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Articles published 4/2011


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Randy Allison Hustvedt was looking for the right fit.

A big Boston rainmaker joins an RIA startup in New York with meteoric growth

Randy Hustvedt's hire to Evercore resumes hiring for ex-U.S. Trust CEO's fast-growing venture

April 29, 2011 at 5:46 AM

Mindy Diamond: In a perfect world, most advisors would say that they would love to have their own business, and control their destiny.  But it’s not a perfect world.

The six traits that separate successful independents from wirehouse denizens

Mindy Diamond's advice on how to see the realistic reflection in the mirror.

April 29, 2011 at 5:36 AM

Mindy Diamond: Right now, independence is what’s hot.

Why Mindy Diamond is morphing her firm away from pure wirehouse recruiting

Fees are still paid on contingency so a sit-down with her consultancy costs nothing

April 29, 2011 at 5:35 AM

Existing sites that list advisors aren't comprehensive, says Mike Alfred. "The average consumer won’t be able to go on line and find the person who took them to lunch that day.”

BrightScope's huge advisor database is first search-engine friendly way to connect consumers, advisors

Advisors can pay to add information, but disciplinary actions will show up

April 28, 2011 at 2:42 PM

Andrew Lin rejoined his old RIA firm after a stint at United Capital and wasted no time setting a new technological and strategic series of events in motion.

How five recent RIABiz articles caught readers' attention and what bigger stories they tell

If advisors blinked in the last two weeks, telling chapters of growth slipped by

April 28, 2011 at 1:18 PM

Chip Roame says wirehouses can overcome their tarnished brands but may stumble on their lack of a strategy.

10 things I learned at the fall 2010 Tiburon CEO Summit

Chip Roame puts wirehouses, new regulations and the economic downturn into perspective

April 27, 2011 at 3:26 PM

Aite's Sophie Schmitt: A lot of firms are looking to move from their GoldMines and their Rolodexes.

Aite Group report: CRM software industry wins RIA respect -- and dollars

Tops execs for Redtail and Junxure say growth likely to be much higher than report's estimates

April 27, 2011 at 2:21 PM

Scott Hanson, Skip Schweiss and Stuart DePina in New York
April 27, 2011 at 2:20 PM

Redtail's Brian McLaughlin: Are we on the same page, and are we ready to go with the ability to open a new account through Redtail?

TD Ameritrade brings software elite to Dallas for an API summit

The number three custodian its letting its technology partners put the final touches on a low-walled garden

April 26, 2011 at 2:49 PM

Dorie Rosenband: "Too often, I was approached by male brokers, much older than me, who felt it would be a perfect match for me to fold my business into theirs and work on growing their firms, in exchange for a cut only slightly above my wirehouse payout."

Dorie Rosenband's tough questions about being a woman broker led her to become an RIA

What are the most valuable skills for an investment advisor?

April 26, 2011 at 2:37 PM

Robert Martorana: Wirehouses are reinventing their advisor strategies and portfolio construction to gain a bigger slice of the wealth management business.

FRC report: Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, UBS, Wells Fargo are undergoing a radical transformation to a brighter future

Their power to bring institutional-level investing to mass affluent investors could give them the edge though observers have doubts

April 25, 2011 at 2:43 PM

Joe Wride: You can start with a 30,000-foot-view of a client’s situation and then select different reports.

Advisor Tested: eMoney's automation adds the biggest benefit; account aggregation still building

Web-based software available to clients; Sage Advisors plans to use the iPad to show off the capabilities

April 25, 2011 at 2:43 PM

Nick Georgis: Advisors get knocked like they’re not good business people. I don’t agree with that at all.

Schwab University is fast off the mark and its course selection is set to grow

RIA principals are pleased to be relieved of rote training tasks

April 22, 2011 at 5:42 AM

TD's Skip Schweiss: “We have advisor demand for it. We started offering it (to a small handful) and doing manual processing to make it work.”

TD Ameritrade beats Schwab to the punch with ETF option for retirement plans

Platform allows advisors to sell mutual fund and ETF capability

April 21, 2011 at 2:48 PM

Robert Rowe: "When we came on board within three months, we lost a $100 million portfolio because we couldn’t provide accurate performance capabilities. Right off the bat you’re absolutely dead."

Advisor sues Raymond James after he joins one RIA and forms another

Robert Rowe alleges he was misled into leaving Morgan Stanley with his 8-person team

April 21, 2011 at 1:53 PM

What did Lance Roberts do when 80 clients showed up in the studio? Used them to start an RIA

Streettalk Advisors aims to hit $1 Billion in AUM as it develops 50 more markets

Expansion plan includes finding two things in each new location: a radio market and a small RIA in need of a partner

April 20, 2011 at 2:34 PM

Wealth managers average 5.2 personnel per practice, compared to 4.0 in financial planning practices and 3.8 at investment planner practices. Firms must anticipate increasing labor costs in order to build a foothold among wealthier investors.

The RIA world according to Cerulli

How do you build a top practice? Pick the right model, specialize and focus on referrals, says broad study

April 20, 2011 at 2:27 PM

Robb Baldwin: They’re going to refer business to us… they get multiple inquiries of people that want to go RIA.

Wells Fargo now has a testing paw in the RIA stream

A deal between Trade-PMR and its clearing unit sets up interesting possibilities

April 19, 2011 at 2:15 PM

Frank Maiorano: “It’s like Intel inside. Our advantage is that your rebalancing and performance reporting will be part of the process without taking an additional step.”

Trust Company of America adds inexpensive Black Diamond technology -- in its own way

Certain advisors want hyper-customized performance reporting

April 19, 2011 at 11:17 AM

Richard Prout: We found TD to be really interested in the growth of our firm, and they put together an economic package that was superior to the Schwab package.

TD Ameritrade uses greater financial incentives to attract custody clients

Breakaways say they appreciate the economic boost and that it makes them feel welcome

April 18, 2011 at 2:10 PM

Tom Nally: It was a small network of folks and it was referrals; they’ll tell you who their friends are.

TD Ameritrade makes a clean sweep of five IBD reps in New England with about $1 billion of combined AUM

The five big Commonwealth advisors had some knowledge of each other but made their own decisions

April 18, 2011 at 1:57 PM

Sheryl Garrett:  “Given the funding issues currently facing the SEC, it may not get the resources to continue to regulate registered investment advisers. In that event, the Committee supports an alternative self-regulatory organization (SRO)."

Influential fiduciaries endorse bootstrapping advisory-industry SRO

Maria Elena Lagomasino and Harold Evensky among those giving nod to Mississippi law students

April 18, 2011 at 1:39 PM

If an army of bankers, brokers, accountants, insurance agents, and advisors can't bring your finances together, perhaps you need a general.

In a world of Schwab and Merrill, can the CFP Board use $36 million of ads to make planning sexy?

Goal is for consumers to see CFP mark as a Good Housekeeping seal of approval

April 15, 2011 at 2:56 PM

Scott Welch:  Madoff’s scheme wasn’t a hedge fund or an alternative investment, but hedge funds and alternative investments were vilified in its wake.

Buy alternative investments and get over Madoff, especially as interest rates threaten to rise: columnist

Regulated alternative investments -- aka mutual funds -- may cannibalize hedge funds

April 15, 2011 at 2:56 PM

Jim O’Shaughnessy says his company has been transitioning to a fee-based business since December 2006

Cerulli report: Specialized RIAs likely to win middle-market 401(k) plan battle

Gold-standard study shows fee-only adviser poised to take over

April 14, 2011 at 3:20 PM

Les Abromovitz: Resolving these issues at the firm level reduces the risk that someone will take their complaint to regulators.

Potential whistleblowers have little to lose and millions to gain with the SEC's reward system

Here's how to keep complaints from turning into tip-off phone calls

April 14, 2011 at 1:16 PM

Kevin Keller: We do not want to be a regulator. Our role is setting standards, and our role is most appropriate as it is.

(Updated) What’s behind the CFP Board’s big fee increase

'Category-killer' is in the eviable position of controlling a mark that many advisors think is essential

April 14, 2011 at 1:14 PM

Keith Mistretta: I didn’t like what I was seeing.

First Allied builds a bridge to potential Securities America defectors

San Diego IBD hires a talent in the Northeast from the embattled Omaha-based IBD

April 13, 2011 at 2:54 PM

State Street's Anthony Rochte: It’s OK if your client has other advisors, but you want to be the quarterback.

How some firms take on lead advisor role - and charge $100,000 a year for it

Research offers a clue to cope with breakdown of trust

April 13, 2011 at 2:54 PM

Brian Holmes: Client in the ultra high net worth (arena) are eager to refer.

How a $2 billion LA-based Schwab RIA doubled in size in five years with a laid-back California style

The John Hancock agents behind Signature believe they have cracked the code for near 100% retention

April 12, 2011 at 2:49 PM

Andrew Lin: All of the competitors are willing to roll up their sleeves but Tamarac didn’t say: We’re the best at everything.

The inside story of a giant RIA's move to Tamarac from Advent

The Seattle-based provider delivers Schwab PortfolioCenter, with a flair, to $2-billion Signature Estate

April 12, 2011 at 2:49 PM

NASSA's David Massey: “(The letter) was helpful news, which is unusual."

Deadline for state registration may have shifted; SEC's Robert Plaze offers clarity

It's nice, but it's not a rule, say compliance experts, regulators frustrated by amorphous situation

April 12, 2011 at 2:48 PM

Ric Edelman: His firm is in major expansion mode; production costs for show are $2 million.

Edelman joins ranks of TV RIAs with PBS show that will reach 20 million

Ken Fisher advises treading with care: 'You can’t find anyone in history that’s done a TV show and built a big money management firm'

April 11, 2011 at 2:51 PM

Tony Sirianni: “The big firms don’t see the value in (branch managers), which is crazy because that’s how they built themselves.”

Former MSSB exec powers up Washington Wealth Management as branch-manager franchise

RIA structured as an independent branch network rises in Virginia's horse country on Fidelity platform

April 11, 2011 at 2:42 PM


Lockdown in Washington may mean a short reprieve for advisors in the midst of exams, but the looming shutdown portends nothing good for the industry in general, say lawyers

Government shutdown may wallop SEC to the long-term detriment of RIAs

Audits on hiatus; fraudsters get more of a lead; most of the SEC on skeleton staff

April 8, 2011 at 10:31 PM

Craig Campbell: While it wasn’t easy to go independent after years in corporate America, he says, “that doesn’t mean it isn’t worthy of the effort. I definitely feel it’s been worthy of the effort.”

Why a senior Merrill Lynch advisor reluctantly broke away with ultra-affluent clients from the Texas oil patch

After getting the cold shoulder from his younger team members, independence with Wells Fargo's FiNet became attractive

April 8, 2011 at 1:45 PM

Ron Rhoades: We need to foster a next generation of leaders, armed with a greater knowledge.

Ron Rhoades is a lawyer and RIA with no back-down; the VA industry is finding that out in a hurry

The relationship began with a comment about the ineffectiveness of cosmetics on pigs

April 8, 2011 at 1:43 PM

Fidelity's Sanjiv Mirchandani sees a gray industry. Unless  younger advisors are recruited, he said, Gen Y clients will be under-served.

Fidelity's big advisor survey: Independent channel seen as most profitable after banner years for firm-switching

More clients come along for the ride; compliance fears keep some advisors from going independent; meanwhile, many refocus on top clients

April 7, 2011 at 1:58 PM

Mike McNamara: The numbers were staggering.

How Mike McNamara became a TD Ameritrade RIA and pruned his book in one move

The former Commonwealth advisor also had goals related to succession, compliance and a bigger bottom line

April 7, 2011 at 1:56 PM

State Street's Anthony Rochte: Some ETF managers are building true institutional-powered portfolios. Some have strong performance records and can take their solution and market it to other RIAs or investors.

Windhaven's success draws attention to emerging ETF managers

Aided by big companies like State Street and BlackRock, managers offer a leg up to RIAs seeking ETF strategies

April 6, 2011 at 2:44 PM

Dynasty's T. Patrick Mulvey: Charles Schwab is an important partner for Dynasty, and we believe Loren will make that partnership even stronger.

Schwab strengthens its hand against Fidelity via hot NY startup

Loren Morris's move from Schwab to Dynasty looks a bit like an arranged marriage

April 6, 2011 at 2:44 PM

Julie Cooling: In 2009, we were seeing (on average 120-150) RIAs (of all kinds) new per month and 160-280 per month in 2010.

Six things to know about how and where RIAs are growing

Wealth managers are being added at a high rate; California is king

April 5, 2011 at 2:03 PM

Thomas B. Lewis: A new protocol might exclude non-wirehouses.

Broker Protocol signings regain momentum amid new signs that the wirehouses could shut the breakaway portal

Uneasiness over garden leave at BoA; is it s harbinger of a crackdown or an isolated event?

April 5, 2011 at 2:02 PM

CEO Perry Blacher: There are about 80,000 mutual funds globally but there are tens of millions of people with much of the same tools, access to research and, most importantly, talent actively managing their own portfolios.

How Covestor got VC backing, became an RIA and is waving a fist at mutual fund giants

Unlike other such social networking efforts, Covestor's platform mingles amateur RIAs with professional money managers on its platform

April 4, 2011 at 2:35 PM


LInda Cena: Michigan's top RIA regulator, says one advisor recently told her, "Unless we have a direct connection with God, we’re not going to complete all the ADV forms."

(Updated) RIAs stumble at ADV form goal line

SEC's still mum about what will happen to procrastinators; states adopting laidback approach

April 4, 2011 at 2:05 PM

Rebecca Pomering: The next big growth hurdle we have in mind is $3 billion.

Advisor Spotlight: Moss Adams looks to branding for its next $2 billion of growth in RIA assets

How the West Coast firm revised its business model and went on a hiring spree

April 1, 2011 at 2:22 PM

A technology platform decision by Presidio's Paul Boscacci sparked a story that led the RIABiz rankings for March.
April 1, 2011 at 2:11 PM

David Lucas: They call it cross-selling, but it’s really pestering.

Why one Wells Fargo defector had no use for wirehouses, IBDs or the RIA model

David Lucas chose Raymond James for a supportive, collegial place to ply his commission-based trade

April 1, 2011 at 2:00 PM

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