Articles published 12/2023
Headline
Publish date
2023 was great RIA year and nobody really noticed, setting up 2024 for a more visceral reap
Pushing toward $10 trillion on multiple rising tides -- and with much creative destruction sorted out -- the RIA channel, ethos and movement are succeeding quietly in plain sight
December 30, 2023 at 1:39 AM
Charles Schwab Corp. gets over 'hump' after furious bond rally takes bite out Schwab Bank's $19.6 billion in unrealized losses, though debt overhang could still take a decade to erase
The Westlake, Texas, brokerage's stock plunged 33% last Spring, but has clawed back as unrealized losses fall $4 billion on possibility of Fed rate cut in 2024.
December 28, 2023 at 2:01 AM
Christmas came early at Vestwell as it accepts $125 million of unsought capital; Lightspeed persisted for months, with an IPO already penciled-in as early as 2025
Lightspeed came out of nowhere, wanted in and Vestwell CEO Aaron Schumm liked the people and the money.
December 22, 2023 at 12:59 AM
Huatei Securities is ready to cash out of AssetMark, after it hits $100-billion of AUM and $2-billion in market cap, according to reports
The Chinese financial conglomerate may unload all of the $1.4-billion stake it bought for $768 million in 2016
December 21, 2023 at 4:18 AM
A canary in the coal mine, Amy Richardson left Charles Schwab & Co. for an RIA -- before the 2,000 layoffs -- now a robust job market is saving the Schwab diaspora, she says
The former Schwab director wants former colleagues to know life exists after Schwab and good job opportunities are plentiful in the financial services sector.
December 20, 2023 at 1:52 AM
Three 'RIA' executives headline $20-million VC raise to address an alts problem so annoying and tedious that existing alts players are cheering them on
Jason Wenk, Steve Lockshin and Marc Spilker know that Arch can can get alts administration of out of the shoebox and that high-flown 'alts' investors like Joe Lonsdale align.
December 19, 2023 at 3:01 AM
Joanna Rotenberg is departing Fidelity Investments after only two years, writing that she traveled 20,000 miles and successfully split her retail division into wealth and brokerage units
At her hire, analysts were adamant the head of Fidelity retail had 'big shoes to fill' to replace legendary Kathleen Murphy and her task of 'digitiizing' retail was no small ask
December 16, 2023 at 2:22 AM
Envestnet finally may dump Yodlee, says a Bloomberg report, but either way it remains a 'wasting' asset as regulators crack down, an analyst says
Former CEO Jud Bergman made daring move in 2015 with expensive Yodlee purchase to lift the outsourcer into the big leagues but has proven mostly to be an albatross, at least to earnings
December 15, 2023 at 2:18 AM
Addepar hits $2 trillion of RIA assets and $5 trillion of 'overseen' assets but still burns through $100 million annually for R&D, with an eye to $250 trillion of global consumer assets
The Mountain View, Calif. performance reporting software company claims it will now offer a warm shoulder to $100-million RIAs, though 'Big Three,' Orion, Tamarac and Black Diamond don't see them at that table right now, say industry experts.
December 14, 2023 at 3:25 AM
Left at the IPO altar once, Apex -- replete with two new TD Ameritrade RIA executives -- tries again to go public, but this time it's not counting on a SPAC partner
The Dallas reboot of Penson's clearing company wants to pay down $120 million in debt and continue to make its front end as robust as its back end.
December 13, 2023 at 1:50 AM
With Bitcoin soaring but mood still sour, SoFi shutters crypto unit and RIAs stay on sidelines, with SEC non-approval of ETFs as scapegoat
The San Francisco digital banking firm private-labeled Coinbase in 2019, but now the asset looks too risky because a misstep could harm bread-and-butter banking franchise.
December 12, 2023 at 3:13 AM
Amid crumbling 'factor' fund pricing power, Fidelity slashes factor ETF fees; low-factor-price Avantis soars to $30 billion in third year, and new study says factors are barely a factor in returns
Factor funds failed to outperform the S&P 500 over the last decade, and three out of six categories proved more volatile, according to a new study. Popularity creates a performance problem, analysts say.
December 8, 2023 at 10:55 AM
'Money dates' catch on as RIA advice concept for under 40 couples to save wracked marriages, but a therapist offers caveats because it's never all about the money
Advisors are going deep into their bag of tricks because money-related breakups are trending up; debt-ridden 'millennials' are caught between frozen salaries, high interest rates and their penchant for credit card spending.
December 7, 2023 at 4:19 AM
Vanguard's rampant re-engineering binge now includes handing off $60-billion AUA TAMP-like unit to Mercer
The $7.6-trillion, Malvern, Pa., asset manager did not explain the sale's purpose but alluded to challenges keeping pace with 'increasingly complex rules.
December 6, 2023 at 2:21 AM
Charles Schwab & Co. broker with $1 billion book breaks away 'amicably'
John Khoury spent 14 years in Schwab Chestnut Hill and Framingham branches; he will only keep his assets at Schwab
December 4, 2023 at 10:33 PM
After Charles Schwab Corp. shares soar 13% in three days, it files S-3 with SEC to sell shares -- a new liquidity option after debt raise and massive belt tightening
Since the March banking debacle, Schwab has borrowed billions but not sold equity; now it has a shelf registration in its back pocket as it shares climb from super lows
December 2, 2023 at 12:42 AM
New Cerulli study shows 'absolutely surprising' finding: Human advisors have drubbed the self-directed investing sector despite radical advances in DIY tools
The Cerulli findings have a caveat for humans -- that just-in-time advice to investors whose assets grow to $500,000 may be too late to win the account
