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Articles published 11/2011


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Andrew Peddar: An overload of information and the speed at which it's delivered can lead to the inevitable paralysis by analysis for the investor.

Why technology is vital for RIAs looking to steady client nerves in stormy markets

Nov 30, 2011

A steady, clear and scalable flow of information can help keep investors bullish in a bear market


Catie Tobin: RBC intends to double its RIA assets from $10 billion to $20 billion by 2015.

A peek inside the rising RIA custodians fighting to overtake the Big Four

Nov 29, 2011

RBC, LPL, TCoA, Scottrade and National Advisors Trust are all pushing to gain the critical mass to get past also-ran status


Mike Golaszewski: I absolutely intend to stay connected to this industry.

After defecting from Schwab a year ago, Mike Golaszewski departs Pershing

Nov 28, 2011

The techie helped develop strategies and websites for both companies


Frank Pizzichillo: Helping build the organization was what I loved. It wasn't managing sales people. I liked building things from scratch.

Fidelity veteran Frank Pizzichillo leaves MarketCounsel to join Genworth

Nov 28, 2011

In his new role, the Fidelity veteran will be back in advisors' offices advising them on how to grow their businesses


Dennis Gibb:  I hate what happened with a passion that matches yours.

One RIA in Seattle confronts Occupy Wall Street and writes a tough-love letter

Nov 25, 2011

Dennis Gibbs wants young, desperate, unemployed people to know that he's been in their shoes -- or worse -- and prevailed


Michael Chasnoff: We always say we are independent and we encourage Fidelity to continue to improve. This relationship can continue, but it's not a permanent relationship.

How one charmed referral set Michael Chasnoff on the path to $900 million of AUM

Nov 23, 2011

The power of PR and positive press proved to be the afterburners for Truepoint


Michael Branham: I'm passionate about getting the younger generation entrenched into the profession.

FPA chooses president-elect with the seasoning of young advisors in mind

Nov 23, 2011

Michael Branham says firms should set up medical-residency-like programs for young planners


Occupy Student Debt, a group seeking student loan reform, speaks out in Zuccotti Park as part of the OWS movemment.

RIABiz takes on Occupy Wall Street in New York and finds investors wanting answers

Nov 22, 2011

The big crowds have gone but a diverse and serious-minded subset of humanity is keeping the hard questions coming


Mike Byrnes: Another way to grow more quickly is to bring on staff, even if it is at an hourly rate.

NAPFA conference yields valuable nuggets of practice-management and marketing advice

Nov 22, 2011

A strategic embrace of sales can build your practice dramatically, was the message NAPFA's practice-management conference held in Brooklyn


David DeVoe: I have plans to scale this -- hopefully pretty aggressively.

David DeVoe, Schwab's RIA M&A chief, leaves to start his own shop

Nov 21, 2011

Nick Georgis is taking over the position as the former M&A czar launches ambitious venture


Scott Slater says a study by his firm, Schwab, shows that 88% of advisors are looking at an internal succession plan.

3 notable RIA happenings in the past week

Nov 21, 2011

CFP Board says it's changing hearts and minds of affluent Americans, studies find more advisors making succession plans and RIAs find clients can't get over their allergy to risk


Mike DiCenso: If there are no funds to be recovered from the fiduciary should something go wrong then there is no risk mitigation and protection.

Do 401(k) assets require all fiduciary care all the time?

Nov 18, 2011

Steve Winks and Mike DiCenso engage a in a back and forth with big ramifications


Bryan Olson: These funds are there to protect on the downside and there will be a lower kick on the upside in a stronger equity market.

Windhaven misses its 12-month benchmarks again but still hits asset-gathering mark

Nov 18, 2011

More advisors are using Schwab's ETF manager but some of them dislike the company's tactical approach


Britt Doyle: People with new money who are younger have an inherent distrust with big organizations.

West Coast breakaway drops UBS in favor of Sanctuary/Fortigent outsourcing

Nov 17, 2011

Two industry veterans strike out on their own after sudden-millionaires-to-be are cool to their Wall Street ties


Frank Reilly: San Diego is not New York, San Francisco or even L.A., so you have to look outside the box.

Saudi Arabia-fueled RIA adds an academic to its oil-rich mix

Nov 17, 2011

Reilly Financial Advisors has a longstanding pipeline to Saudi Arabia and now has a Yale Ph.D. on board as its chief economist


Neesha Hathi: It would be much simpler to say: Let's make Schwab Advisor Center the center of the universe.

What Neesha Hathi has to say about Schwab's oh-so-slow-but-steady technology initiative

Nov 16, 2011

The big custodian is more concerned with error-free melding than quick milestones -- but are competitors pulling ahead while Schwab tinkers?


Justin Berman on Goldman Sachs: When I first started there, we could do no wrong.

A Goldman Sachs advisor breaks away, sits out for 90 days and builds a $1-billion-plus RIA

Nov 15, 2011

Justin Berman's firm has thrived by investing his own family's money alongside that of clients


Shawn Tierney: BrightScope is big. But how well known are they among investors? It seems they're just big among the financial community.

Third-party advisor review sites vie for attention from investors and advisors

Nov 15, 2011

Paladin Registry will launch website next year aimed at luring investors on a daily basis


Brooke Southall: The RIA business needs to be alert to the danger of becoming something uncomfortably similar to the world of banks, brokerages and trust companies that it is trying to reinvent.

Nine threats to the RIA business and how they can be avoided

Nov 14, 2011

The fragmented 13,000-firm army is poised for great things but too much focus on expediency could bring its own problems


Les Abromovitz:  [Soft dollar use] may affect the best execution of securities transactions and might cause the client to pay more than the lowest-available commission.

RIAs need to take a hard look at their use of soft dollars

Nov 11, 2011

Some advisors are landing in hot water with the SEC


Russell Thornton: It builds more credibility and being more easily seen and heard online is probably a good thing.

Advisor Tested: Arkovi expands and archives a firm's online footprint

Nov 11, 2011

Social media tools archive your firm's posts, tweets and blogs and make sure they're all there when regulators pay a call


David Lindenbaum : Our platform is growing and is being used in a way that helps the largest clients of our RIAs

Schwab steals a big chunk of SMA market share from wirehouses, according to new Cerulli data

Nov 10, 2011

Taking Wells Fargo's No. 4 spot in the SMA pecking order, the San Francisco dark horse is looking to advance still further


Jack Waymire: Given a choice -- and most of the time investors are not given this choice -- how would they compensate advisors they are dependent on for specialized knowledge, advice, and services.

Should I dump my securities licenses?

Nov 10, 2011

The cons -- and mostly pros -- of moving from the the B-D to RIA or IAR model


A Wall Street thriller points up potential pitfalls for the RIA movement.

Wall Street thriller 'Margin Call' is a cautionary tale -- even for RIAs

Nov 9, 2011

How the cinematic fall of a mighty Lehman Bros.-like brokerage is relevant to the RIA movement


Dan Skiles is adding RedBlack and Total Rebalance Expert to the SSG repertoire. Even small RIAs can benefit, he says.

Volatile markets spark interest in rebalancing software - along with questions about how much is necessary

Nov 9, 2011

The Wall Street Journal publishes an article looking at rebalancing's efficacy and tops execs at Tamarac and RedBlack offer thoughts


Best practices panel share their award-winning strategies. L to R: Nick Georgis, Richard Stone, Peggy Ruhlin and Steve Samsom

What Schwab's best three RIAs for 2011 say about how they got there

Nov 8, 2011

Success stories achieved through unorthodox staffing strategies, growth plans and company culture


Brian Graff:  I didn't think of it as personal attacks.

Blog war breaks out between an RIA and ASPPA members

Nov 8, 2011

The tension starts with differing opinions about what represents fiduciary care of 403(b) investors


The 325-plus exhibiting firms connected with a sea of humanity in IMPACT's 2011 expo

An advertiser's-eye view of Schwab IMPACT and the mini-city of marketing it created

Nov 7, 2011

Three days of conversations, recycled swag and ancillary events


Marco Bitran: There is a lot of demand for alternatives in the space we're targeting—the RIA and broker-dealer space with high-net-worth clients.

AI Exchange to offer hedge fund-like investments in managed-account form through Schwab, Fidelity

Nov 7, 2011

The startup's platform offers advisors access to long-short strategies in managed-account form for investors with $100,000 minimums


David Selig: I’ve had numerous confidential conversations with other large RIAs who are considering buying themselves back from holding companies.

RIAs reveal their M&A war stories with 200 Schwab IMPACT attendees

Nov 7, 2011

Panelists discuss pitfalls to avoid if you're thinking of selling your RIA


Charles Schwab: We were pretty much in the ashes.

In a rare IMPACT appearance, Chuck Schwab predicts a 'significant turn' for the better

Nov 4, 2011

The famous founder is worried about Washington but expects a big market comeback


Chuck Schwab: The advisor's role today is as complicated as any time in my lifetime.

What Chuck Schwab's talk showed about his complex relationship with RIAs

Nov 4, 2011

The Schwab chair let loose a barrage of strong personal opinions yesterday; people mostly noted the candor


Bernie Clark: I don't know if you've noticed but around you an entire industry has been created...we're just getting started.

Bernie Clark and Tony Blair draw big crowds - but no protestors - at IMPACT

Nov 3, 2011

Here's how Bernie Clark rallies the troops. In what almost felt like a snub, Occupy San Francisco kept its distance



Joe Duran: They're basically an RIA inside a broker-dealer platform, which is not a good idea.

United Capital extracts a 40-employee, mega-growth team from LPL

Nov 2, 2011

The big strategic buyer gets assets of Peak Capital Investment Services, a $600-million firm that has grown 12-fold in less than a decade


Bill Gross: I think capitalism is at risk. It relies on growing consumption.

Bill Gross and Liz Ann Sonders are Dr. Gloom and Ms. (Fairly) Optimistic before Schwab IMPACT crowd

Nov 2, 2011

The PIMCO CIO goes so far as to envision the eventual 'end of capitalism' while Schwab's chief strategist sees underappreciated signs of a new boom


Nikki Chicotel: We're small and that's why we come here.

Nearly 3,800 attendees converge at Schwab IMPACT though power outages back East claim a few

Nov 2, 2011

Mixing, mingling and schmoozing as sharp-eyed student-advisor wannabees look on


Steve Ellisor:  I would like to send a clear message to the Garrett members who do not attend the retreat: You are missing the greatest benefit of membership, coming together once a year for the mentoring and validation.

Eavesdopping on the 11th Annual Garrett Planning Network Retreat

Nov 1, 2011

Why a daring-to-be-dull philosophy isn't and word that Garrett Investment Advisors, a master RIA, could really rock some RIA worlds


Jane Williams: Men are apt to jump around and women are apt to be more deliberate and committed to a certain position whether it's a stock or strategy.

Forget their reputation; rich women are more fearless investors than supposed

Nov 1, 2011

Top women RIAs share recent client experiences help corroborate the study's surpising findings


Jason Lahita: Even Netflix's CEO has not given up, and he's endured one of the worst PR and marketing debacles I've ever seen.

Your public relations horror story: It's not as grim as you think

Nov 1, 2011

News cycles are fleeting so pick your battles wisely


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