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Articles published 4/2022


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Since Schwab and Salesforce last reported comity, the CRM maker has come to literally tower over the former in San Francisco but they have to see eye to eye to compete with a re-energized CRM maker in Sacramento.

Schwab and Salesforce proclaim fresh RIA data solidarity two days after Orion buys Redtail with RIA CRM data nirvana the merger's implicit promise

Apr 29, 2022

The two uneasy downtown San Francisco neighbors promise better cooperation soon for RIAs as Eric Clarke and Brian McLaughlin find common cause, and TDA RIAs get set to become Schwab RIAs in 2022.


David Gray: There is growing interest from plan sponsors for vehicles that enable them to provide their employees access to digital assets in defined contribution plans.

Fidelity shrewdly side-steps DOL 's 401(k) crypto guidance--and ERISA -- to pioneer profit center by adding Bitcoin to plan menus, knowing plan sponsors are game to shoulder the liability if need be

Apr 29, 2022

The $12-trillion Boston firm shocked everyone with the timing of the 'seminal' move, the Labor Dept.'s tut-tutting 'guidance' not withstanding, after concluding Bitcoin's volatile days are behind it.


Vlad Tenev's storybook company is having to make more grownup choices.

Robinhood sheds 'layers' by laying off almost 9% of 3,800 staff as it seeks to also minimize burn rate of the $6 billion sitting on its balance sheet

Apr 27, 2022

CEO Vlad Tenev is retrenching at the Menlo Park, Calif., firm, hoping to recapture the 'focus' the company had as a 'lean' unit of 700 people.


Jeff DeMaso:  'Is there a net benefit to the credit card owners...not really.'

Vanguard, American Express INVEST deal hits a wall--of hard numbers--shattering its supposed value amid one glaring 'fine print' disclosure-- it’s a huge conflict of interest for Amex

Apr 26, 2022

The semi-confusing, higher-fee AmEx-Vanguard package is cheaper, clearer and better unbundled, an RIA calculates, yet may not be too outlandish for the one-stop convenience, a Morningstar analyst counters


Freddy Martino says Vanguard axing of crypto fund access relates to 'honing core priorities.'

RIABiz Skinny: Vanguard purges a last vestige of crypto from its platform • Onramp raises cash lifeline after CEO kerfuffle • Max Schatzow questions whether Cathie Wood gets SEC hall pass • Schwab shares correct on earnings then get re-walloped 'sorting'

Apr 23, 2022

Malvern, Pa. giant does opposite of hedge crypto • Onramp lives on despite Tyrone Ross off ramp • RIA blogger sees SEC double standard • Schwab's revenues and 'sorting' have Wall Street out of sorts.


Lawrence Calcano: 'The fact that other people haven't solved the problem... isn't that interesting. What's interesting is whether we think we can.'

Fresh off a $440 million raise, iCapital CEO Lawrence Calcano is ready to dream the impossible--to unite the alts industry in order to dominate it-- despite doubters who say it's a proven exercise in futility

Apr 22, 2022

Venture anchored by BlackRock, Blackstone, KKR, Apollo and the Carlyle Group may realize a dominant role by releasing a lingua franca to eradicate data protocol fragmentation.


Brian McLaughlin (far right, Eric Clarke far left, Corey Westphal middle at USC game where deal was proposed in 2019): 'My philosophy was blinders on.'

In blockbuster deal, Eric Clarke gets Brian McLaughlin to remove 'blinders' and sell Redtail to Orion after one football game and three years of 'unreturned text messages'

Apr 20, 2022

The Redtail CEO and founder will now be an Orion board member and major shareholder but arrived at his friend's vision and mindset at his own pace.


Walt Bettinger:  We took steps to help our clients navigate the mutual fund selection process more efficiently.

T. Rowe Price gains house brand status on Schwab's active fund platform and will pay up to $10-million yearly for the honor, but the deal is not without potential conflicts of interest

Apr 19, 2022

In today's earnings release, Schwab CEO Walt Bettinger talked up the arrangement, which rolled out in February as part of Schwab's 'Fund Finder,' after first announcing it for RIAs in December.


Sallie Krawcheck: When it started rolling, it was a force of nature, a f***ing force of nature.

After micro-fee subscriptions take off, Sallie Krawcheck pulls down $53 million in self-described B raise--then bites the hand of VCs that refuse to feed her chronically in-the-red company

Apr 15, 2022

The Ellevest CEO has a 3-million member community and $1.4 billion in AUM after eight years, but has had to make do while 98% of VC funds go to male-run companies, she asserts.



Bill Crager took CEO reins, moved the headquarters and may soon undo the IPO.

As take-private reports swirl, Envestnet moves Chicago headquarters to Berwyn, Pa. -- making Philly's Main Line a 'TAMP Central'

Apr 11, 2022

SEI, Brinker, Lockwood, and Envestnet all have headquarters near the new Berwyn, Pa., HQ -- all the better to watch each other and nab talent


Kurt MacAlpine: There's a celebratory feeling.

CI Financial's IPO could make the RIA M&A force next to unstoppable if it 'pops', but industry insiders see Focus Financial's stuck stock price as a 'tremendous headwind'

Apr 9, 2022

The Toronto firm already laps the RIA M&A field in deal flow and buzz but an IPO is only worth it if investors cooperate by seeing a much higher value separated from the old cash cow in Canada


Bonhill CEO Simon Stilwell

Simon Stilwell's grand plan to turn InvestmentNews into a live events juggernaut was one dive too deep for the 'wild swimmer;' he exited today amid continuing turmoil

Apr 8, 2022

UK Parent Bonhill PLC tersely announced Stilwell's departure 'with immediate effect' and stalled its latest earnings report, causing shares to plummet.


Matt Brown: Acquisitions are very much top of mind.

Matt Brown banks $100 million for CAIS but gives up 10% stake as urgency to buy capabilities begins to surpass how much they cost

Apr 7, 2022

As iCapital presses its advantage and Joe Lonsdale threatens to enter the market, the CAIS CEO is bootstrapping nothing as the alts market finally starts to explode after years of crying wolf.


David Solomon likes wealth management for its steady and predictable fees, and he's willing to pay transaction fees to get them.

After co-founder Rob Foregger departs NextCapital, the CEO turns around and sells the company to Goldman Sachs, which calls it 'another tool'

Apr 6, 2022

The Chicago 401(k) robo-advisor became a ‘plug-in’ versus a ‘platform,’ relegating it to a guest role, a pragmatic move, yet, perhaps, diminishing its destiny.


Tom O'Shea: '[The FidFolios launch] is really provocative, and, I would say, groundbreaking.'

Fidelity Investments strikes right back at Schwab with retail direct indexing that offers two apparent advantages -- it shaves $95,000 off the minimum and already is accepting assets

Apr 2, 2022

The Boston giant launches FidFolios today (Apr. 1) in a covering move that goes one better than Schwab with a radically lower barrier, though Schwab questions its utility in the real world.


Rick Wurst:  We’re able to lower the barriers to direct indexing for more investors and advisors.

Charles Schwab Corp. files SEC paperwork to make good on Rick Wurster push for investor revolution in mass customization --with 40 basis points of monetization

Apr 1, 2022

The Westlake, Texas broker-dealer and custodian of $8.5 trillion of AUA will cannibalize its own products and third-party partners but with eyes on a new value proposition.


Michael Sonnenshein: 'We really don’t feel that the SEC is doing everything they can to actually protect investors.'

Grayscale CEO's threatened lawsuit against the SEC, in case it rejects his firm's spot-Bitcoin ETF application, may be loaded with merit, especially if feds are withholding permission 'out of fear'

Apr 1, 2022

Michael Sonnenshein says the Securities and Exchange Commission isn't doing its job by letting investor cash languish in Grayscale Bitcoin Trust when an ETF is measureably better.


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