Articles published 8/2018
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Trump exec order on 401(k)s cuts restriction for MEPs but Vestwell execs counsel caution
Under ERISA-permitted MEPs, advisors can lump small employers into giant plans that battle big firms which is fine til you read the small print
August 31, 2018 – 11:30 PM
Lisbeth Cherrington's long, strange career, fraught with regulatory actions, takes another bizarre turn over her latest FINRA sanction--lying about her age
Caught red-handed falsifying official records, the super-producer, who alleged homophobia and defamation at Morgan Stanley, is hit with $15,000 fine and 60-day suspension
August 30, 2018 – 4:15 AM
Twitter war pits Josh 'Downtown' Brown against Michael Kitces over hush-hush issue: Do RIA custodians face Merrill-Lynch style conflicts over advisor custody fees?
Brown criticizes Merrill Lynch for moving cash out of money market accounts into banks; Kitces says RIAs are complicit in something just as bad
August 29, 2018 – 1:49 AM
Greg Fleming dips into RIA gene pool with expected hire of Chris Dupuy to fish for elite wirehouse advisers in drive to reach $100 billion in UHNW assets
But can the CEO of Rockefeller Capital Management, a brand associated with a 19th century robber baron, convince 21st century tech magnates and next-gen middling millionaires to rub shoulders with Rockefellers... and Derek Jeter?
August 28, 2018 – 1:53 AM
Ex-Merrill exec Chris Dupuy makes exit from Focus Financial barely a month after IPO, leaves financial services after 34-year career; you won't believe what he's doing now
Dupuy was charged with expanding Focus Connections, a program designed to help elite wealth management teams transition from wirehouses to independence
August 25, 2018 – 10:06 PM
AssetMark CEO Charles Goldman grabs $5.7B Global Financial out from under rival Envestnet's nose, gets ex-Curian CEO and solidifies his firm's own future in the brutal TAMP game; but don't call it a roll-up
At number two in TAMP ranks, the Concord, Calif.-based TAMP with $46 billion bought Global Financial, whose CEO headed Curian in its growth years and got out well before its death
August 25, 2018 – 1:52 AM
David Bach rocks heavyweights with plan to leverage his media savvy for RIAs at his Topeka TAMP; 'Ridiculous' says Ken Fisher
Since it's launch AE Wealth has been geared to advisors between $10-million and $100-million in assets, but it's now targeting $200 million AUM firms.
August 22, 2018 – 10:12 PM
Vanguard Group launches its free-trading super desk of 1,800 ETFs; now only if clients won't abuse the privilege
The Malvern, Pa. giant risks creating a casino but its clients are expected to stay responsible and use free trades for dollar-cost averaging, rebalancing and harvesting losses for tax purposes
August 21, 2018 – 6:26 PM
How HighTower's executive shuffle, kicking CEO Elliot Weissbluth upstairs, opens door for new talent and paves way for Thomas Lee-fueled acquisitions splurge
Since Thomas H. Lee's $350 million February purchase of HighTower, the firm has sought ways to separate dealmaking and operational duties, but recruiting goes to outsourcer and M&A goes to Marc Cabezas.
August 20, 2018 – 7:57 PM
Chip's and Skip's 'Excellent Adventure' breaks RIA stereotypes, sheds risk aversion for 'gut-busting' Alaska hike; black bears, grizzlies and moose, oh my!
This year the Excellent Adventure crew assembled in Girdwood, Alaska for a trek up the Crow Pass Trail, which meanders through a rain forest inhabited by black bears, grizzly, and moose.
August 20, 2018 – 5:30 PM
Morningstar causes uproar with new study that upends everything RIAs assumed about retirement planning, and it all comes down to a number
In July, Morningstar published its latest retirement report, and its author David Blanchett poses tough questions, suggesting advisors risk “havoc” when predicting retirement. But the industry claims it's well prepared.
August 17, 2018 – 8:51 PM
Envestnet CEO Jud Bergman's FolioDynamix deal suddenly looks prescient as SMA-to-UMA market shift dings revenues, third-party asset managers
In Envestnet's latest Q2 earnings call, Jud Bergman revealed the transition from SMAs to UMAs will hit Envestnet and third-party asset managers who sell their SMA wares through Envestnet's platform. But UMA efficiencies may drive down costs faster than revenues fall, making the FolioDynamix purchase look shrewder than ever.
August 16, 2018 – 5:12 PM
Cresset cracks the family office market with a unique proposition; a suite of touchy-feely services that go beyond money management and help clients manage their lives
Cresset, guided by two savvy venture capitalists. is aiming to build the next-generation multi-family office on an independent, employee- and client-owned platform
August 15, 2018 – 4:42 PM
After RIA private equity hot-shot Genstar's $1.7 billion purchase of ugly duckling Cetera, Robert Moore plans to take on LPL--not with acquisitions, but a recruitment storm
Genstar bought a majority share in Cetera in July for a rumored $1.7 billion; now Genstar MD Tony Salewski and ex-LPL President and Cetera CEO Robert Moore have put ramping up the rep count front-and-center in their plans to turn the long-troubled IBD ugly duckling into a market giant at LPL's expense.
August 15, 2018 – 12:35 AM
Orion wins its 95th LPL advisor to show it's also advancing on Envestnet in the broker-dealer market and greening up its pastures
The Omaha, Neb.-based software maker just bagged $5-billion AUA OSJ, Independent Advisor Alliance
