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Articles published 10/2012


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Mark Casady: This is the first time we've ever lost a large client.

LPL loses a mega-client -- but not to a competitor

The big IBD also confirmed long-whispered rumors that it's begun to offshore some operations

October 31, 2012 at 7:00 PM

Todd Thomson lives on an evacuated island but decided to stay with neighbors and depend on generators.

How RIA business players in New York are roughing it through Hurricane Sandy

Principals at Dynasty, Envestnet and AppCrown are engaging in guerrilla tactics to brave near-impossible business conditions

October 31, 2012 at 6:57 PM

Neesha Hathi: This is where the attorneys go to the side and the project managers take over.

Schwab and Advent Software forge historic agreement -- mostly for the good of Black Diamond users for now

Aided perhaps by the ex-Schwab employees moving to Jacksonville, the two giant RIA forces, both San Francisco-based, are looking happily engaged

October 31, 2012 at 6:54 PM

Valerie Newell is young, ambitious and happy to hand off some headaches to Marty Bicknell. She says: We want to continue to do what we've done.

With as much finesse as cash, Marty Bicknell wins a $1.3 billion RIA in an auction-style contest

Mariner Wealth Advisors brushed aside a host of competitive bids to absorb Cincinnati-based RiverPoint -- a rare jewel for its size, quality and availability

October 30, 2012 at 5:27 PM

Even San Francisco isn't the same when New York is under the weather.
October 30, 2012 at 5:26 PM

Ric Edelman: We need to serve the 99% that hate us, not just rich people.

Ric Edelman is looking to add a $1-billion RIA elephant even as he unveils an online consumer strategy aimed at the chipmunks

Already Barron's No. 1 with predominantly a mass-affluent game, the radio dynamo is ready to invest private equity to add a quick $1 billion of AUM

October 29, 2012 at 3:26 PM

Les Abromovitz: An RIA should have ready access to current contact information for clients, employees, regulators, custodians, and service providers.

RIAs must prepare for post-disaster recovery or regulators will lower the boom

Tornadoes, floods and hurricanes, sure, but death, disability and bad succession plans can also be disastrous for clients

October 29, 2012 at 3:22 PM

Rich Behrendt:Taking advantage of this unique gifting opportunity before the end of the year could save a tremendous amount in your clients' future estate taxes.

What you need to know about gifting as the Bush tax cuts near their sell-by date

If an Obama reelection triggers the dreaded Taxmageddon, there will be real fallout for those trying to pass on their wealth

October 29, 2012 at 5:51 AM

Tom Nally: If we just have a small piece of their business, we won't show up on the radar of senior management and internal operations staff will just look at you with resistance as yet another form to fill out or process to re-engineer.

Tom Nally answers 10 questions that show one seminal shift: TD Ameritrade no longer seeks a few assets and extended probation

The RIA custodian built by taking token accounts from Schwab malcontents then scrambling for the rest is now leaving the peashooter at home

October 26, 2012 at 3:49 PM

Schwab says that its RIAs have signaled, finally, a trust in the solidity of the cloud.

Schwab's plan to quickly get 1,750 RIAs off the desktop gets pricing and a pilot

Schwab PortfolioCenter will finally have a cloud option that doesn't take away an advisory firm's control of its data

October 26, 2012 at 4:01 AM

Brian Shenson: It's getting more looks (from legacy RIAs) as we add value.

Schwab adds element to plug-and-play technology with eye toward existing RIAs, not just fresh wirehouse recruits

NetDocuments will put electronic files right into the CRM window for RIAs using Schwab OpenView Integrated Office

October 26, 2012 at 3:59 AM

What a wave of 401(k) lawsuits tell us about what RIAs really need to worry about

Plaintiff's attorneys have found the soft underbelly of advisors and plan sponsors, but the pitfalls are clear and avoidable

October 25, 2012 at 4:12 AM

Tom Nally: RIAs have seen a 45% asset growth from high net worth investors since 2005, while the wirehouses have only grown 6%.

TD Ameritrade plants its flag in sunny SoCal, playing host to $100 billion worth of RIAs

The Institutional Fall Regional urged innovations as RIAs become the iPhone to the wirehouse's BlackBerry

October 25, 2012 at 3:55 AM

Ross Gerber: We are cultivating a new generation of financial advisors.

19-advisor firm in Santa Monica jumps to LPL with social media-fueled strategy for the underserved under-40 set

Gerber Kawasaki's selection of the big broker down the SoCal road started with a LinkedIn message to Esther Stearns

October 25, 2012 at 3:10 AM

Douglas Hodge: We privatized profit and socialized losses.

New York conference: SIFMA wants members to be like RIAs -- minus the same rules of accountability

Alan Greenspan jumped in on the mea-culpa-fest that included bracingly frank comments from a top Pimco official

October 24, 2012 at 5:32 AM

Philip Palaveev: All of the examples in the book are real clients I worked with, and some were happening literally as I was writing the chapter.

Finally, an RIA business-of-the-business book with a journalistic soul

Philip Palaveev shows his command of practice management and literary artifice in "The Ensemble Practice"

October 24, 2012 at 3:34 AM

Dorann Cafaro: We should be worried.

Big chill: Worried RIAs and other 401(k) leaders gather in Chicago in hopes of saving the goose

It's no sacred cow like Social Security and the industry image is laboring because saving rates, returns, hidden fees and enrollment levels are none too great

October 23, 2012 at 3:33 AM

David DeVoe: Literally hundred of firms need to be sold over the next several years -– just to solve for succession.

The RIA M&A market continues to be a no-show, though 2012 pace is ahead of 2011

Only the roll-ups seem to have the focus, knowledge, capital and deadly intent to get results in this market

October 23, 2012 at 3:29 AM

Fred Reish: The object isn’t to punish people who really wanted to do the right thing.

Erring 401(k) plan advisors seek do-overs from DOL to ward off potentially crippling fines

A proposal from leading ERISA attorneys would let RIAs say mea culpa on misinterpretations and technical fouls in the wake of new fee disclosure rules

October 22, 2012 at 3:02 AM

Rob Isbitts: Three years is the Goldilocks of investment evaluation horizons.

5 ways for incumbent advisors to get -- and keep -- their clients' vote of confidence

Obama and Romney are asking for four years to deliver results -- ask your clients for three

October 22, 2012 at 2:59 AM

Mike Durbin: We've stabilized this foundation.

Fidelity to play midwife to RIAs-in-the-making now that WealthCentral is firmly on its feet

Fidelity RIA execs envision a post-WealthCentral landscape that incudes marketing consultations, strategic planning sessions and M&A facilitation

October 19, 2012 at 5:10 AM

Sources say that Maria Elena Lagomasino made a last-ditch effort to buy GenSpring.

How being a $19-billion family office roll-up owned by a bank finally caught up with GenSpring

A fizzled management buyout of the Palm Beach RIA by Maria ("Mel") Elena Lagomasino and other managers preceded the executive exodus, sources say

October 18, 2012 at 5:50 AM

Hoofing it from the San Fran Ritz to the Tiburon Ferry, the unlikely and distinguished foursome of Jon Jones, Mike Durbin, Tif Joyce and Skip Schweiss.

How RIAs looked the winner at the Ritz Carlton in San Fran this week

The Tiburon CEO Summit had its usual charge of energy as Walter Bettinger, Ric Edelman, Mike Durbin and Bernie Clark appeared at every turn

October 18, 2012 at 5:42 AM

Bernie Clark says Windhaven's phenomenal growth has already justified the investment  in it and that ThomasPartners will follow a similar course of success.

A look inside Schwab's second big deal with a small asset manager

Using its RIA custody unit as a talent pool, the San Francisco giant is bringing ThomasPartners into primetime.

October 17, 2012 at 3:07 PM

Steve Sansone: Advisors can differentiate themselves to decision makers and consequently be in a great position to take over a 401(k) plan.

How IRS rule changes may bring an obscure retirement plan into prominence

The number of cash balance plans, a boon to high-earners, are growing 20% annually versus three percent for 401(k) plans

October 16, 2012 at 3:53 AM

Brooke Southall: Roll-ups can look as different as Great Danes and lhasa apsos, but we can all agree that these two breeds are both very much dogs.

Why the term 'roll-up' should stay in the RIA vocabulary

It's a short term packed with tall meaning

October 16, 2012 at 2:05 AM

Jack Waymire: It is always easier for compliance departments to say No. They have to do work to say Yes.

Six tips for avoiding a disastrous broker-dealer decision

Without the right due diligence many advisors leave the wirehouse frying pan and jump into the IBD fire

October 15, 2012 at 4:18 PM

Sean Hanlon: Wall Street has become the tech business whose product is money management.

Could engineers be the answer to the RIA talent shortage?

More advisors come from outside the industry, with a premium on high tech capabilities and connections.

October 15, 2012 at 2:59 AM

Rudy Adolf: This is going to be a platform for smaller RIAs to join and also for brokers in the Chicago market.

Focus Financial gets its first beachhead in HighTower's backyard -- buying an exhibit-A organic-growth RIA with a hankering to go inorganic

Vestor Capital was born in the 1980s as an accounting firm with a dream, and now Brian Baker wants more

October 12, 2012 at 3:10 AM

Will Clemens started his career as a Morgan Stanley analyst covering Advent Software and he veered toward RIA technology.

Zephyr gets sold again, this time to a subsidiary of a Swiss giant

Leading the way is Will Clemens, an ex-Advent Software executive, who will continue to run the unit from the shores of Lake Tahoe

October 12, 2012 at 3:06 AM

Brooke Southall: There are words and phrases used by RIAs that can subtract as much as they add in conversation.

We're better than this: The 10 words and expressions that should be expunged from the RIA business

The RIA business separates itself by putting people first so let's cut the corporate-speak

October 11, 2012 at 3:31 PM

Dean Stange: I think if anyone came to us having been pitched a blind trust, we'd talk them out of it.

What Mitt Romney might not know about blind trusts

Views on these black boxes for big chunks of cash are hardly unanimous

October 11, 2012 at 2:34 AM

James Minnick sees the promise of taking a trust company with a planning approach and giving it a national footprint.

Lovell Minnick jumps into the roll-up game with the purchase of $2-billion wealth manager -- and a plan

Starting with Kanaly Trust, the Philly area private-equity firm plans to pick off sleepy, undersized trust companies and unleash their potential

October 10, 2012 at 3:39 AM

Chris Crawshaw: This is a great opportunity for us to show the commitment to Japan, which is extremely important to Japanese residents.

A new office in Japan? It's the latest bold move by a $9-billion RIA in Chicago that was acquired by Piper Jaffray

Low-profile Advisory Research Inc., sold for more than $200 million, has long served high-net-worth clients but it's asset management business is also strong

October 10, 2012 at 3:38 AM

Philip Palaveev: Wirehouses would be wise to explore the opportunity to brand the teams alongside the national brand and to create compensation structures that give team captains control over the hiring and compensation of their team members.

The 10 things Morgan, Merrill, UBS and Wells Fargo could do if they really, really wanted to stem the RIA tide

Advisors are happy to hand over the blueprint to wirehouses because they're certain the firms are too fainthearted to execute it

October 9, 2012 at 4:23 PM

Suresh Kumar's name was synonymous with NetX360 and now he's watching from a loftier BNY perch.

Suresh Kumar moves on to BNY Mellon and Pershing and NetX360 adjust to life without the maestro

The Jersey City-based clearing and custody company is filling the big shoes of its former chief information officer with two of his former underlings

October 9, 2012 at 4:22 PM

John Wolff says LPL might be tempted to offer Fortigent research to its retail brokers, diluting the value of a product that his firm "spends a lot of money on," and making it "less of a distinguishing factor."

What Fortigent advisors said in Santa Barbara, and what execs say may be next for the LPL-owned outsourcer

With Andy Putterman, Scott Welch and a big cadre of Fortigent's biggest customers living well together, a picture emerged

October 8, 2012 at 5:32 AM

Sheldon Geller: Plan fiduciaries were deemed to have violated their duty of prudence by selecting mutual funds whose fees were based on the retail share class rather than the institutional share class.

What RIAs must know about hidden, and excessive, fees in serving as fiduciaries to a 401(k) plan

With lawsuits and enforcement actions mounting, and new rules in place, what DOL wants is not all that abstract or theoretical anymore

October 8, 2012 at 5:12 AM

Rob Bartenstein: Washington Wealth is not abandoning what we've stood for since our inception.

Seeing a clear path to $3 billion, Washington Wealth hitches its venture to LPL but quietly adds Schwab

The Middleburg, Va., roll-up-like hybrid RIA is switching some horses after its CEO and founder exited and some funding sources dried up

October 5, 2012 at 3:03 AM

Mitchell Reiner: It's advisors that created this, [it's] not a 1-800 number.

How a $1 billion Atlanta RIA is getting fellow RIAs to funnel it their small-ticket clients

Wela nabbed $40 million right off the bat from its parent, Capital Investment Advisors LLC, and has Schwab veteran Paul Scudellari to ensure that assets are soon measured in billions

October 4, 2012 at 4:23 AM

Abby Salameh: There is an inherent gene that advisors must have in order to take that leap of faith and become independent.

How nature and nurture combine to encourage advisors to independence

You can lead a broker to an entrepreneurial opportunity, but the desire to take the plunge needs to come from deep within and maybe family experience

October 4, 2012 at 4:22 AM

Walter Bettinger: The line of people who have expressed interest is long.

Technical challenges may push Schwab's ETF-only 401(k) plan schedule into 2014 -- deferring an intriguing financial clinical trial

The bad news for Bettinger: a few million more lines of code; The good news: Fidelity won't seek to capitalize on the extended deadline

October 3, 2012 at 3:58 AM

The FPA packed them in

The FPA throws its annual gathering in a spirit of renewal after years of membership decline

The Financial Planning Association aims to rally around the CFP designation, bring in fresh blood and build membership back up

October 3, 2012 at 3:29 AM

Tyler Cloherty: Without organic growth, they'll continue to lose on both hands.

The prognosis for Morgan, Merrill, UBS and Wells is even grimmer than the negative hype, Cerulli report shows

The wirehouses have stopped training, are ruthlessly chopping lower producers. and many advisors they'd like to keep march out the door

October 2, 2012 at 4:31 AM

Dale Walters: If you're really worried, you should go somewhere like New Zealand or Australia.

A Phoenix RIA has a $100-million client relationship riding on Romney

A Keats Connelly investor made good on his threat to move north when Obama won in '08, now the firm has fingers crossed for a Romney win

October 2, 2012 at 4:29 AM

Rich Steinberg: We're essentially hiring ourselves.

A big Schwab RIA in Florida launches a mass-market venture with Placemark and Schwab as the key pieces

Rich Steinberg is using, in effect, his own RIA as the manager to clients of a startup RIA, outsourcing the technology and counting on Schwab referrals

October 1, 2012 at 4:33 AM

Mitt Romney (l.) and Mark Matson (r.) share a moment in front of Mitt's campaign jet.

A $3.4-billion DFA RIA sends his social media presence sky high with a 'Yep, I Built That' strategy

'Street cred' may attract like-minded clients but Mark Matson is also taking a calculated risk with his staunch political stance

October 1, 2012 at 4:32 AM

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