Articles published 3/2019
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Sallie Krawcheck raises fresh $33 million but only after her 'get-your-hand-off-my-leg' venture becomes Schwab RIA with classic fees and minimums and a warrants-for-AUM program
March 30, 2019 at 5:49 PMEllevest has only $283 million of AUM but now Melinda Gates is an investor and big clients will get warrants kicked back to them for bringing in AUM
Schwab hopes to blend into the subscription world of Netflix, Amazon and Apple by dumping asset-based fees and wooing millennials with Intelligent Portfolios for $30 a month
March 29, 2019 at 1:02 AMEx-Betterment exec Cynthia Loh wins 'love' by making digital advice a $30 monthly ding regardless of assets citing its 'approachability'
HiddenLevers' Raj Udeshi takes victory lap after nabbing Focus Financial account: 'We dropped a bomb in BlackRock's backyard;' But it's just a battle not the war, analysts say
March 27, 2019 at 9:41 PMThe founder's analytics software firm had to beat out Aladdin but the reward is a doubling of assets and $1-million-plus contract
Josh Brown launches by-and-for RIA event, Wealth/Stack, in Arizona but with pay-to-speak slots for sponsors
March 26, 2019 at 12:02 AMWith partner Barry Ritholtz, he frontlines a technology-leaning gathering in Scottsdale but Inside ETFs owns/runs the event and vendors will gain their customary influence
Oisin's Bits: Vanguard aborts banking effort, because it was more fixated on beating BoA than being itself, an analyst says; SEI is killing it in the Mercer/Russell realm by competing with a retrofitted TAMP-thingy
March 22, 2019 at 11:22 PMThe $5.3-billion Malvern, Pa. monster finds its investors want it to stick to investing, not checking accounts and the Oaks, Pa. TAMP leader gets upmarket with no-conflict pitch and product fit and
With IPO clock at 10-years and ticking, Personal Capital makes two big, out-of-character moves to go upmarket and downmarket
March 22, 2019 at 7:55 PMWith $9 billion in assets, the Redwood City-based national RIA hired the ex-Virgin America CMO Porter Gale to make one brand investors associates with both the freebie tools and the full-priced financial advice its advisors provide mostly from call centers
As Bob Oros-led HighTower reboots, it bags an ex-Goldman RIA, hires two, makes a CMO imminent, and clarifies mission
March 20, 2019 at 11:32 PMThe new CEO will need to somehow weave together the debris of the first roll-up run and the new one to the satisfaction of RIAs and the hundreds of people already inside the HighTower umbrella
Fidelity's 2016 'secret' fee fix for 'broken' 401(k) business model may spark fresh state and federal 401(k) crackdown on heels of investor civil suits
March 18, 2019 at 9:28 PMThe DOL, William Galvin and a class action hang over the Boston 401(k) king's 15-basis-point fee, but experts think Fidelity -- its squirrel-y disclosure aside-- can fight the charges
It took years to woo Bob Curtis to sell MoneyGuidePro but what Envestnet gets for its patience seem plenty worth it -- for both
March 16, 2019 at 2:04 AMThe Fidelity-eMoney combination was a big success but a Yodlee-MGP pairing could turn the tide in the battle for the advisor desktop. Just don't call it 'competition'
A perfect storm of factors -- including 'code' and 'annuities' -- made Jud Bergman pay Bob Curtis $500 million for MoneyGuidePro, plus $30 million to keep the MGP crew around a few more years
March 15, 2019 at 12:55 AMMoneyGuidePro's growth rate is declining, it's only '5% accretive' and Envestnet is already fully integrated, but unless the price got paid, the broader network was out in the cold
BNY Mellon's new CEO is an RIA fan, and Pershing Advisor Solutions made a big personnel move to reflect it
March 12, 2019 at 10:14 PMCharles Scharf loosened the Pershing purse strings for Mark Tibergien who created 'head of platforms' position for Christina Townsend
After $2-billion asking price for Ascensus gets no bites, Genstar and Aquiline opt to sell 25% stake to juice roll-up kitty
March 11, 2019 at 6:39 PMAtlas Merchant Capital and GIC are the new financiers but the capital raise suggests inorganic growth is still Plan A
Rudy Adolf's Buckingham meal ticket looks golden after the $35-billion RIA/TAMP absorbs Dan Goldie's $1 billion Loring Ward book and margins leap from 25 basis points to more like 70
March 9, 2019 at 3:28 AMThe New York-based roll-up's gain is offshoot of Loring Ward deal where Goldie is the biggest client but was too big to buy until Focus capital could be tapped
Bank of America's purge of 'Lynch' and 'U.S. Trust' neuters storied brands, but the revamped training of raw recruits under a new name is where the real eradication of broker culture is going down
March 8, 2019 at 6:05 PMThe Charlotte, N.C. banking bruiser is reeling in the mega-producer model, perhaps paving the way for a more monumental shift in compensation toward a U.S> Trust, salary-and-bonus structure
Schwab PortfolioCenter sale to Envestnet signals open season on 2,300 RIAs in the deal; Orion bags six; 'Why didn't Tamarac call me?' some ask
March 7, 2019 at 1:59 AMWhether you are Bridge, BlackDiamond, FinFolio or Morningstar, you are not sitting out this once-in-a-generation orphaning by a legacy giant of portfolio accounting software
Famously and fiercely solo James Osborne somewhat sheepishly doubles headcount at Bason to two after the fatigue of saying 'no' wore on him
March 5, 2019 at 9:17 PMFor seven years,RIA, flat-fee evangelist and blogger in Greenwood, Colo. doggedly stayed solo and got to $200 million but now he has McKenzie Ebbesen; and she shares his discomfort with 1% fees.
Raymond James finally names new RIA chief and, yes, he is a Schwab veteran
March 4, 2019 at 11:54 PMThe St. Petersburg, Fla. broker-dealer parted ways with Bill Van Law -- a Merrill Lynch veteran -- a year ago; now it has a real RIA veteran in Greg Bruce
Headed by a newly hired HighTower gun, Third Seven roll-up nears $1B mark after adding the $140 million of Schwab exec-turned-RIA's practice without writing a check
March 2, 2019 at 12:39 AMTracy Ann Miller sees succession nirvana and a favorable equity swap that make up for lost autonomy as she finds common ground with Amit Dogra
A 'perp walk' is still preferred but oddly unified SEC and FINRA signal that wild west days are over for robo-advisors and blockchain coins
March 1, 2019 at 11:42 PMThe two regulators are working in "unison" to find a way to balance the regulation of 'digital assets' while ensuring firms' have the scope to innovate
A near $16B TAMP grows in Tampa (no pun intended), as Dynasty Financial Partners taps local talent for first poach--21-year RayJay veteran Angela Gingras
March 1, 2019 at 1:40 AMNew on the Tampa/St. Pete scene, Dynasty CEO, Shirl Penney is pushing the 50% of $32-billion in assets that generate strong revenues
