Articles written by By Lisa Shidler
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Ten months after it signaled it would, Vanguard Group unleashes its advice robot with analysts sure that 15 basis points and no-nonsense brand will net billions in no time
Almost out of its pilot stage, the Malvern, Pa.-based giant's 'Digital Advisor' shambles onto the robo scene almost a decade late but may catch Schwab and Betterment anyway with its pristine plainness, analysts predict
August 1, 2020 at 6:22 PM
A big wince as Trump's DOL presses efforts to erase Obama-era ESG guidance, with tough new rule to curb do-good funds in ERISA accounts; critics cry 'politics'
Lawyers see crackdown as 'a solution in search of a problem' in regard to Labor Dept. pleas in proposed rule of danger that meeting environmental and social justice goals could harm returns, hence retiree security.
July 1, 2020 at 8:18 PM
IPO dreams die, but Personal Capital gets '$1 billion' price tag from life insurance giant's 401(k) unit that includes a de facto discount from early-bird VC dollars
Empower's sister company has built a 25% stake in Personal Capital since 2016 and test drove the company with two board members.
July 1, 2020 at 2:26 AM
How an RIA's tweets pointed out the obvious--the lack of diversity in the mostly white RIA industry-- and opened the door to a dialogue on creating more minority opportunity
Patrick Ortman, a solo RIA who grew up among Black siblings, set out to congratulate RIA firms with diverse staffs, but a simple search found just the opposite.
June 25, 2020 at 1:51 AM
Odds spike to 100% Schwab and TD Ameritrade close merger, cinch added $9 billion in synergies, Morningstar analyst says, after DOJ dismisses anti-trust concerns and Schwab shareholders vote 'yes' hours later
Deemed a non-monopolistic duo, TD Ameritrade and Schwab shares soar, closing timetable moves up and Schwab dilutes its own stock with float of 300 million shares
June 5, 2020 at 2:17 AM
New 'anti-regulatory' DOL Fiduciary Rule figures to keep $10-trillion IRA market under the IRS, allow some conflicted advice; does Rule's revival from dead presage Joe Biden presidency?
The rush to enact rewritten DOL Fiduciary Rule is a 'mystery' given Wall Street's presumed preference for defaulting to status quo; has presidential polling adverse to Donald Trump restored a sense of urgency?
June 4, 2020 at 2:28 AM
The odds are now 75% that Charles Schwab Corp. swallows TD Ameritrade Holding, says Morningstar, a probability Wall Street math and internal memos seem to support
With Thursday set for TD and Schwab virtual shareholder votes, August is circled on the calendar for a 'Schwabitrade' close, memos suggest, with the TD brand sticking around for ... quite a while
June 2, 2020 at 2:15 AM
Tired of having their screens scraped, Schwab and Fidelity launch API initiatives to curtail the practice -- rewarding some, but not all scrapers with cleaner data
Opening up their APIs gives both powerhouses the ability to share data while also making it more secure -- it also puts them back in the driver's seat in choosing who gets it.
May 29, 2020 at 4:45 AM
Envestnet cautions about Yodlee subscription 'headwinds' and the FTC asking more Yodlee-data questions as the company recorded a blowout revenue quarter
With the Redwood City-based analytics unit's possible sale put to bed for now, the Chicago firm reveals new worries about data privacy and competition but Envestnet proper's automated platform is the bomb in pandemic shutdown
May 19, 2020 at 2:48 AM
Amid 800-person hiring spree, TD Ameritrade interim CEO Steve-Boyle delivers sparkling results, underscores quick 100% work-at-home transition-- and calls Schwab merger efforts 'critical' and on-schedule
The Omaha, Neb. discount broker is luring net new assets as if the TD brand will be around forever, and no staff member will ever become redundant, even if its CEO's tenure will presumably self-expire
May 1, 2020 at 8:39 PM
Why Charles Schwab staffers are still waving COVID-19 red flags even after Walt Bettinger capitulated to allow most of them to work at home
Schwab employees cite outdated phone systems, using vacation days to stay safe and confusion, but firm says CEO is contending with unrevealed Homeland Security regs that supersede germ fears
April 1, 2020 at 3:44 AM
Under withering staff pressure, Walt Bettinger course corrects to shut all Schwab branches and to let Charles Schwab Corp. non-branch employees work from home
The Schwab CEO is also coughing up a $1,000 comp check to each staffer and the company is still contending with makeshift technology to enable employees to work from home, but it may have had a breakthrough today -- making its choices easier
March 19, 2020 at 1:21 AM
As COVID-19 crisis grows, Schwab charts own course, orders office workers to stay put, while Fidelity, other firms urge employees to work from home
Fidelity CEO Abby Johnson tells 45,000 staff to stay home, if possible; Schwab CEO Walt Bettinger says it's neither practical nor technologically feasible for most of his 19,000 staff to telecommute
March 16, 2020 at 4:09 PM
Michael Kitces and Adam Birenbaum are now on the same $50-billion Buckingham team after the blogger called the young CEO with a multi-pronged proposal
Kitces is leaving Pinnacle - after 17 years - for fewer conflicts and more opportunity
March 12, 2020 at 1:45 PM
T. Rowe Price takes on the risk of its target date fund retirees outliving their savings -- by jacking up equity exposure even on the glide path
The Baltimore patriarch is using both actuarial and behavioral science as the basis for the contrarian move whose downside is accentuated as coronavirus gives the approach a rough start
