Articles published 5/2021
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Acorns is raising $565 million to Robinhood-ize itself; lately, that includes self-direction options and buying fintechs
Combining a SPAC IPO raise of $400 million and a $165-million hedge fund placement, the Irvine, Calif.-based robo-advisor needs a reboot after nearly a decade grew AUM to only about $5 billion
May 29, 2021 at 12:27 AM
Bill Crager buys Wall Street patience by detailing how Envestnet can rent out brainpower, deliver 'wellness' and be rewarded with revenues at an astounding 40 basis points higher
The CEO projects his Chicago outsourcer will pump out 10 million advisor action-items to 106,000 advisors, and it just hired a bevy of new executives to become more of a data company in the next five years.
May 27, 2021 at 9:30 PM
Vanguard Group's private equity retail push gets real as it launches buyer-beware products this summer to its brokerage accounts as prelude to selection for 'suitability' through its RIA
The $7.1 trillion Malvern, Pa., manager will first sell HarbourVest private shares with stern warnings before making alts part of Vanguard Personal Advisor Services portfolios
May 26, 2021 at 2:42 AM
Fidelity claims the sub-Robinhood segment for itself (among majors) by offering 13- to 17-year-old investors a parent-lite, zero-fee trading app to go with a neobank
The Boston giant -- after the success of Step and others -- is going after this largely virgin market with a hard-knocks philosophy of teaching and a seamless transition to a regular brokerage account when the teen turns 18
May 25, 2021 at 1:25 AM
Vanguard Group to open CFP-poaching battle front in Schwab-Fido-Pershing backyard, after its human RIA grows AUM 72% to $231 billion
The Malvern, Pa, manager of $7.5 trillion moves aggressively on Dallas metro area where its big rivals employ tens of thousands, showing Vanguard CEO Tim Buckley's faith in the RIA business model
May 21, 2021 at 2:30 AM
Jason Wenk raises $50 million from Vanguard Group and others, and Altruist may soon overtake Pershing's No. 3 RIA custodian spot, the Altruist founder asserts
The Los Angeles founder's disruption blitz involves a mobile-first Robinhood feel and a plug-and-play outsourcing one-stop-shop -- a sweet combination, except that it may not lure many big RIAs, analysts say.
May 20, 2021 at 3:22 AM
After a 20-fold leap in demand, Zoe Financial gets $10-million SoftBank-led round of hard VC dollars to stoke flames of digital romance between investing public and RIAs
The New York startup intended to raise $8 million, until SoftBank demanded a bigger slice of the pie and it saw more need to invest in a bigger future.
May 18, 2021 at 3:16 PM
RIAs are just not that into ESG investing -- at their peril, a new study says. That makes a leap: This is the one case where the customers -- both RIAs and their clients -- are wrong.
Cerulli is the latest to question RIAs for 'not fully understanding' ESG as an emerging megatrend, which could lead to a potential disconnect with Next Gen investors.
May 18, 2021 at 1:12 AM
Fidelity Investments flies past staggering $10T milestone, but Schwab, finally fully loaded with Q1 results from TDA merger, steals some of the Boston giant's thunder
The Boston and Westlake, Tex., companies are both on fire -- even showing surprising strength in the 'Robinhood' sector -- but Schwab's rollup of TD Ameritrade and USAA radically reduced a yawning gap
May 14, 2021 at 11:25 PM
Riskalyze blindsides Orion with full-scale attack on its new risk software unit, but Orion CEO Eric Clarke vows to take action if necessary to protect his brand
The Auburn, Calif., industry leader used a release, video and dedicated website to lash out at Orion's freshly acquired HiddenLevers unit, but a backlash may be brewing.
May 13, 2021 at 3:29 AM
Fidelity and Schwab oddly take opposite sides on issue critical to money market funds as an SEC, alarmed by systemic risks, puts NAVs under spotlight
The Boston and Westlake, Tex., providers disagree about whether the once sacred $1 net asset value should now float accross prime money market funds -- and potentially municipal money market funds.
May 10, 2021 at 5:28 PM
The story of how Ron Rhoades sold his RIA to (and joined) a local $3.7-billion AUM firm to plan succession and to keep nearly a full professor's schedule
The ageless Kentucky-based advisor and fiduciary advocate is 63, plans to work to 77 and accepts his mortality but he doesn't want to choose between the teaching he loves and advising the clients he cherishes.
May 7, 2021 at 9:56 PM
Focus Financial struggles to move 'needle' but reframes opportunity from 500 $1-billion RIAs to 1,000 practices
The RIA rollup's decelerating growth rate and limited acquisition capital are among an analyst's concerns
May 7, 2021 at 1:54 AM
AssetMark's AUM hits $78.9 billion to overtake SEI's in blowout quarter marred only by loss that traces in part to Charles Goldman cashing out pre-IPO grants upon exit
CEO Natalie Wolfsen starts her tenure with the Concord, Calif. firm on winning note albeit with $8.9 million of red ink and a stagnant share price
May 6, 2021 at 1:43 AM
After four-year turnaround effort, Angela Pecoraro finally sells Advicent to rollup ravenous InvestCloud to complete 'writing-on-the-wall' deal
Hired to execute a revamp of old-line NaviPlan and keep the Milwaukee firm's 140,000-advisor installed base, the Advicent CEO played to the LA-based platform's mandatory acquisition of financial planning software to add to its $4 trillion of AUA.
May 5, 2021 at 7:22 PM
Apex Clearing soared by every measure in 2021's first quarter, except one -- its $4.7-billion valuation held steady ahead of its anticipated IPO
The Dallas clearing firm's quarterly net income jumped 414%, with trades up 183%, though the firm disclosed little about its staying power.
May 4, 2021 at 2:04 AM
Ascensus sells for $3 billion after failing to draw buyers for one-third less in 2018, but faith and patience pay off with 50% premium on deal
Investors Genstar, Aquiline and Atlas sold Ascensus for a deal valued at $3 billion to rollup IPO-prep experts at Stone Point, according to reports.
