Articles published 4/2025
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Top federal regulator floats putting 'mid-size' RIAs -- possibly up to $1 billion in AUM -- under sole state purview, and Adrienne Gurley provides insights in an RIABiz Q&A
Commissioner Mark Uyeda dropped the bomb on April 8 and Gurley, a former SEC senior counsel, offered to answer questions about serious practical ramifications.
April 24, 2025 at 1:46 AM
Altruist wins 'unsolicited' $152-million raise, including capital from Salesforce, which is midstream 'very deep integration' signalling shift to $1-billion-plus RIAs
The Culver City custodian now has 20-plus $1-billion-plus RIAs and average size is 43% larger as integrations with Orion, Advyzon and Tamarac lay groundwork to tackle Schwab and Fidelity
April 23, 2025 at 2:06 AM
Robinhood's surefire 'RIA' play -- custody and robo-advice -- just got shakier as its 'betting' ambitions go full bore and eight states (blue and red) throw up resistance
'DNA' and rule issues are real but legal sources say Congress could soon make the firm's gambling foray a moot point.
April 22, 2025 at 2:24 AM
Rick Wurster puts hard(er) date on Schwab spot bitcoin launch, after key hire and 400% surge in visits to its 'crypto site,' but isn't pulling down crypto red flags quite yet
The Schwab CEO expects house 'spot' trading by mid-April 2026, though Schwab's site starkly warns crypto has no 'inherent value.'
April 19, 2025 at 3:39 AM
Vanguard's deal with Blackstone follows its bleak, almost black, market prognosis • SSGA launches another 'Apollo' product, sans Apollo brand • SEC OKs 'green' exchange • Senators call out Trump 'fraud' in letter to new SEC chair
Recession signals grow • Confirmed as chair, SEC's Atkins faces Trump decision • InvestCloud nabs ex-Envestnet COO • Tibergien protégé lands at RIA • RIAs still see direct-indexing as a solution hunting for a problem • Software companies hire & launch.
April 18, 2025 at 2:26 AM
Charles Schwab Corp. buys stake in Wealth.com and became latest of Big Three to chase the $90-trillion-dollar asset hand-off
Aging high-net-worth investors starting to seek answers about last, big transfer hold lion's share of Westlake, Texas, brokerage's $10 trillion in assets -- a place where Vanguard and Fidelity have made recent moves, too
April 17, 2025 at 3:21 AM
Vanguard and Blackstone disclose joint 'initiative' to bring alts to mass investors after private 'talks' leak months ahead of planned news release
The 'culture clash' collaboration of the kings of two different markets could be a good high-net-worth retail strategy for each -- but they have serious stuff to work out.
April 16, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Goldman Sachs CEO's taste for sleek private jets runs into flak as cost cutting sweeps the bank and shareholder advocates oppose $80 million retention bonuses each for two top executives
David Solomon jets around the world -- and to his luxury Bahamas retreat -- on a $70 million Gulfstream G650ER, one of two Goldman private planes.
April 15, 2025 at 12:04 AM
Chuck Schwab stands at Trump's side (literally) and wins President's praise for supporting policies amid tariff fallout, while Schwab's chief investment strategist raises red flags
Schwab co-chair intersects with Trump on policy, business [and golf,] while the company's chief investment officer Liz Ann Sonders has little good to say about government policies right now
April 12, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Schwab finally launches alts to retail investors with $5 million, five years after initial iCapital deal, but just seven days before its CEO faces Wall Street
The Westlake, Texas brokerage expresses urgency because 66% of retail assets are now high-net-worth -- with more than a million millionaires.
April 11, 2025 at 1:33 AM
Never mind near 10% S&P 500 snapback, the Trump tariff war baked in 'enormous wealth destruction,' and it's hardly 'over,' asset managers say
Today is so much better than yesterday after stocks rallied on a tariff 'pause,' but it is still a very bad situation; the damage assessment is just starting.
April 10, 2025 at 2:34 AM
BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard show swagger, unity and 'smell blood' as they fire back at charges they perniciously colluded to advance ESG goals
Shifting political winds may cause three asset managers with $26.72 trillion to 'go for the jugular,' Wall Street attorney says; not so fast, says a second securities attorney, 'There's a smoking gun here.'
April 10, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Ken Fisher suggests to RIA client on X to close his account if he thinks he's 'childish' for saying Trump tariffs are 'stupid, wrong, arrogantly extreme'
The owner and CIO of Fisher Investments was not alarmed as of last week, then changed his tune but still thinks fears over tariffs are overblown.
April 9, 2025 at 2:34 AM
Envestnet quietly cleans up a mess behind take-private veil • Michael Kim is now a two-TAMP CEO • Bill Ackman scolds Trump, Lutnick for tariff overkill, alleged conflicts •
Kim is now head of 'RIA' TAMP • In broad daylight, AssetMark edges closer to swallowing Adhesion • Ackman irked over ‘massive, disproportionate’ tariffs • Fisher sees market upside, if and when tariffs fail.
April 8, 2025 at 1:49 AM
Betterment trims fee despite 'no pressure,' and can still upcharge 160% over robo fee by upselling CFP humans -- more than 100% over Vanguard -- with RIA-like fees
The New York robo imposed 65 basis points in 2024 on humanized $1-million-plus accounts, but is not competing with RIAs and 'never has been'
April 5, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Cantor Fitzgerald IA CIO sends midday letter to RIAs with take that reassures on tariffs, and he assures reporter that any aligment with Howard Lutnick is coincidental
The note arrived in email boxes after the market collapsed 5% today and explains tariffs were needed and negative effects should be 'very' short in duration
April 4, 2025 at 12:57 AM
Commonwealth and LPL CEOs are determined to share bright future after black swan HR event unlocked the opportunity
Wayne Bloom and Rich Steinmeier both faced hard math after Dan Arnold's shock firing as LPL CEO, but then the numbers started to add up
April 3, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Walt Bettinger joining CD&R just four months after Schwab retirement could signal a big private-equity play brewing
The ex-Schwab CEO's appointment at Focus Partners' take-private owner, suggests the private equity player is positioning for a major move.
April 2, 2025 at 2:16 AM
LPL CEO claims 'prize' 'anti-LPL' Commonwealth for just $2.7 billion, but the price will rise, experts say, to retain its advisors conditioned to know LPL as a place with subpar service, culture
Only about four months into his job, Rich Steinmeier pulled off a coup, but poachers may smell blood, too.