Articles published 10/2020
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Bottom line after DOL bakes change into ERISA is it relented enough that plan sponsors can likely make ESG funds part of default option
October 31, 2020 at 1:49 AMStung by most of the 8,700 commenters saying the Labor Dept. was witch hunting ESG, it gave ground, saved face but may have created a fresh problem for a Biden administration looking to restore the status quo
With Visa-Plaid deal closing five months delayed already, Feds accuse Bain & Co. of stonewalling on pricing strategy documents that cast light on anti-trust hotspot
October 29, 2020 at 2:02 AMMakan Delrahim says he won't let Bain run out the clock and the assistant US Attorney sued for the documents as part of the DOJ's antitrust investigation.
Pressed by a Wall Street analyst, Bill Crager defines 'financial wellness,' a touchy-feely 'Hallmark' concept that just happens to be sweeping the financial services industry
October 27, 2020 at 9:32 PMThe Envestnet CEO was self-deprecating about the 'Hallmark card' aspect of financial wellness but is targeting the company's full arsenal of products and services on the sweet equilibrium between money and life.
Goldman Sachs nabs TD Ameritrade's Darla Sipolt for RIA custody; Kate Healy, Jim Dario and Peter Dorsey are among 1,000 staffers cut by Schwab post TD merger
October 27, 2020 at 1:20 AMIncluded in the wholesale reduction of the Omaha, Neb.-based broker's redundant talent, about 40% of TD Ameritrade's marketing staff also got word today they have no future with their San Francisco-based owner
Mark Casady completes IPO of Lefteris 10 years after LPL Financial's initial public offering and plans to use the SPAC's $200 million raised to lift mom-and-pop fintechs
October 24, 2020 at 5:01 AMThe former LPL CEO has a team for his Boston-based special purpose acquisition company that includes Chip Roame, April Rudin and Edelman, E*Trade and LPL alumni.
Betterment goes 'strategic' with ESG after stunning 2020 inflows and fortuitous 'accident,' stumbling on Rockefeller subsidy of NAACP play
October 23, 2020 at 3:12 AMShunning direct indexing, yet set to get 'very creative,' the $24-billion New York City robo-advisor is data-assured that it can backfill its brand's implicit promise.
Lightyear buys Allworth Financial at a white-hot valuation, despite short track record, after Scott Hanson cracks a marketing and comp code
October 20, 2020 at 5:26 PMOnly founded as Allworth in 2017, the Sacramento, Calif., RIA with $10 billion of AUM looks like a growth machine that may have commanded as much as $800 million.
Matt Ackermann, last of Crain braintrust, leaves InvestmentNews as events-oriented parent, Bonhill Group PLC, sees stock plummet 88%
October 20, 2020 at 4:10 AMThe director of content joins big Boston-based LPL OSJ for a similar role but one where he can use a 'rifle' rather than a shotgun, he says
The new 'Tony Robbins' book debut coincides with Ajay Gupta revealing plan to retire, which leaves Creative Planning to keep the referral spoils with Robbins down to a 'with' credit on the cover
October 16, 2020 at 7:49 PMPeter Mallouk's and Robbins' book, 'The Path: Accelerating Your Journey to Financial Freedom,' was released this week through a new publisher and word got out that 50 year-old Gupta was departing with little explanation
As the RIA business merges toward big and centralized, small nimble firms still have a lock on doing well and making a great living
October 15, 2020 at 5:18 AMThe Schwab-TD merger is the latest big-is-beautiful event but might isn't always right and scale loses to smart, local and aligned
Vanguard's shuttering of municipal money market funds sends clarion call to RIAs to get ahead of COVID-19 squeeze, even if Schwab and Fidelity see fit to ride out the storm
October 14, 2020 at 2:58 AMThe Malvern, Pa., giant cites market-specific liquidity issues and an interest rate squeeze; Federated Hermes and BNY Mellon have made similar 'canary in the coal mine' moves.
Morgan Stanley's Eaton Vance deal yields a golden nugget-- Parametric--and a means to own the direct-indexing super trend -- at a bargain $7 billion
October 13, 2020 at 3:00 AMThe New York wirehouse bought $507 billion of AUM, but Seattle-based subsidiary Parametric, which has no equal in its category, is the key to the deal.
Bernie Clark and Tom Bradley reign again atop RIA custody as Charles Schwab & Co. confirms TD merger cuts, but keeps Kim Hillyer, James Kostulias, Lee McAdoo, Jon Peterson and Andrew Yolin
October 10, 2020 at 2:51 AMThe blow softened by big-time golden parachutes, Schwab cut loose Tom Nally, Peter deSilva and Steve Boyle coming only three days after the Tuesday deal closing; Schwab already has RIA custody, retail leadership heads and a CEO.
The Schwab-TD Ameritrade merger creates one big identity crisis; Is it still a self-proclaimed 'challenger,' per Walt, or 'unbelievable fortress,' per Chuck?
October 8, 2020 at 3:40 AMCEO Walt Bettinger calls his company a 'challenger' six times in quick succession; but Chairman Chuck Schwab insists his firm now has no equal
Goldman Sachs lifts two superstar RIA recruiters from Schwab and Pershing, tipping hand on a big push into the RIA space, targeting early 2021 custody launch
October 6, 2020 at 11:25 PMThe Wall Street B2B superbrand prepares RIA distribution and poaches Richard Lofgren and Bill Dalton -- with a TD Ameritrade hire potentially in the works -- months ahead of a harder launch.
Champagne on ice, TD Ameritrade cancels 2021 LINC in San Diego and encourages RIAs to attend Schwab's virtual IMPACT, which is $299 until the merger date then jumps up
October 2, 2020 at 6:24 PMWith the Omaha and San Francisco -based firms merging Tuesday, TD cancels the event citing COVID and the fact that a virtual event is a poor substitute
Despite dissenting Fed vote, Charles Schwab Corp. cleared to close TD merger Tuesday, and 'Schwabitrade' looks less fearsome than anticipated
October 1, 2020 at 9:48 PMFed Board member Lael Brainard voted 'no' on creating a new category killer but the San Francisco discount broker and RIA custodian got what it wanted; Schwab, TD Ameritrade shares rise on the news.
Facet Wealth fast-forwards five years in last five months and gets a 'next-Schwab' nod and fresh $25 million from (owner) Warburg
October 1, 2020 at 6:45 AMUnder its 33 year-old CEO, the Baltimore firm is selling planning subscriptions to corporations and scraps criticized too-clever M&A