Articles published 2/2025
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Charles Schwab Corp. names 'head of digital assets' with no cryptocurrency chops but entrusted by inner circle to make big, critical decisions, fast
Joseph Vietri needs to in-source critical 'human capital,' then determine whether to private-label 'Coinbase' or 'go big' with in-house custody, and other picks and shovels of direct bitcoin ownership and performance reporting.
February 20, 2025 at 2:37 AM
Morningstar is shuttering 'Office' in 2026 and steering its orphaned RIAs to Black Diamond to get revenue cut in deal -- but Advyzon and Orion aren't planning to get cut out
The Chicago company finally got its RIA software into the cloud in 2018 but got out-invested by cloud-based rivals -- and now it's 'open season' on soon-to-be orphaned RIAs.
February 19, 2025 at 4:18 AM
ETF assets hit record $10.73 trillion after $90 billion net-new inflow last month; Vanguard accounts for 40% of total, clobbering iShares and bruising State Street -- with RIAs a clear catalyst
Active ETFs attracted net inflows of $44 billion, 110% better than January 2024, but giants with razor-thin margins still dominate a commodity market.
February 15, 2025 at 5:03 AM
ex-Merrill Lynch 'Smoothie' broker loses big in FINRA arbitration; his attorney calls reasoning 'tortured,' but pattern of 'bad behavior' may have tipped scales, other lawyers say
James 'Jim' Iannazzo faces fines, two-year ban on securities sales -- potentially a career killer -- but the case could ultimately hinge on an appeal... and politics.
February 14, 2025 at 1:46 AM
'RIA Reflections' went live today under ex-IN reporter Ryan Neal, who oversees the 'story-sharing platform' for Robinhood's RIA custody acquiree TradePMR
The new website will shun 'news' in favor of first-person essays from advisors to build a community through shared experiences.
February 13, 2025 at 3:04 AM
Bob Oros is out at Hightower -- for real this time -- with poached Ayco CEO, a Goldman Sachs partner, replacing him
Larry Restieri will become the Chicago rollup's next CEO after decades in Goldman Sachs' world and after Oros did 50 M&A deals.
February 11, 2025 at 9:36 PM
TD Bank is selling $15 billion of Schwab shares high, buying its own TD shares low, but killing the old (TD) Waterhouse goose that laid gold eggs
Toronto-Dominion bought Waterhouse Securities for about $525 million in 1996 and will cash out of a rolled-over position worth $15 billion at a near three-year Schwab high of $82 -- then buy its own struggling shares at about $60.
February 11, 2025 at 2:41 AM
Robinhood pushes back, with force, after CFTC's 'shocking and stunning' rejection of its 'contract' betting bid, after gleaning affirmation in review process
The feisty Menlo Park discount brokerage is expressing 'disappointment' in the 'outcome,' particularly because of regular affirming contact with the CFTC that proved illusory
February 8, 2025 at 3:54 AM
Robinhood is launching plain-vanilla robo-advisor, an RIA that allocates with algorithms, but walks back intent to use AI and will rely on human teams to pick investments
The Menlo Park, Calif. online broker filed an SEC ADV to launch an RIA 30 days after announcing deal to buy RIA custodian, TradePMR.
February 7, 2025 at 4:02 AM
RIAs fear broaching ESG topics with clients amid blowback, but 'do-the-right-thing' investments are still big business, Cerulli shows
A preference for ESG sees slight erosion among investors, from 48% to to 46%, but 49% don't want to own products that buy 'objectionable' companies.
February 6, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Vanguard's new CEO breaks record by zapping $350 million fund-expense, but 'raises the tension' managing brokerage, analyst says
Salim Ramji went big with micro-cuts on 87 fund fees but the average cut is just one basis point, the process is opaque, brokerage fees are rising and service and technology issues remain the real pain point, says Jeff De Maso.
February 5, 2025 at 3:49 AM
RIA CRM startup arrives -- it's free, AI-powered and unfettered by dubious features -- but 15 years after the Schwab 'Project C' goldrush can it make inroads against market giants Redtail, Wealthbox and Salesforce?
AdvisorCRM is serving six RIAs and brings the old Junxure promise of design-by-RIA to market; and, for now, no VCs are calling the shots.
February 4, 2025 at 3:03 AM
The long, long Addepar incubation is giving way to profits, a $3.25-billion valuation and a 'G' round of $250 million that co-founder Joe Lonsdale is helping to fund
The Mountain View, Calif., software maker, a cash burner since 2009 founding, will earn 'hundreds of millions' in 2025, which has investors piling in at the new valuation – a 62.5% increase in four years.
