager of operations with Kansas-based Garrett Planning Network, which represents about 300 fee-based investment advisers nationwide, agrees that the major restructuring, mergers and bankruptcies involving the national broker-dealers puts RIA in a good position.

"Even for the broker-dealers who are still employed, a lot of them are fed up with everything that's happened and the big firms' tarnished image," Nichols says. They're looking for a quick way to get set up (on their own)."

Still, Gronich says it's unlikely that RIA will take on any further geographic expansion, considering it has taken on two new locations within a few months. The company, which has four employees, had revenue of $515,000 in 2008.

Says Gronich: "Even with the growth of our business this year, two expansions in a year is a lot."