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RIABiz

Articles published 12/2010


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Paul Reilly: This acquisition reflects Raymond James’ growth strategy as we expand our already significant capital markets reach while adding to our strong private client presence in some key markets.

Raymond James adds 20 advisors, and their $1.9B of assets, as part of investment banking purchase

Dec 30, 2010

The Florida broker-dealer sees promise bringing Howe Barnes Hoefer & Arnett clients onto its wealth management platform


Elizabeth MacBride: Sometimes, we even get to hear the end of the story: an idea that has leaped from the online world to spur action.

Ideas born in the advisory world that flew far in 2010

Dec 30, 2010

How one conversation influenced NYC economic policy


Mark Hurley touched a nerve in 2010 by questioning the enterprise value of RIA practices.

The next 20 top stories and what they say about where the RIA business is headed

Dec 29, 2010

Big companies, big innovators, exclusive conferences and the 401(k) market riveted advisor attention


Dan Goldie (on left): This is why we did all the work. (Gordon Murray is seated on the right.)

Two DFA advisors win big book contract after 'Dying banker' article in NYTimes

Dec 28, 2010

Success continues to come, rapid-fire, and Dan Goldie gets help in his practice


RIAs happily got to the nuts and bolts issues of building their practices and a better industry in 2010

The top 20 RIABiz articles in 2010 and why they were so important to readers

Dec 27, 2010

Schwab, Fidelity, DFA, LPL, Envestnet and the 401(k) market dominated the headlines this year


My RIABiz office for the holiday season is right in this Portland, Maine district where retail sales are rebounding

RIABiz wishes you a relaxing holiday to rest up for an exciting New Year

Dec 24, 2010

It's slushy weather now but skies are expected to clear


Frederick Van Den Abbeel: We did benefit from Fidelity’s decision and it also introduced us to other Fidelity RIA firms which were not affected -- through referrals.

The emerging asset custodians rake in small RIAs

Dec 23, 2010

Demand comes from IBD reps, start-ups, breakaways and refugees from the big three custodians -- including a few advisors seeking to avoid a new Fidelity fee


Ron Rhoades' crystal ball extends to 2025 when Americans finally say 'uncle' to another 15 years of having brokers' interests go first.

Why a swing-and-miss on fiduciary standards will haunt us for decades

Dec 23, 2010

An ounce of good sense now could save the U.S. economy a pound of unnecessary pain downstream


Les Abromovitz: Recently, one RIA firm that I work with claimed to have created hundreds of unique solutions. Those kinds of claims invite a securities examiner to ask for proof that the firm’s solutions are truly out of the ordinary.

The marketing naughty and nice list

Dec 23, 2010

Catchwords and strategies likely to draw regulators' ire -- and others that pass anyone's test


Vivian Groman: Financial advisors are in a unique position to help clients through a divorce. The holidays offer an opportunity to show your clients that you care...

Why relying too heavily on a divorce attorney can be a bad financial planning move by clients

Dec 22, 2010

Counsel your clients to develop a full network of professionals whose advice they can tap as needed.


Skip Schweiss: RIAs are at full throttle, increasing spending on staffing, professional development and technology enhancements.

The RIA consensus heading into 2011: hire more and invest in more infrastructure

Dec 21, 2010

TD Ameritrade survey shows advisors have big concerns over regulatory changes



Charles Goldman: I’m still hungry to do more stuff.

Charles Goldman is seeking his game after tumult and a year of decompression

Dec 20, 2010

The former head of Schwab's and Fidelity's RIA units may land in an entrepreneurial venture


Melanie Senter Lubin: Advisors should get their ADV form ready to filed by March 31 and also make sure they know which states they’re going to need to file with.

Wondering whether to register with the states or the SEC? It's a moving target.

Dec 20, 2010

New York advisors still left to wonder who has power over them


Bernie Clark: An advisor coming to Schwab with alternative assets to custody needs to be able to provide some transparency.

Schwab leads effort to create industrywide solution for alternative assets

Dec 17, 2010

The San Francisco custodial giant is now working to recruit other members to DTCC innovation


Binney Wietlisbach: People here know if they introduce me as the boss’s daughter they will be in big, big trouble, because it really undermines your credibility.

Advisor spotlight: Haverford's president hits the Barron's list with the 'most unloved' strategy

Dec 17, 2010

Binney Wietlisbach wanted to be successful on her merits, not genetics. But the family business sucked her in.


Suresh Kumar may be the quiet force behind his company's Citigroup win as he puts finishing touches on NetX360, Pershing's fee and transactional platform

Pershing wins Citigroup account and will support its RIA referral network

Dec 16, 2010

The win is 'huge' and affirming of NetX360 because the account is big, branded and exclusive, analysts say


Steven Huxley: Whether or not it is possible to profit from this seasonality has been and will likely continue to be a debated question. Active managers who believe in market timing no doubt try to build seasonal factors into their models.

Should you Christmas-shop the market? It turns out there's a seasonality to finance, too

Dec 16, 2010

The last three months of the year historically bring the biggest market gains, but volatility remains high


Adam Antonaides: It’s a compentency that broker-dealers are going to have to deliver.

First Allied, LPL aim to sell customized 401(k) plans for the small business market

Dec 15, 2010

Adam Antoniades sees 'giant asset-gathering mechanism' building from investments in ERISA talent


Frank Braddock: I said we needed a robust trading platform and the best research. Look, losing the smarts of MSSB would hurt.

A Morgan Stanley Smith Barney breakaway stepped off the wirehouse carousel to keep in touch with his clients

Dec 15, 2010

A former radio star, Frank Braddock prides himself on being able to get to know people within the intimate orbit of money


The buzz at the TD Ameritrade booth was that Tony Blair, Britain's former prime minister, is schedule to speak at TD's annual conference to be held in San Diego.

Eavesdropping on the Women Advisors Forum: Rainmakers share their secrets. Hint: They revolve around finding a niche

Dec 14, 2010

Women at the top of the profession have learned to give each other the look: "Like ‘I’ve got your back, sister.’”


Shirl Penney: We wanted [the company] built to last rather than built to flip.

What exactly is Dynasty Financial Partners and why is the Smith Barney execs' startup gaining so much attention?

Dec 13, 2010

Some combination of a bold business model, powerful backers and good PR -- lawsuit aside -- made for a good break out of the gate


Fred St Laurent: As a small business owner, how many mistakes can you afford to make?

The hidden dangers of hiring a laid-off Merrill broker

Dec 13, 2010

Who you bring on board says volumes about your firm's brand


Bank of America is trying to stop a giant private banker from waltzing away with $5.9 billion.

Bank of America throws a legal wrench at big wealth management start-up

Dec 10, 2010

U.S. Trust breakaway team headed by Mike Brown says it followed Protocol as it seeks quick transfer of $5.9 billion of assets


SEC headquarters has seen plenty of traffic lately, as companies and lobbying groups send execs aiming to influence a pending report on advisor oversight.

Most RIAs prefer to pay money for SEC exams now than pay in blood later under an SRO

Dec 10, 2010

TD Ameritrade survey comes as resistance to FINRA empowerment wells up from wide array of organizatioms


Sarah Libbey: Foundations can cost four times as much and offer fewer tax benefits than a donor-advised fund.

Fidelity Charitable courts advisor business -- and competes with Schwab -- by making alternative assets OK in its donor-advised fund

Dec 10, 2010

The move comes after Schwab enjoys success allowing advisors to use hedge funds and private equity


Bill Miller and Liz Ann Sonders said European debt and growing pains in China will drive money into U.S. equities.

Bill Miller: U.S. stocks will go 15% higher in 2011 thanks partly to tax cuts and cash-fat banks

Dec 9, 2010

Thomson Reuters uses advisor conference to offer a glimpse at a new wealth management system: Prism


Tawn Jacobs: It’s so cool to do these Roth conversions where people don’t owe anything at all.

A tide of Roth conversions sweeps through the advisory business this month

Dec 9, 2010

The Bush tax-cut compromise is changing calculations, again


Maggie Serravalli is stamping out bifurcation in her new role as Fidelity's service czar.

Fidelity unveils latest effort to make its advisor-servicing silos work as a single unit for hybrids

Dec 8, 2010

Pershing still believes it has an edge in seamless service because of NetX360


Rob Isbitts: Certain categories, such as Equity Precious Metals and China Region, now boast 5-year returns that make you wonder if they can maintain the pace.

Six things to know about the winners and losers in November’s market

Dec 8, 2010

Morningstar data: The market only eked out a gain, but some fund categories like natural resources stood out. Meanwhile, Europe stock funds got walloped.



Another new Protocol member: Tony Fiorillo aims to close an acquisition that will quadruple the size of his firm in the first quarter.

Two IBDs aiming to add a combined 300-400 advisors in next several years join Broker Protocol

Dec 7, 2010

Geographic expansion on tap for one; the other now looks to wirehouses for recruiting


California may be the land of milk and honey, but its RIA registration bureaucracy is notoriously slow. Let us know what's happening in your state.

The biggest questions about the switch to state oversight: You tell us

Dec 7, 2010

RIABiz posts its first reader survey on an issue affecting a massive number of RIAs


Jonathan Heck: The Axys software might as well be an entirely separate business and it’s in run-off mode.

Advent Software is squandering its market leadership by keeping focus on Axys, according to a hedge fund analyst's report

Dec 6, 2010

The San Francisco-based leader is slow to react with new technology, web-based solutions, pricing, and ease of upgrades and integration, the report says


Barnaby Levin: When Morgan Stanley bought Smith Barney, their priority was to integrate platforms.

Inside the mind of one recent Morgan Stanley Smith Barney breakaway who landed at HighTower

Dec 6, 2010

Barnaby Levin chafed at how the wirehouse restricted the way he could serve a client list made up of top execs at start-ups


A boy's complaint about change prompted Elizabeth MacBride to look into the accounting at a volunteer event.

DC Current: What The Diary of a Wimpy Kid, a penny and a book fair have to say about women and money.

Dec 3, 2010

Plus, a couple of important stories RIAs may have missed over the holidays about the end-game of fiduciary lobbying


Mike Papedis: Elliot [Weissbluth CEO of HighTower] and I have been all over the country and getting sleep-deprived.

HighTower hires top recruiters from Schwab and LPL to help populate five new offices

Dec 3, 2010

Explosive West Coast growth -- including new offices in Portland, Scottsdale, LA and San Diego -- coupled with openings in Washington DC and Boston demands hiring more recruiters for more bandwidth


Marty Durbin: We said, ‘Never again do we want our motives called into question, and here’s how we’re going to do that.’

First Command's Marty Durbin retires -- well after his scandalized IBD went RIA to rehab its image

Dec 2, 2010

A third of of the Texas-based firm's reps had to leave but it now has $18 billion of AUM



Ron Rhoades: From a review of the academic literature, it appears that relatively few investment strategies, as to the design of portfolios for individual clients, withstand academic scrutiny.

One-Man Think Tank: With even governments abandoning pension plans, investors are being tossed to the fee-hungry wolves

Dec 2, 2010

Disclosures don't deal with the psychological issues of risk aversion, overconfidence, and cognitive dissonance.


Tom Orecchio: We wanted to get divorced before we got married.

Two big RIAs will merge to form an East Coast powerhouse

Dec 1, 2010

Back Bay Financial and Modera Wealth Management straddle Boston and New Jersey with assets nearing $1 billion


Surfer's Paradise: In a Gold Coast setting, FPA Australia embraces risky reforms.

Eavesdropping on FPA Australia: The group is booting big-companies and pushing advisors hard to earn their CFPs

Dec 1, 2010

A mirror on the other side of the planet doesn't always reflect well on the United States



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