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Articles published 3/2019


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Sallie Krawcheck: It can be life-changing money. Retire-like-an-Instagram-influencer money. Get-your-hand-off-my-leg money.
March 30, 2019 at 5:49 PM

Cynthia Loh: 'Subscription-based pricing is second nature to many of us.'

Schwab hopes to blend into the subscription world of Netflix, Amazon and Apple by dumping asset-based fees and wooing millennials with Intelligent Portfolios for $30 a month

Ex-Betterment exec Cynthia Loh wins 'love' by making digital advice a $30 monthly ding regardless of assets citing its 'approachability'

March 29, 2019 at 1:02 AM

Raj Udeshi: Here's a seven-figure deal I just beat Blackrock on.

HiddenLevers' Raj Udeshi takes victory lap after nabbing Focus Financial account: 'We dropped a bomb in BlackRock's backyard;' But it's just a battle not the war, analysts say

The founder's analytics software firm had to beat out Aladdin but the reward is a doubling of assets and $1-million-plus contract

March 27, 2019 at 9:41 PM

Josh Brown: The majority of conferences are staged by journalistic enterprises, custodian brokerages, professional organizations, asset management firms or software companies. This is going to have a program created by advisors

Josh Brown launches by-and-for RIA event, Wealth/Stack, in Arizona but with pay-to-speak slots for sponsors

With partner Barry Ritholtz, he frontlines a technology-leaning gathering in Scottsdale but Inside ETFs owns/runs the event and vendors will gain their customary influence

March 26, 2019 at 12:02 AM

Frank Wilkinson: If you're a consulting client and paying less in fees, how are you not concerned that the OCIO clients who are [spending] more are getting preferential treatment?

Oisin's Bits: Vanguard aborts banking effort, because it was more fixated on beating BoA than being itself, an analyst says; SEI is killing it in the Mercer/Russell realm by competing with a retrofitted TAMP-thingy

The $5.3-billion Malvern, Pa. monster finds its investors want it to stick to investing, not checking accounts and the Oaks, Pa. TAMP leader gets upmarket with no-conflict pitch and product fit and

March 22, 2019 at 11:22 PM

Porter Gale was the marketing guru that took Virgin America from challenger to up-market darling, but can she repeat the trick at Personal Capital?

With IPO clock at 10-years and ticking, Personal Capital makes two big, out-of-character moves to go upmarket and downmarket

With $9 billion in assets, the Redwood City-based national RIA hired the ex-Virgin America CMO Porter Gale to make one brand investors associates with both the freebie tools and the full-priced financial advice its advisors provide mostly from call centers

March 22, 2019 at 7:55 PM

Bob Oros: We're going to look at firms we’ve historically looked at as large, and think they’re going to be the ones.

As Bob Oros-led HighTower reboots, it bags an ex-Goldman RIA, hires two, makes a CMO imminent, and clarifies mission

The new CEO will need to somehow weave together the debris of the first roll-up run and the new one to the satisfaction of RIAs and the hundreds of people already inside the HighTower umbrella

March 20, 2019 at 11:32 PM

Massachusetts regulator William Galvin's reputation precedes him in taking a look at Fidelity's 'infrastructure' fee.

Fidelity's 2016 'secret' fee fix for 'broken' 401(k) business model may spark fresh state and federal 401(k) crackdown on heels of investor civil suits

The DOL, William Galvin and a class action hang over the Boston 401(k) king's 15-basis-point fee, but experts think Fidelity -- its squirrel-y disclosure aside-- can fight the charges

March 18, 2019 at 9:28 PM

Bob Curtis finally sold out to corporate interests after years of holding the line -- but financial planning's shift to a data game may have left little choice.

It took years to woo Bob Curtis to sell MoneyGuidePro but what Envestnet gets for its patience seem plenty worth it -- for both

The Fidelity-eMoney combination was a big success but a Yodlee-MGP pairing could turn the tide in the battle for the advisor desktop. Just don't call it 'competition'

March 16, 2019 at 2:04 AM

Jud Bergman: 'We need to own it rather than rent it. We need the code base.'

A perfect storm of factors -- including 'code' and 'annuities' -- made Jud Bergman pay Bob Curtis $500 million for MoneyGuidePro, plus $30 million to keep the MGP crew around a few more years

MoneyGuidePro's growth rate is declining, it's only '5% accretive' and Envestnet is already fully integrated, but unless the price got paid, the broader network was out in the cold

March 15, 2019 at 12:55 AM

BNY Mellon CEO Charles Scharf has a catbird seat for viewing the success of the RIA business

BNY Mellon's new CEO is an RIA fan, and Pershing Advisor Solutions made a big personnel move to reflect it

Charles Scharf loosened the Pershing purse strings for Mark Tibergien who created 'head of platforms' position for Christina Townsend

March 12, 2019 at 10:14 PM

Bob Guillocheau: [This] most certainly isn’t a climb-down; to the contrary, I’d say that it reflects our existing owners’ bullishness.

After $2-billion asking price for Ascensus gets no bites, Genstar and Aquiline opt to sell 25% stake to juice roll-up kitty

Atlas Merchant Capital and GIC are the new financiers but the capital raise suggests inorganic growth is still Plan A

March 11, 2019 at 6:39 PM

Adam Birenbaum (left) is already rolling up Alex Pott's longtime TAMP clientele in the months following their merger.

Rudy Adolf's Buckingham meal ticket looks golden after the $35-billion RIA/TAMP absorbs Dan Goldie's $1 billion Loring Ward book and margins leap from 25 basis points to more like 70

The New York-based roll-up's gain is offshoot of Loring Ward deal where Goldie is the biggest client but was too big to buy until Focus capital could be tapped

March 9, 2019 at 3:28 AM

Andy Sieg, head of Merrill's 14,800 advisors is overhauling the training program

Bank of America's purge of 'Lynch' and 'U.S. Trust' neuters storied brands, but the revamped training of raw recruits under a new name is where the real eradication of broker culture is going down

The Charlotte, N.C. banking bruiser is reeling in the mega-producer model, perhaps paving the way for a more monumental shift in compensation toward a U.S> Trust, salary-and-bonus structure

March 8, 2019 at 6:05 PM

David Waddell: If I were sitting on the board of one of these [portfolio management] companies, I’d say ‘stop what you’re doing and go hit the phones.'

Schwab PortfolioCenter sale to Envestnet signals open season on 2,300 RIAs in the deal; Orion bags six; 'Why didn't Tamarac call me?' some ask

Whether you are Bridge, BlackDiamond, FinFolio or Morningstar, you are not sitting out this once-in-a-generation orphaning by a legacy giant of portfolio accounting software

March 7, 2019 at 1:59 AM

McKenzie Ebbesen: While I agreed with the general philosophy of investing and planning ... I did not agree with the 1% fee structure and the need to use mutual funds to justify the fee.

Famously and fiercely solo James Osborne somewhat sheepishly doubles headcount at Bason to two after the fatigue of saying 'no' wore on him

For seven years,RIA, flat-fee evangelist and blogger in Greenwood, Colo. doggedly stayed solo and got to $200 million but now he has McKenzie Ebbesen; and she shares his discomfort with 1% fees.

March 5, 2019 at 9:17 PM

Greg Bruce: I’m looking forward to expanding and strengthening Raymond James’ capabilities that provide support and services to RIA client firms.

Raymond James finally names new RIA chief and, yes, he is a Schwab veteran

The St. Petersburg, Fla. broker-dealer parted ways with Bill Van Law -- a Merrill Lynch veteran -- a year ago; now it has a real RIA veteran in Greg Bruce

March 4, 2019 at 11:54 PM

Tracy Ann Miller: Growing something is a lot more fun than selling something ... [but now] should I decide to sell, I don’t have to look very far for a potential buyer.

Headed by a newly hired HighTower gun, Third Seven roll-up nears $1B mark after adding the $140 million of Schwab exec-turned-RIA's practice without writing a check

Tracy Ann Miller sees succession nirvana and a favorable equity swap that make up for lost autonomy as she finds common ground with Amit Dogra

March 2, 2019 at 12:39 AM

Stephen Murphy: The brashness required to challenge an industry does not mix well with the rigidities of the regulated securities market ... When the hammer comes down, it will most likely be swift and heavy.

A 'perp walk' is still preferred but oddly unified SEC and FINRA signal that wild west days are over for robo-advisors and blockchain coins

The two regulators are working in "unison" to find a way to balance the regulation of 'digital assets' while ensuring firms' have the scope to innovate

March 1, 2019 at 11:42 PM

Angela Gingras: It’s incredibly exciting to be part of Dynasty’s ambitious business plan for expansion, while also advancing the success of top independent advisors utilizing the integrated turnkey asset management platform.

A near $16B TAMP grows in Tampa (no pun intended), as Dynasty Financial Partners taps local talent for first poach--21-year RayJay veteran Angela Gingras

New on the Tampa/St. Pete scene, Dynasty CEO, Shirl Penney is pushing the 50% of $32-billion in assets that generate strong revenues

March 1, 2019 at 1:40 AM

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