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Articles published 11/2022


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Jeffrey DeMaso: Expense ratios, even at Vanguard, are not a one-way street lower.

Vanguard Group steps up share-the-misery pricing to reduce revenue crunch, the first time since 2008-2009 that it jacked up more fund fees than it cut

Nov 29, 2022

The $6.7 trillion Malvern, Pa., giant was already edging away from share-the-love pricing before market-downturn, AUM jolts exacerbated the trend.


Eliza De Pardo: The catch is these are not ordinary circumstances.

RIAs need to race to zap COLAs, install incentives ahead of December performance reviews or face ramifications magnified by spiraling inflation and low morale

Nov 29, 2022

Paying staff too little, or too much, is always a risk, but 8% inflation and 20% dip in asset-based revenues from markets magnifies the downside potential of a cost-of-living default alienating talent or killing profits


Caesar Sengupta: AI is a buzzword, and often misused, however Arta uses tech and humans where appropriate.

Amid $90 million 'A' raise, 33 Google executives join two Google CEOs and 140 VC investors to launch 'kickass' robo, pitching AI, performance fees and private equity to accredited investors

Nov 24, 2022

Wealth technology experts have doubts that even a transplanted Google AI super brain will ask the correct right-brained questions, but they also see promise in a no-brainer VC distribution pipeline.


Jason Roberts: There were lessons learned during the last rulemaking that may expedite some of the drafting and/or avoiding.

The Labor Dept. will publish the proposed 'Biden' DOL Fiduciary Rule (likely) next week, it says, but today it de-fanged the Trump ESG prohibitions

Nov 23, 2022

Two years after President Biden took office, the federal agency is ready to unleash a centrist DOL rule that eviscerates Trump's influence but stops short of Obama's stringent proposal.


Josh Brown [right] with Jay Tini: We're not stopping.

Josh Brown and Barry Ritholtz want rock-star culture and rocketing growth in one RIA so they hired Jay Tini to manage the paradox

Nov 22, 2022

The dynamic New York City super-blogger duo now have a $2.8 billion AUM RIA and a 'massive fanbase' to cultivate, but they also foresee a need to rein in and retain


Headwinds and a rocking boat in late 2022 force RIA players to seek their balance.

Biz Briefs: Envestnet's sweet terms net $575 million after seeking $350 million ~ Ron Rhoades fights for right to write by tweet ~ InvestmentNews is packaged for sale ~ Chuck Schwab pays for red wave

Nov 19, 2022

Bill Crager is pulling out the stops and purse strings; Western Kentucky isn't all basketball; Charles 'Chuck' Schwab plunks more cash on GOP, and Sallie Krawcheck stumps for the Dems.



Kurt MacAlpine:  Post-IPO, the Canadian business will not fund any future U.S. acquisitions.

CI Financial will cut off U.S. RIA unit from Canadian cash infusions as part of 2023 IPO but with a giant parting gift -- total forgiveness of its substantial mountain of debt

Nov 17, 2022

The Toronto asset manager, drenched in $2.7 billion of debt, promises an imminent IPO of a larger-than-planned stake in its $126-billion AUM to pay off lenders.


Lauren Taylor Wolfe: Management and the board seem to have attempted Kabuki theater.

After Envestnet rebuffed an ESG hedge fund's demand for a board seat, the fund managers sent a shrill, scalding letter in retaliation to force the issue

Nov 16, 2022

The Berwyn, Pa., firm invited invective by allegedly stiff-arming the startup ESG fund's request, even though it holds a 7.2% stake in the company.


Brian Hamburger: SEC would now have the ability to search for all advisers that used that service provider and look for similar problems.

SEC crackdown on 'set-and-forget' advice alarms RIAs, who face new 'burdensome' and 'expensive' reporting to curb alleged 'conflicts of interest' over 'deceptive' outsourcing

Nov 15, 2022

The spike in RIAs outsourcing functions formerly kept in-house triggered the crackdown, but is the red tape worth it? advisors ask


Ritik Malhotra: We're heads down ... [for better software and lead gen].

Savvy raises fresh $11 million from VC backers to fuel an RIA-on-steroids craze that could scale the wall of doubt of RIA experts and eclipse robo-advisors

Nov 12, 2022

The unsolicited California cash bought into the New York City startup's vision and early success in attracting advisors, their assets and a disdain for legacy software inconveniences.


Bill Crager: We look forward to working closely with FNZ to provide scaled, streamlined, deeply connected experiences

Bill Crager reads the room and commandeers State Street's old RIA custody unit for Envestnet with FNZ deal

Nov 10, 2022

With sandbox rules out the window, Envestnet CEO will private label re-branded State Street Wealth Manager Services -- 'one of biggest long-term opportunities to date,' analyst writes


Bruce Miller: We want to acquire a large OSJ and with what it costs to borrow money now is very expensive

LPL Financial prepares to enter the 'OSJ' channel -- this time as an owner, headed by a former executive whose staff advises $40-billion

Nov 9, 2022

The Fort Mill, S.C.-based IBD may thread the needle with the OSJ purchase, though it will compete with other OSJs it serves


David Root: Schwab would never let Fidelity get too far ahead in any offering so as to lose business.

After Fidelity grabs huge slice of NTF market, Charles Schwab & Co. undercuts OneSource by creating a second NTF program where zero commissions apply to 930 mutual funds for half price

Nov 8, 2022

The Westlake, Texas broker will now take a 12- to 19-basis-point fee on the new (institutional no-transaction fee) INTF platform versus the 40-basis-point shellacking by OneSource.


Christopher Walters remains after activist investors convinced him they knew better.

After major activist arm-twisting, Blucora cashes out of software holding to double down on legacy H.D. Vest broker-dealer unit it bought seven years ago

Nov 4, 2022

The $73 billion AUM Dallas firm now has $720 million in cash to pay off debt and put toward turning the old Roger Ochs franchise into a world class wealth manager.


Bernie Clark: [The final integration] won't be without incident, unfortunately.

RIA recap: Bernie Clark promises to 'be there' for coming TDA-Schwab system snafus; Fidelity gets custody win; Vanguard dishes out big tax bill to investors

Nov 3, 2022

Schwab RIA chief petitions for 'patience' for coming merger inconveniences but 'repapering' is no culprit; Carrie Pomerantz gets Schwab board seat; Addepar wins $65 billion AUM contract.


Brad Genser: 'Advisors are also able to build a three times bigger book.'

Farther struts its startup magic and shows why a $375-million RIA can be worth $50 million -- by getting four advisors to bring books of business just to be part of the enterprise

Nov 2, 2022

The San Francisco firm claimed its software was at another level and now advisors are betting careers on it, though not of the UHNW variety imagined


David Solomon: 'It's not that by doing this that we're doing something dramatically different.'

Goldman Sachs fought the squid, but the squid won as CEO David Solomon puts the United Capital-Ayco RIA back under the control of house asset managers

Nov 1, 2022

Solomon acknowledges he's largely reunifying wealth management and asset management to regain synergies after trying to give the in-house RIA agency.


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