Articles published 10/2014
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Betterment's bad-news play at getting in good with RIAs and investors
The NYC-based auto-advisor will flash tax ramifications at investors as they test drive trades
October 30, 2014 at 11:44 PM
The second-largest 401(k) provider drops 'Great-West' for 'Empower'
The name chosen for the second-largest retirement firm hits a mark but may face the challenge of seeming jargony
October 30, 2014 at 6:44 PM
Grand thoughts at the NYC Grand Central Hyatt from Fidelity Investments and RIAs
Part rally, part book launch, the Boston-based custodian rolled into NYC for the last gig of a whistle-stop tour
October 30, 2014 at 6:11 PM
Can Schwab, six years late to the robo party, 'freeze the market', catch up and blow doors?
The potential is awesome but the San Francisco giant is currently generating PR for an offering that does not yet have a launch date
October 29, 2014 at 8:22 PM
Wealthfront responds with force to Schwab CEO's robo announcement
The Silicon Valley-based auto-advice leader stokes its aura of invincibility by raising $64-million that it won't need anytime soon
October 28, 2014 at 7:49 PM
'Paradigm shift' in 401(k) flows opens the DOL door for annuities in 401(k) plans and RIAs are split
In the wake of DOL and Treasury rulings, some fiduciaries, certainly not all, seem willing to give the oft-reviled instruments a chance
October 28, 2014 at 6:27 PM
Barron's: David Zier's death takes another tragic twist
The Convergent executive's death was likely a suicide related to non-Convergent money managed for family and friends by Zier in a 'personal account'
October 25, 2014 at 9:58 PM
The RIA business mourns the death of David Zier
The chief executive of Convergent Wealth Advisors was only 44
October 25, 2014 at 1:52 AM
Charles Goldman rolls up a TAMP that handles clients with concentrated equity positions and 401(k) accounts
The AssetMark deal adds $1.7 billion and 600 advisor-clients
October 24, 2014 at 1:03 PM
The backstory of how a Merrill UHNW team found love in the time of U-5 -- but not with an RIA
Recruiters are still a little baffled as to why the $2.5-billion firm skipped a chance to go independent with a 'compelling story' but chose the comfort of the familiar business model -- and an office of their own
October 23, 2014 at 6:53 PM
LPL Financial shares hit rough patch on $18-million surprise as RIAs now represent the vast majority of the firm's business development
Wall Street dings the IBD for spiralling compliance costs but hybrid RIA assets are serious bright spot
October 23, 2014 at 3:44 AM
Zero Alpha Group fraternity adds a sister to its elite $14-billion DFA RIA club
The esteemed study contingent tapped Trisa Summers, an elementary school teacher by training who now leads a $1.7-billion RIA
October 22, 2014 at 1:05 PM
How Mariner Holdings is angling to become a $3-billion 401(k) company overnight by co-opting a local SageView office
The $40-billion RIA/asset manager plans to combine $2 billion from Randy Long's RIA to $1 billion of existing 401(k) assets
October 21, 2014 at 11:39 PM
Schwab phones (at least some) Private Client customers to advise dumping PIMCO Total Return fund
Funds under Schwab discretion exited the Bill Gross fund three weeks ago
October 21, 2014 at 12:07 AM
How Abby Johnson won the hearts of mega-RIA clients in advance of taking the CEO spot at Fidelity Investments
It wasn't what Ned Johnson's daughter said; she mostly let her ears do the talking
October 20, 2014 at 5:52 PM
Why unconstrained bond fund skepticism is justified (think 2008, not 2013) and why RIAs should say: None of the above
Brent Burns counter-dissects the Sanders Wommack vivisection of an article written by experts from LPL and Google
October 17, 2014 at 5:44 PM
Top 7 RIA takeaways, including some ouches, from Charles Schwab's earnings commentary
Windhaven's reverses are official, Schwab is minting advisors at its 'Wealth Academy' and the ETF 401(k) plan found just one taker but Schwab's asset growth is stellar
October 17, 2014 at 5:27 PM
What's behind the sudden exit of Voya's top 401(k) exec, Maliz Beams, and her replacement by the firm's CEO, Rod Martin
In post-IPO, post-rebranding mode, the No. 2 defined contribution company is open to big change in the face of 401(k) hyper-competition
October 16, 2014 at 3:10 AM
Fidelity and Betterment sign a deal with Steve Lockshin and Marty Bicknell as groomsmen at the altar
The RIA principals are distributing the online asset manager service to fellow RIAs, and Fidelity is quelling an uproar of demand from RIA clients for robo answers for the mass affluent
October 15, 2014 at 1:00 PM
What exactly is doable for an RIA in the 401(k) business?
Conflicting forces of change have made the question harder to answer but has sweetened the pot
October 15, 2014 at 3:45 AM
Ray-Jay RIA event produces how-I-did-it talks from four high-achieving RIAs
The confab also extruded real news on the St. Petersburg custodians' roll-out of an no-transaction-fee platform and its de-manualization of social media for RIAs
October 14, 2014 at 7:46 PM
After Merrill Lynch allegedly 'crippled' their careers, two advisors are prepping a big counterstroke, lawyer says
FINRA may decide whether the wirehouse pulled the trigger too whimsically on its PBIG stars
October 14, 2014 at 5:39 PM
Why I respectfully reject the harsh take on unconstrained bond funds expressed by Google and LPL co-authors
An article by LPL's Adam Cohen and Google's Jingwei Lei in IMCA's publication flukily conicided with the revelation of Bill Gross's new job managing just such a fund
October 13, 2014 at 6:46 PM
How RIAs can compete with super-RIAs, robo-RIAs and the 'phono'- and faux-RIA market of 2015 and beyond
A transcript of the recent webinar includes thoughts from an RIA owner, a top RIA lawyer and RIABiz reporter
October 10, 2014 at 3:55 AM
Why ETF sponsors are ponying up big fees to get on Schwab's ETF OneSource in a bid for access to ticket-averse RIAs
Direxion hands over much of its management fee to Schwab, its CEO says, but the rewards are worth the sacrifice
October 9, 2014 at 6:25 PM
The very good news that RIAs can take away from the whole Bill Gross imbroglio
Without a say-what-he-wants-when-he-wants 70-year-old to hold to account, PIMCO is reduced to a robo status that makes many decisionmakers nervous
October 8, 2014 at 8:01 PM
How a Deloitte breakaway built a $3.8 billion RIA rapidly in Seattle -- and why those billions moved from Schwab to Fidelity as part of the story
Jon Jones took a year off to hike 35 countries with four kids but a vendor really made his patience run thin
October 7, 2014 at 11:52 PM
United Capital unveils its killer electronic app but boomer clients still say: Paper, please
The $10.5-billion RIA spent millions of technology but client habits may delay use of the electronic version
October 7, 2014 at 6:27 PM
Derek Bruton brings aboard two advisors seeking big back office after founder of their RIA, UHNW Kinko's founder, moves on
The former LPL executive's roll-up effort absorbs accounts of West Coast Asset Management, after it had challenges as a stand-alone RIA
October 6, 2014 at 8:59 PM
Josh Brown and Barry Ritholtz, masters of the financial Twitter/blogging universe, launch a robo effort to monetize their followers
The pair's modest RIA and immodest following could come catch fire with Upside as a partner
October 6, 2014 at 6:01 AM
After bagging Google, Wealthfront hires a Facebook web-traffic pied piper to manage mega-prospects knocking at the door
With 'bigger' deals than Google in the works, Alison Rosenthal hits the ground running -- fast -- at the online RIA
October 2, 2014 at 11:31 PM
How a hybrid RIA with nearly $2 billion in assets claimed a 10,000 square-foot Smith Barney redoubt
Queasy about wirehouse practices, Rich Dragotta broke away to LPL 11 years ago but missed the old brass, glass, mahogany bullpen
October 2, 2014 at 5:33 PM
How RIAs are managing the Bill Gross problem -- from firing his old PIMCO fund, to detailed letters to clients to taking a good look at Janus
Like all matters related to advice, advisors are determined to be decisive and articulate to clients
October 1, 2014 at 11:02 PM
Dan Seivert drops M&A data bombshell at his Dealmakers Summit to gasps
At his LA event, Dan Seivert revealed the thousands, yes, thousands of RIA deals going down this year despite limited activity from roll-ups
October 1, 2014 at 8:19 PM
How Janus CEO Richard Weil's Bill Gross hire completes the PIMCO-ization of the Denver equity shop
The Denver-based fund company now has its chairman, CEO and star manager seats filled by PIMCO alums