TradePMR brings on four more ex-TDA Apex executives -- not least Marcel Tsai -- to strengthen Jon Patullo's hand in making 'Fusion' a worthy Veo 2.0

In what one RIA guru calls a “big deal,” TradePMR is bringing together ex-TD Ameritrade (TDA) Veo band members to build out its Fusion advisor workstation. 

The Gainsville, Fla., custodian just hired four executives -- not least Marcel Tsai, who most recently worked at Apex Clearing Corp. by way of TDA's VEO, its vaunted RIA custody software unit. 

Schwab dismantled VEO in its 2019 TDA merger, even though it was widely popular with TDA advisors.

Ex-TDA employees had first moved en masse to Apex – and many of them remain at the Dallas clearing and custody firm. See: Olivia Eisinger convinced Apex to hire dozens of her fellow ex-TDA staff to 'reimagine' VEO 

But TradePMR countered with a hiring spree of ex-Apex employees known for building and keeping up TDA's “Veo” system. 

“To me, this is a very big deal,” says Joel Bruckenstein, founder of the T3 conference.

“In order to take the business to the next level, these are the kind of people they need. They need people who have worked in other large firms to build out that kind of presence. This really propels TradePMR to the next level.”

Building out

TradePMR began building out its team in May when it scooped up Jon Patullo to be its chief product officer. See: TradePMR scores Jon Patullo in lightning 'coup' after CEO Robb Baldwin took a phone call and lands a key player for his skyrocketing growth strategy

To the surprise of many in the industry, Apex Fintech Solutions had cut loose Patullo a month earlier. He'd been hailed only 18 months before that as Apex's technology product strategy guru. See: Apex eliminates Jon Patullo's position in move that baffles analysts but may clear the way for Mike Kerins to take on the 'Astra' challenge

When asked about the loss of Patullo and Tsai, an Apex spokesperson says the firm's tech strategy remains “robust and unwavering.”

“We're approaching RIA custody differently because the landscape is evolving. What TD Ameritrade did in the past was groundbreaking, but that was then, and this is now. RIA custody will look different in the future, and we are leading that change,” the spokesperson says. 

The importance of the Patullo hire traces to TradePMR's (largely) beneath-the-radar move to go dramatically upmarket – even terminating relationships with about 1,000 RIAs.

Today, TradePMR announced it hired Tsai as director of vendor integrations. A 10-year TDA veteran, Tsai was credited with crafting the strategy and the ecosystem for Veo Open Access. 

Complimentary skills

They are a dynamic duo, because their skills amplify each other's effectiveness, Bruckenstein says.

“They don't have the same skill set. Jon is primarily the tech guy.  Marcel is the liaison, for lack of a better term, between the custodian and the tech provider. 

"He helps educate the tech provider about the custodial tech and facilitates the integrations. Again, I think Marcel can explain the role more elegantly than I have.” 

Tsai was credited with building the 175+ ISV [independent software vendor] ecosystems under TD Ameritrade's Veo Open Access. Post-merger, he helped engineer the third-party technology partners integration with Schwab, Bruckenstein says. 

“Marcel was in charge of vendor integrations at TD Ameritrade and was very successful there with the whole integration process, and he was very successful in the merger, bringing in partners to Schwab's program,” he adds.  

Supercharging excellence

The buildout continued today (Aug 19) with three other hires who all hail from TD Ameritrade where they were heavily involved in VEO before moving onto Schwab. 

Laura Villanueva joins as a senior UX product designer; Rob Deguzman as a senior technical product manager and Matt Feigenbaum as senior quality assurance manager. 

TradePMR has already hired some ex-TD Ameritrade RIAs unsure about Schwab, says Lisa Asher, strategic advisor of wealth management for Datos Insights, which provides industry-specific data and advice. 

“TradePMR has received some tailwinds from advisors concerned about the support they would receive post-acquisition and actively seeking alternatives,” she says. 

Bringing these individuals over shows that TradePMR is not merely willing to win advisors who are frustrated by Schwab's technology, the company is willing to bolster its own technology, Asher says. 

 “TradePMR seems to not be just relying on the initial frustrations of advisors and is actively investing in platform development through these new hires in order to rival and surpass the tech offerings of the larger custodians.”

R. Scott Victoria, chief operating officer at TradePMR, says his firm sees technology development as a journey more than a destination.

"Collectively, [the new hires] bring knowledge and insight that will super-charge our operational excellence and further solidify our reputation as an industry leader in advisor technology,” he said in a statement. 

Doubling Down

TradePMR has signaled that it is no longer focused on the smallest of RIAs, but rather wants to win RIAs with more than $100 million.

Andrew Besheer, principal of Besheer Associates, says grabbing this level of talent will be meaningful to those RIAs. 

“They really understand who and what they are, and they're beefing themselves up in a way that will allow them to play for RIAs in the $100 million to $250 million range, effectively. They're bringing on folks from TDA with a lot of experience.”

The custodian currently counts about 350 RIAs – versus 1,370 at its high point back around 2018 – including some of the biggest consolidators. See: TradePMR is making RIAs sign a promise to succeed -- to good effect

It has brought aboard 75 wirehouse breakaways in the past couple of years – many in friendly transactions with Wells Fargo based on a referral deal dating back to 2011. 

Wells, the nation's third-largest bank, owns First Clearing, which is the custody and clearing capability behind TradePMR. 

“TradePMR is a great company and has grown a lot over the last five years," Bruckenstein says. 

The next level

TradePMR is building out its Fusion technology platform, which is set up to have a set of tools, streamlined account opening, account management and advanced trading capabilities. 

While it won't be the same as TD Ameritrade's Veo system, there are some similarities, Bruckenstein says. 

“They're looking to expand the Fusion platform, and they want to do more third party integrations, and they need to take their expertise to the next level. 

They're really putting together senior people with extensive experience at two of the most successful RIA custodians in the past, and it's pretty powerful,” he adds.