Christine Gaze exits TD Ameritrade
The ex-Morgan Stanley Private Bank exec was brought in to bring practice management and technology together under Zohar Swaine, who has since departed
5 min read- Christine Gaze, TD Ameritrade Institutional's practice management director, has left the firm.
- Gaze's team now reports to Jim Dario, managing director of product development and strategy.
- TD Ameritrade assures advisors that Gaze's departure will not alter its strategy.
- Gaze hints at a new opportunity, planning to meet with industry leaders in California.
Christine Gaze has left TD Ameritrade Institutional.
The Jersey City, N.J.-based RIA custodian’s director of practice management departed just prior to TD Ameritrade’s national conference in Orlando last week. See: An advertiser’s-eye view of TD Ameritrade’s national conference.
Gaze’s absence created a minor buzz among attendees expecting to see her there. Gaze did not leave TD for an immediate offer at another firm, according to sources familiar with the situation.
But a new job may be in the offing, according to Gaze.
“I’ve got some exciting things in the works. I think it’s a few weeks away.”
She added, with a bounce in her voice, that she was about to board a plane for California with the dual mission of talking to “industry thought leaders” and to dodge East Coast weather for a little while. “I’m really excited about my future.”
Practice-management ace
TD Ameritrade poaches 'bowled over' Morgan Stanley Private Bank exec to fill key role
Gaze, who began her career at Merrill Lynch in 1995, arrived at TD Ameritrade in April 2012 with some fanfare. Photogenic and charismatic, she had previously worked in the tony environs of Morgan Stanley Private Bank. Gaze had gained her chops as a practice-management exec in a previous job with Wachovia, where she helped build its practice management capability. See: TD Ameritrade poaches 'bowled over’ Morgan Stanley Private Bank exec to fill key role.
Gaze’s mission at TD Ameritrade was to create a greater synthesis of the company’s technology and practice management efforts. She was hired by, and initially reported to, Zohar Swaine, who departed TD Ameritrade for a position at inStream. He has since left that position for Vestorly Inc.. See: Could inStream be the Next Big Thing in RIA technology?.
In TD’s practice management realm she attended to the product portion like partners, white papers, tools and resources and not the consultants who work directly with advisors. She originally took Mike Watson’s job before he went to LPL. Watson has since returned to TD, albeit in a new role. See: TD Ameritrade poaches Mike Watson back from LPL to head new unit targeting 100 mega-RIAs.
'Nothing changes’
The practice-management team now reports directly
to Jim Dario, TDAI’s managing director
of product development and strategy.
Story Timeline
At the time of her hiring in 2012, Zohar, then TD Ameritrade Institutional’s managing director of product and strategy, commented: “Christine started her career as an advisor providing financial planning for wealthy families. She’s spent the last decade researching best practices of top advisory teams, sharing insights and coaching financial advisors to take their businesses to the next level. The depth and breadth of her experience gives her a unique perspective on the daily challenges and opportunities facing TD Ameritrade Institutional’s advisor clients. Christine will play a key role in developing practice management solutions to drive advisor asset growth and help them transform their businesses.”
Senior members of the practice management team now report directly to Jim Dario, TD Ameritrade Institutional’s managing director of product development and strategy, who will take on Gaze’s duties. See: What’s up with Jim Dario making the leap from Pershing to TD Ameritrade.
TD Ameritrade poaches Mike Watson back from LPL to head new unit targeting 100 mega-RIAs
“Nothing in our strategy changes as a result of Christine’s departure,” Dario writes in an e-mail. “With the team now reporting directly to me, I will take time to review our organization and ensure we’re best aligned to deliver against the key initiatives and goals we’ve established.”
Huge difference
When RIABiz interviewed Gaze subsequent to her hiring in 2012, I asked whether she might face a steep learning curve given that wirehouse advisors don’t generally have to pay rent, meet payroll and shoulder administrative duties as RIAs do.
Gaze dismissed the question.
“I think best practices are very similar whether someone works at a wirehouse or an RIA. I don’t see any disconnect there.”
But when the issue was bounced off of Mark Tibergien, chief executive of Pershing Advisor Solutions LLC, he identified some big differences.
“There are things that both can learn from each other, but there is a huge difference between an independent business owner and an employee of a large financial services firm,” he said. “In the former, they have to manage profitability, people, compensation, pricing, org structure, technology, custodial relationships, access to solutions for their clients, cash flow, their lease, compliance and a hundred other moving parts — and build their own brand, versus relying on a national retail brand.”
Gaze received a BS in Business Administration and Psychology from the State University of New York at Brockport. Gaze also holds the CIMA designation and FINRA series 7, 63, 65, and 24 licenses.
Gaze adds that there is little doubt about whether she will be back on the industry radar screen.
“You can bet that I’m going to be connected to financial advisors.”
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