Articles published 3/2017
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As Goldman Sachs' badly kept secret about branding an advice robot leaks out, Goldman-watchers see contours of Lloyd Blankfein's grand if 'scattergun' virtual advice strategy take shape
March 30, 2017 at 7:20 PMThe NYC investment bank's CEO may be saving the Goldman brand for last after smart beta ETFs, Honest Dollar, Motif and 'Marcus by Goldman Sachs' are up and running
How the DOL rule postponement is a blessing for RIAs that 'took their foot off the gas' -- and why Vanguard sees such delays as a creeping menace
March 29, 2017 at 11:06 PMThe Feb. 3 Trump executive order offered grounds for the pause but Bill McNabb warns this delay may beget a never-ending death spiral of delays and 'troubling' uncertainty
Framing it as a wildly disruptive 3,300-basis-point fee on de novo revenues, Joe Duran's United Capital digital reboot is apparently raking in RIA assets and revenues
March 28, 2017 at 7:40 PMThe charismatic CEO's launch of FinLife Partners -- with unabashed Fidelity support -- is in effect selling revenues to advisors but taking a risk on their success
Navellier is latest to catch F-Squared affliction as SEC broadens parameters of wrongdoing
March 27, 2017 at 8:11 PMThe Reno, Nev.-based $1B advisory firm and its CEO are No. 17 on the Commission's hit parade and may not be the last, experts say
The genius of how T. Rowe Price's new robo extends its $165-billion automated advice franchise -- namely as a maker of target date funds
March 24, 2017 at 8:39 PMThe Baltimore-based fund giant's robo is plain vanilla when viewed in a vacuum but disruptive in the flush target date fund market
'Approachability' continues to be the one-word descriptor of what separates good RIAs from the ones who struggle
March 23, 2017 at 7:45 PMMoney is a prickly topic so channeling your inner porcupine, leaving people hanging by the receptionists desk and delivering monologues about smart-beta is dumb
How and why Morningstar sliced 16 bps for RIAs by dumping third-party mutual funds and stamping its Switzerland brand on its own mutual funds
March 22, 2017 at 8:15 PMMorningstar offers a Bogle-like rationale damning third-party mutual fund wrappers as an extravagance in $7 billion Managed Portfolios product
HighTower parts ways with -- and doesn't replace -- the dealmaker who has 'worked on more breakaway transactions ... than anyone in the industry'
March 21, 2017 at 9:53 PMElliot Weissbluth's gun-slinging No. 2, Mike Papedis, moves on after HighTower's assets declined, deals waned and the once-loud company took on an indoor voice
What happened next after a Wall Street analyst called Walter Bettinger on the carpet for capping virtual RIA's fees
March 17, 2017 at 8:06 PMThe Schwab CEO cedes no ground to Rich Repetto and others who come to San Francisco to question whether shareholders are losing as investors win
Alexandra Lebenthal, with help, cheats business death again but her latest white knight did not cash out the last one -- or eliminate lawyers with swords drawn
March 16, 2017 at 6:13 PMThe owner of the blue-blooded New York firm retains her woman-run, woman-owned status -- with all the benefits that accrue -- but the now-shuttered wealth management division left a scar
In poaching coup, Charles Goldman hires open-API wizard Mukesh Mehta to AssetMark from Cetera
March 15, 2017 at 8:09 PMThe legendary chief information officer headed Schwab Institutional's efforts before shepherding in TD Ameritrade's legendary open API
Scott MacKillop applies shock-and-awe pricing to SMA market to good effect after merely lower fees left RIAs flat
March 14, 2017 at 10:47 PMUsing a robo out of a yoga studio, First Ascent is using a flat, capped fee to fulfill a founder's vision
The takeaway from Friday's DOL rule guidance is 'significant'
March 13, 2017 at 7:50 PMThe big concern for advisors pre-BICE exemptions was DOL itself, which assures now that it'll turn a blind eye in 2017 -- even to issuing disclosures
After sticking his own succession landing, Tim Kochis bags 'retirement' and joins forces with DeVoe & Co. to help other RIAs do same
March 13, 2017 at 6:09 PMTim Kochis helped David DeVoe with his business plan and may become a shareholder as soon as next year
Incredulity hovers over LPL's retro -- or is it inspired? -- choice of original 1983 employee Jim Putnam as chairman
March 10, 2017 at 8:05 PMAs the 14,000-rep broker-dealer gropes for a post-DOL, post-digital future, it'll rely on the old-school standard bearer to shepherd new CEO Dan Arnold
Hitting $20 billion of RIA assets in six years, Dynasty Financial hires its first chief AUM-booster, the better to get to $40 billion faster
March 9, 2017 at 7:25 PMCEO Shirl Penney installs a Wall Street-weaponized Joseph Rizzo equipped with M&A expertise as Dynasty attempts the shift from critical mass to critical force
Schwab employee 401(k) lawsuit taunts Chuck by using Vanguard as Exhibit A
March 8, 2017 at 6:34 PMThe San Francisco giant is latest to get hit with legal scourge; Ameriprise and Fidelity already shelled out megabucks to settle claims that their retirement funds underperform and charge a lot to do it – but not Vanguard
Anything but sales-y, David Canter takes RIA helm at Fidelity with ambition to sell like crazy
March 6, 2017 at 10:56 PMThe Schwab alum and long-time sidekick to Bob Oros and Mike Durbin is a lawyer, consulting expert and is 'over the moon' about his new role
One effect of Ron Carson's exit from LPL after 27 years: His firm disclosed the use of forgivable loans to the SEC
March 3, 2017 at 10:46 PMCarson Wealth Management is both an advisor and an advisor platform and Carson says neither he nor his firm 'took a check' in any form
Fidelity and Schwab one-two $4.95 price punch staggers industry with execs willing to go 'far, far, far further'
March 2, 2017 at 8:03 PMAs the Boston and San Francisco giants forgo hundreds of millions in profits in play-for-market-share in higher-margin businesses -- like advice
Peter Mallouk-Tony Robbins partnership set to soar on new book but quid-pro-quo details of pact between $23-billion RIA and super-salesman are still murky
March 1, 2017 at 10:59 PM'Unshakeable' may drive $1 billion-plus in referrals to Creative Planning but just how much lands in Robbins' wallet is undisclosed
With beginnings harking back to E*Trade's RIA roll-up liquidation, two Boston-adjacent RIAs of a certain age join to create a $4.7 billion firm
March 1, 2017 at 6:14 PMDownplaying succession ghosts, the Mark Hurley-funded combo of Adviser Investments and Braver Wealth Management is equal parts M&A wizardry and product of a local soda fountain meet-up
