Articles published 8/2021
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Charles Schwab & Co. jacks up mutual fund commissions 50% to $74.95 on retail investors to counter freeloading by Vanguard, Fidelity and Dodge & Cox funds -- but RIAs dodge the crossfire
The $7.6-trillion, Westlake, Texas, firm is also taking TD Ameritrade sell commissions to zero on mutual funds to harmonize with its own price schedule.
August 31, 2021 at 10:30 PM
Rather than canceling conferences, Orion and Morningstar are hiring doctors, medical staff for upcoming in-person events -- a very 2021 expense to curb COVID and the liability it represents
Having doctors and nurses is the crowning touch to form the smallest bubble possible, making attendees accountable and sparing no expense to avoid COVID superspreading.
August 27, 2021 at 10:26 PM
Almost sidetracked by 'bear market,' Chip Roame's and Skip Schweiss's hike-and-network group goes (mostly) long-only in Montana with an upsized group
The Tiburon CEO Summit off-shoot took a decade to grow from 13 aging white guys to a cavalcade of 61 men and women on the age spectrum who like a brutal challenge near a soft hotel bed -- and may represent a succession plan in the making.
August 26, 2021 at 7:38 PM
Riskalyze de-risks by cashing out investors at a $300-million-plus valuation to British mega-investor, but Aaron Klein is keeping big skin in the game
Early investors in the Auburn, Calif., risk software vendor are out and Hg Capital in, but the runaway market leader is facing new competitive risks from Morningstar, Orion and maybe BlackRock.
August 26, 2021 at 1:53 AM
The 2021 RIA event comeback collapses as FPA, 'Invest In Others' and T3 cancel in-person events, but WealthStack, Riskalyze and SALT won't be deterred
Demand and attendance are mostly high; hosts cite advisors with under-12 children as mostly the reason for balking but say sponsors never flinched.
August 24, 2021 at 11:27 PM
Addepar, Aperio and Bain ex-execs throw $5 million at startup that makes RIAs the quarterback of 'impact investing' endowments that also shelter taxable wealth of ultra-high-net-worth clients
The high-profile, for-profit investors join non-profit foundations to back the Newton, Mass., venture that makes RIAs the pivotal role in marrying charity and ESG, yielding immediate, giant tax deductions.
August 24, 2021 at 2:09 AM
Ray Dalio finally deigns to let RIAs allocate AUM to Bridgewater funds but with a coy approach; he'll use iCapital's software to sell through a virtual mystique boutique
After slowed flows and getting 'caught out' in the COVID crash, the $154-billion hedge-fund manager is going retail but only on its own online turf.
August 20, 2021 at 5:56 AM
Citing 100% increase in net new assets, Charles Schwab Corp. will give staff 5% 'special' pay raise that leaves one HR analyst doing a double-take
As talent wars rage in call center meccas like Dallas and business booms, the Westlake, Texas firm commits to a leap in overhead
August 20, 2021 at 12:01 AM
Envestnet just surpassed $5 trillion in assets and 108,000 advisors on its platform but profits were flatter as rising tide of inflows floats financial services boats
The Chicago-based amalgam of investments and software keeps growing the top line but reaping rewards from its semi-captive audience is still a work in progress
August 18, 2021 at 2:02 AM
Acorns sure seems ripe for Robinhood's picking now that there are zero degrees of separation post-Say Technologies deal, analysts say
Two Say Technologies co-founders happen to be Acorns brass, too, and the two business models complement each other immensely, close observers say
August 17, 2021 at 3:50 AM
Wealthfront cedes to four years of investors clamoring for crypto by taking on expensive third-party vendor that Betterment rules out
The Redwood City, Calif., robo-advisor turned a hard 'no' into a soft 'yes' by dealing with Grayscale and its 200 basis-point-plus fees, which its robo rival in NYC -- also without a crypto path -- finds ludicrous.
August 14, 2021 at 2:20 AM
Robinhood tilts business model toward 'social media capital' with purchase of Say Technologies, which has a Reddit-like chat function and proxy software to execute rebellions
The Menlo Park, Calif.-based broker phenom's $140-million purchase of the NYC-based startup gets young investors to collaborate in chat, show up with questions in Fortune 5000 c-suites and use proxies -- and even class-action suits -- like pitchforks
August 13, 2021 at 1:41 AM
CI Financial buys Budros to cinch $74 billion in U.S. assets--if pending deals close--but rival Focus Financial just surpassed $300 billion globally, its CEO says
The Toronto startup rollup has been dominant for about two years in RIA M&A, but Rudy Adolf says his value proposition is more multi-faceted.
August 11, 2021 at 3:12 AM
Vanguard Group shows up as 'alpha' disciple with two new fixed-income fund launches as it surpasses PIMCO's $2 trillion with ex-Goldman Sachs partner now calling the shots
The $8 trillion Malvern, Pa. manager owns beta investing, but RIAs are demanding higher income -- hence market timing and cherry picking -- from their fixed-income allocation.
August 10, 2021 at 11:46 PM
Some RIAs are gearing up to reopen in bigger, better offices-- some at 'Covid' rates--to go face-to-face with clients with one big caveat: vaccinations mandatory
Firms like Gratus Capital in Atlanta and Manhattan West in Los Angeles are taking a calculated risk after realizing 'spirit' is lacking in home offices over Zoom.
August 10, 2021 at 1:43 AM
Fidelity Investments' new model portfolio launch includes one with a 100/0 mix of stocks and bonds -- the most appealing of the bunch to RIAs
The $10.8 trillion firm in Boston launched its first models in 2018 and with 7,000 advisors using them it has adjusted allocations to reflect preferences it couldn't have foreseen
August 6, 2021 at 4:33 AM
Fisher Investments surpassed $100 billion in AUM in early 2019, contained the flames of a late-2019 PR crisis and has a legit shot at hitting $200 billion in AUM this year
Ken Fisher's 4,000-employee RIA took 40 years to manage $100 billion in assets, hit a speed bump, then got back to business.
August 4, 2021 at 4:39 AM
Morningstar stomps into the 'risk score' game with big weapons, miniscule market share and 'love' from Aaron Klein
The Chicago manager of $244 billion -- and ratings whiz -- will de-nerdify FinaMetrica, use portfolio-side data and push out risk software to 180,000 desktops-- all for free
August 3, 2021 at 2:40 AM
American Express slides back into the financial planning game 16 years after it sold off Ameriprise; expect success, experts say
AmEx is doing a U-turn to get back into financial planning now that competitors VISA and Mastercard are expressing an interest in the business.
