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RIABiz

Articles published 11/2021


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Kaitlyn Caughlin: There is an opportunity for talented active managers to generate alpha in China’s large, but inefficient, equity market.

Vanguard Group reaches for more alpha and higher fees by filing to sell single-country 'China' fund and it likely ups its VPAS-related revenues in the bargain

After ending its physical presence in China, the Malvern, Pa. manager of $8.4-trillion is going headlong into the market with a new, 73-basis-point China fund that will be integrated into $260-billion AUM Vanguard Personal Advisor Services

November 30, 2021 at 11:35 PM

Dana D'Auria: 'Every basis point counts.'

Envestnet files to launch its first four ETFs and invents a category -- an active-and-passive approach it tried first with mutual funds

The Chicago outsourcer is hopping on half a channel lane to sell house-brand ETFs that may make nifty 'sleeves' for model portfolios.

November 30, 2021 at 2:21 AM

Mary Beth Storjohann is one of Abacus two new co-CEOs.

A $4.4-billion RIA in LA made a very 2021 decision to name two women, both 37, co-CEO for a very old-fashioned reason-- accelerated growth--following previous gender diversity moves

Abacus Wealth Partners has quadrupled its assets under management in six years in tangible correlation to its progressive hiring strategy

November 27, 2021 at 12:57 AM

Laurie Schultz: I know what it takes.

Riskalyze replaces Lori Hardwick with Laurie Schultz at board chair and publicly tells her -- and the RIA industry -- it's moved the goalposts to a $1-billion valuation

The Auburn, Calif., firm's new chair already took one risk software firm to unicorn status and promises to 'do what it takes.'

November 24, 2021 at 11:12 PM

Vlad Tenev: Investing isn’t a game, but must it be grim and difficult to understand?

Robinhood stock suffers sixth straight record low as its reverse 'fiduciary' conundrum goes unsolved, while CEO takes shots at 'gadflies' and eggheads

The Menlo Park, Calif., discount broker needs to put client interests first while making them feel like it's flouting authority

November 24, 2021 at 2:30 AM

Doug Fritz: 'I don't make cold calls. I have no prospect list.'

Doug Fritz's startup in Santa Cruz is a surfing safari that is beginning to make waves by providing billion-plus RIAs with software shock troops

The former Wells Fargo and First Republic wealth tech guy now has an F2 team of 20-plus scattered nationally for his outsourced chief technology officer business.

November 23, 2021 at 2:07 AM

Greg Friedman: We weren't looking for crazy.

Forgoing 'crazy' offers, Greg Friedman is -- yes, surprisingly -- selling 100% of Private Ocean to a roll-up that is part old Bronfman Rothschild and part NFP-owned Sontag Advisory

The Wealthspire rollup will jump to near $17 billion after adding $2.7 billion from the formerly acquisitive San Rafael, Calif. RIA whose founder can't wait to be an employee, again.

November 22, 2021 at 4:12 PM

Peter Mallouk: "This has the potential to be transformational."

Creative Planning goes 'transformational,' buying $110 billion in retirement assets and crashing the elite Edelman Financial Engines, CAPTRUST party of business model ambidexterity

Peter Mallouk's acquisition of Lockton and its big-company 401(k) business will double his Overland Park, Kan, staff and solidify its business model's rear flank

November 20, 2021 at 4:07 AM

Cynthia Galiano: We have big ambitions. Our long-term vision is to bring together key Morningstar capabilities.

Morningstar downloads SMArtX--off-loads APL--to reload its stumbling TAMP to take on Envestnet-Orion for enterprises and RIAs

The Chicago giant sits on 180,000 largely unmonetized desktops thanks to its 'Work Station' and 'Office' software, but its RIA TAMP assets are meager after having no UMA to compete.

November 19, 2021 at 4:25 AM

Andy Rachleff will try to sell his $25-billion robo-RIA for $1.5 billion, a report says

Wealthfront turns to Frank Quattrone to spur sale after RBC and SPAC deals fall through, say RIABiz sources, but reported $1.5 billion price may be bridge too far

Though buyers are interested in the Palo Alto, Calif. -headquartered robo, they may have balked at the price, which sources say pushes the envelope even in a hot market, but banker Catalyst will further test the market.

November 17, 2021 at 2:29 AM

Eliza De Pardo: There's a tendency when you love what you do, and you focus on it to have a bit of tunnel vision at times.

Michael Kitces asks Eliza De Pardo if the $1.5 million RIA revenue threshold is a wall that ends the honeymoon; Short (inconclusive) answer: Yes, but...

The New York City RIA consultant sugarcoats nothing and provides sweetly precise numbers, and stresses that money can't buy enthusiasm.

November 16, 2021 at 6:48 PM

Shannon Eusey: ''Beacon Pointe will have the opportunity to further invest in the business and continue to expand our footprint.'

KKR rewards Beacon Pointe with mega recap after the roll-up made the leap from $10 billion to $20 billion in AUM in 18 months

CEO Shannon Eusey's team will still hold 'over 50%' of firm but takes chips off the table after KKR infusion in her 2002-founded firm -- which launched a rollup as an adjunct in 2011.

November 16, 2021 at 1:58 AM

Eric Clarke: There’s not one feature of [BasisCode's] platform that an RIA doesn’t need or use.

Orion buys BasisCode to tame its own data tiger including HiddenLevers and the roiling IT trove of 2,200 RIAs with $1.7 trillion AUA

Orion CEO Eric Clarke purchase builds on a strategy of developing a data capability that helps his firm keep RIAs compliant and win enterprise deals head-to-head against Envestnet-Yodlee.

November 13, 2021 at 3:38 AM

Christine Shaw:  It's a very difficult emotional decision and it's 100% a lifestyle change.

InvestmentNews Publisher Christine Shaw departs on heels of top editor, leaving turn-around ace John French to pick up the pieces, but sale off the table, he says

Media consultant says the publication is 'a little chaotic,' but vows to shore up the masthead and keep the New York City brand intact.

November 12, 2021 at 5:25 AM

Amy Parvaneh: 'RIAs need to start embracing the unthinkable by transitioning some of their service offerings to a product.'

After an avalanche of AUM in 2020-2021, some RIAs are stretched thin on service bandwidth, but the answer is to begin 'productizing'

The word 'product' is anathema to RIAs but the open-ended promise of high touch service isn't sustainable for advisors, and it's also not ideal for the client

November 10, 2021 at 6:55 PM

Jon Cleborne: Vanguard has thoughtfully crafted this new active equity offer.

Brandishing 'better outcomes' and 'outperformance,' Vanguard Group announced today its five new high-conviction funds are ready for the investors using its $259-billion RIA

Citing 10-year, Lipper-tracked data, the $8-trillion Malvern, Pa., mammoth is making the funds exclusively available through Personal Advisor Services

November 10, 2021 at 12:32 AM

Peter Mallouk: Our inability to ever get our space right is proof that what's happening has been unexpected.

Peter Mallouk's two-year $50-billion AUM surge at his Kansas RIA exceeded even his expectations, causing him to hit the ceiling--literally--at his shiny office complex

Creative Planning jumped from $50 billion AUM to $100 billion of AUM and the CEO and owner says the firm added 350 people and is nearly out of space at its giant headquarters

November 8, 2021 at 11:24 PM

Kristin Lemkau: We are still nascent in providing video and phone-based advice to clients who prefer to be served that way all the time.

JPMorgan files ADV for launch of call-center RIA led by former Vanguard Group call center head with blunt disclosures about who gets to manage the assets

The New York City white-shoe wealth manager is finally branding mass market fiduciary advice from office space in Phoenix

November 4, 2021 at 6:28 PM

Walt Bettinger: We're getting close to a step function in terms of what RIAs and others can do for their clients to personalize investing.

Charles Schwab & Co. sets in motion monetization play for the ages to nudge zero-fee trading assets into fee-based accounts, a 'blurring' of lines between self-directed and advised assets

CEO Walt Bettinger has repeatedly trumpeted next year's rollout of proprietary direct indexing as a sort of killer app that wins index and DIY assets alike

November 4, 2021 at 2:30 AM

Aaron Schumm: This is a huge edge and leapfrog for us.

Vestwell does creative deal to buy BNY Mellon's $20 billion workplace savings unit and 'leapfrog' beyond 401(k)s

The Aaron Schumm-led 2016 startup pays stock and agrees to vendor terms for Sumday to tackle high-headache, high-potential business of employer-sponsored IRA’s, 529’s, ABLE programs and Health Savings Accounts.

November 2, 2021 at 8:57 PM

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