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Oisin Breen

Oisin Breen

Irish journalist, poet, and academic Oisín Breen has spent the last half decade writing about finance for RIABiz, in particular deep-sea diving into the world of RIAs -- a world he now can't get enough of. Prior to writing for RIABiz, Edinburgh-based Breen was a jobbing FX and equities writer, a teacher, and a sales manager. Three times award nominated for financial and creative writing, Breen is also published as a poet across 95 journals in 20 countries. His debut "Flowers, All Sorts Forgotten, Figs, Berries and Fruits Forgotten" (Dreich, 2022) was widely praised. The follow-up "Lilies on the Deathbed of Étaín" is due out Jan. 2022 (Beir Bua Press). A part-time PhD candidate at the University of Edinburgh, Breen also is mired in doctoral research into the structure of narrative, a task he pursues with the support of his rabbit Hessell.

Articles written by Oisin Breen


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Stephen Caruso: It’s the second quarter of a basketball game, reaching the latter half.
November 23, 2024 at 2:40 AM

Vlad Tenev: 'We’re excited to join forces to build a category-defining advisory platform.'

TradePMR sale to Robinhood sends ripples through the RIA industry both for its potential to rival big custodians and for the discount broker's potential clash with fiduciary culture

Robinhood must overcome its history of regulatory pitfalls and win the confidence of TradePMR RIAs, or see them exit to other custodians, industry insiders say.

November 20, 2024 at 4:12 AM

Jeffrey Ptak: Not all stakeholders will agree with our conclusions and decisions.

Morningstar takes sword to grade inflation, likely to slash 40,000 funds' 'medalist' ratings and leaves, for now, the five-star system intact

The Chicago fund tracker's reforms slam managers who merely hug benchmarks, rewards managers with a 36-month plan to outperform

November 16, 2024 at 6:28 AM

Eddie Brown: [The] opportunity [is] to bring all of my corporate financial services experience to the indie market.

Pathstone reclaims by poach Schwab’s family office division unit head, Eddie Brown, weeks after the Lovell Minnick ultrahigh-net-worth roll-up snapped up a $50 billion RIA

Brown's hire is also something of a 'reunion', given his near 15 years at Pathstone, and through family office roles at both Fidelity and Schwab.

November 14, 2024 at 7:23 PM

John Thiel just became the fifth former wirehouse wealth chief to launch an RIA in the last 13 years.

'Displaced' John Thiel uses RIA and Fidelity-Advyzon back office to get back into game -- a road well traveled by multiple, ex-Merrill Lynch chiefs seeking second acts

Forget SPACs and board seats, the former head of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management follows the likes of Bob McCann and Sallie Krawcheck into easy-access RIA industry.

November 14, 2024 at 1:54 AM

Abby Johnson: The financial industry continues to reward efficiency.

Fidelity Investments surges past $15 trillion, on its way to $16 trillion, after its CEO made one big, contrarian bet and two smaller plays that have the giant hopping

The Boston company grew $800 billion per quarter on average through nine months, and just keeps hiring to 'deepen relationships,' with crypto and digital engagement giving it an edge.

November 9, 2024 at 1:41 AM

Runik Mehrotra and Samir Vasavada are taking a third swing at delivering on their promise.

Vise resets -- again -- with more executive firepower and fresh vision focused on RIA M&A and 'wellness,' but analysts say its solutions must stand apart to succeed

The New York City brat pack -- still loaded with VC cash -- is pivoting, again, but with a pitch that has convinced big hitters to join the firm as advisors and president, respectively.

November 6, 2024 at 5:06 AM

Anders Jones: When... results are predictable and forecastable, it's able to raise money from cheaper sources.

Facet Wealth (mostly) borrows $35 million after three years of sober cash rationing, but -- after self-curbing growth -- analysts see upsides

The Baltimore firm has now raised $245 million to get to 55 advisors serving subscriptions and 15,000 clientele, short of 24,000 target set in 2021, but advisor efficiency is up and cash burn down almost to zero.

November 2, 2024 at 1:38 AM

Philip Waxelbaum: The opportunity here is epic, but there are a lot of hurdles.

Apollo partners with State Street Global Advisors for ultimate moonshot -- making alts liquid with ETFs -- but Apollo may make liquidity function at a premium untenable for investors, never mind the SEC

The Apollo-SSGA pitch to the SEC promises Apollo will buy the alts in a pinch -- but the hitch is that it's the originator, buyer, and seller, introducing uncertainty to 'market' pricing.

October 29, 2024 at 3:50 AM

Wyatt Lee: We realized ... we could create something differentiated.

Plan sponsor eyes are lighting up as T. Rowe Price launches set-it-but-don't-forget-it target-date funds -- a 'major improvement,' Cerulli analyst says, over myopic retirement date focus

The Baltimore asset manager's new product tracks its index, but factors some investments in or out, based on wider portfolio holdings and risk

October 12, 2024 at 2:01 AM

Jeremy Eisenstein: [RIA custody] is an increasingly important client base for the firm.

RIAs keep Goldman Sachs' hopes alive its RIA custody unit will find legs as $55-billion New Edge signs on and Goldman fills vacated No. 2 custody spot

Predictions are aging badly that Goldman Sachs Advisor Solutions might get nixed as big-pipeline RIAs dial it in, and Jeremy Eisenstein comes off the executive bench to be Adam Siegler's right hand.

October 11, 2024 at 1:17 AM

Sara Grillo: All financial advisors want to do is brag – they think that's good marketing.

SEC actions expose underbelly of RIA industry awards, but they are often lucrative for those who hand them out and unlikely to stop being abused by those who get them

The Washington regulator nailed RIAs with misuse of award mentions, using the new Marketing Rule as cudgel after declaring false advertising a 2024 priority

October 9, 2024 at 3:07 AM

LaShonda Hunt: They lack adequate factual content about defendants’ conduct.

Federal judge, who tossed Stephen Greco's sweeping RIA lawsuit, grants leave to refile with more facts and less 'overlong and needlessly complex' arguments

Judge LaShonda Hunt keeps long-running, widely watched case against Creative Planning, Schwab, Fidelity and TD Ameritrade hanging by a thread.

September 28, 2024 at 2:22 AM

Michael Kitces: The sheer volume of logos on the map [also] makes it less of a navigational aid than it used to be.

The folksy Kitces 'fintech map' ballooned by 265% to 485 brands over six years, a sensation sowing seeds of its own destruction, making Kitces chart two new 'maps' -- including an app

The Kitces map is wildly popular but increasingly Nascar-ized, which may not discourage further RIA software brand atomization, but has bundlers scrambling to react.

September 27, 2024 at 12:41 AM

Sarah Levy: Our rebrand is more than just a name change.

Betterment changes its RIA custody brand to 'Advisor Solutions' -- a sign that digital innocence and niche marketing are now passé -- but its RIA clients are applauding

RIAs prefer if CEO Sarah Levy goes fuller service even if it means introducing a few analog necessities anti-thetical to startup dreams

September 21, 2024 at 1:38 AM

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