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Articles published 1/2012


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1,600 Laserfiche users, vendors, resellers, consultants and technology partners assembled in Disneyland to learn about latest developments in content management.

Laserfiche user conference draws a big crowd that wants to toss filing cabinets

Dan Skiles, Bill Winterberg and Joel Bruckenstein lent an RIA air to the 1,600-person event

January 31, 2012 at 5:38 PM

Mark Matson: It has the opportunity to be a very controversial show.

RIA/advisor coach Mark Matson invests half a million in a public television special

Matson is using the TV show, his book and personal appearances to spread his investment-strategy gospel

January 30, 2012 at 6:59 PM

Bob Oros resigned from Trust Company of America on Jan. 17.

Fidelity hires Bob Oros as its new RIA sales chief

The Schwab and LPL veteran leaves Trust Company of America and fills a void left by Scott Dell'Orfano

January 27, 2012 at 3:53 PM

Nick Georgis: We keep hearing conjecture about consolidation.

RIA deals fizzle in the fourth quarter but big-paying banks are getting back into the game

Schwab's latest numbers are a sobering reminder the M&A boom may remain elusive

January 26, 2012 at 6:14 AM

Will Kelly: We're not just a lift out.

United Capital signs on former advisors and principals of Harold C. Brown & Co.

The strategic buyer has found advisors who don't mind being employees -- as long as they can spend more time with clients

January 26, 2012 at 6:11 AM

David Barton: We have to live with the decision for a long time.

The TD Ameritrade-Orion pairing again proves productive -- this time to wrest assets from a $3.6 billion Schwab RIA

As part of a barrage of big moves by Mercer Advisors, Tamarac gets superseded for rebalancing

January 25, 2012 at 6:13 AM

Rob Isbitts: Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me, fool me three times...I'm outta here!

12 for 2012: A dozen issues you and your clients should really be focusing on this year

A veteran investment strategist sifts through mountains of information overload to find the way forward -- and takes stock of his 2011 prognostications

January 25, 2012 at 4:14 AM

Jim Pupillo: I looked at several vendor platforms to support us if we went completely independent.

HighTower stages its first raid of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney's elite consulting unit

A famous loyalist, Jim Pupillo crusaded for years to bring about change internally at Smith Barney before finally defecting

January 24, 2012 at 5:52 AM

Les Abromovitz: "Social plug-ins,” such as the “like” feature, might be viewed by examiners as a testimonial.

Think about compliance before sending or posting those articles you read

A new SEC alert gives updated guidance regarding the pitfalls of using social media

January 23, 2012 at 4:40 PM

Michelle Smith is looking for ways to handle growth.

Dynasty Financial and Black Diamond combine to pick off a big family office helmed by women

Alexandra & James Wealth Management uses the duo to replace Fortigent as it nears $1 billion of AUA

January 20, 2012 at 5:14 AM

Garry Taylor says he likes the Focus model better because advisory firms get to keep their identity.

Second ex-Fidelity exec in a year nabbed by Focus Financial

Garry Taylor's hire comes as Focus shifts it emphasis from acquiring existing RIAs to luring breakaway brokers

January 20, 2012 at 5:01 AM

Chip Roame: They can offer a traditional payout of 40% or so and pay for personnel, rent, technolog or they can pay a higher payout.

Wirehouses will create their own independent models, Tiburon report says

WIll 2012 be the year that wirehouse 'halfway houses' catch fire?

January 19, 2012 at 6:28 AM

Dave Welling: Black Diamond is eager to commit development time to enhance our Tamarac integration.

Tamarac shuts out Black Diamond from integration

The Seattle-based software company says it's a data issue but Black Diamond says it'll expend resources to serve mutual clients

January 18, 2012 at 4:19 AM

Mitchell Caplan: That's what happened with E*Trade and it validates us and lets us know we're doing the right thing.

What ex-E*TRADE CEO Mitchell Caplan says emboldened him to lead an $83 million management coup of Jefferson National

By pouring in capital from a former Goldman Sachs leader and others into a bigger sales effort, Caplan believes sales of annuities through RIAs are set to explode

January 17, 2012 at 8:26 PM

Matt Stroh: We've have had another consecutive year of over 50% revenue growth.

What Tamarac's overhauling of its Advisor Xi has yielded

The Seattle company's wants RIAs to buy into its whole system so it's sprinting to create the latest word in integration

January 17, 2012 at 6:09 AM

Robert Powell: Technology has advanced more over the past year than in the previous decade.

RIAs in the catbird seat to leverage straight through processing in 2012

The goal is to keep client information online in a 'living, breathing form' so that the live data can benefit everyone in the chain

January 17, 2012 at 6:08 AM

Roger Hewins: We’re talking about now having 22 locations in 12 states.

A $2.6 billion Schwab RIA grapples with gaining a $420 million Securities America rep firm -- and a big footprint

The Wipfli-Eide Bailly accounting merger doubles Hewins Financial Advisors' opportunity to convert CPA client funds to AUM, analysts say

January 13, 2012 at 4:06 AM

Valerie Brown says that the deal cements Cetera's message about scale and diverse capabilities.

What the Cetera-Genworth IBD deal says about where these companies are headed

Cetera starts looking more like an IPO candidate and Genworth shucks a distraction from its asset-magnet TAMP

January 12, 2012 at 5:01 AM

Blair Hodgson: I made it through the first year and kept my head above water.

Next-gen advisor breaks the standard RIA mold to grow with her young clientele -- many with $100,000 or less of assets

Thirty-year-old Blair Hodgson was born into a boom and has seen her share of busts -- and it's had a profound effect on how she views markets.

January 11, 2012 at 4:44 PM

Bill Gross is every PR person's fantasy client according to Cognito's Jason Lahita.

The Grossian formula for PR: Why Bill’s press is good press, even when it’s bad

You too can reach the PR mountaintop and weather bad press by following Gross' example -- here's how

January 11, 2012 at 4:01 AM

Julian Koski: We landed in each other's laps quite fortuitously.

How Julian Koski's maverick stock picking method led to a merger with Guggenheim

The South African-born entrepreneur lost millions of his family's money in the 1980s before hitting on a winning formula

January 10, 2012 at 4:08 PM

Milton Ezrati: You don't need absolutely good news.

How Bob Doll, Milton Ezrati and Tony Crescenzi see brightness in the murky 2012 outlook

The heavy hitters offered encouragement to advisors on Envestnet conference call

January 10, 2012 at 6:07 AM

Sallie Krawcheck's exit from Merrill had advisors buzzing as ramifications for compensation hung in the air.

10 of the most popular RIABiz stories from 2011 and why they struck a chord

Buys, goodbyes, advisors saying 'i' do, an escalating tech arms race and Sallie Krawcheck's ups and downs were just some of the topics that piqued your interest in 2011

January 9, 2012 at 4:55 AM

Scott Kubie: Forty-five percent of today’s households are headed by an individual in his or her 50’s that still have a child living in the household.

A refresher on how an advisor should approach the needs of clients as they near retirement

The new norm is changing and it requires a mix of new thinking and old-fashioned conservative strategies

January 9, 2012 at 4:39 AM

Peter Hess has the challenge of taking over from a long-ruling founder.

Peter Hess will take the CEO reins at Advent Software

The visionary of the Black Diamond acquisition replaces Stephanie DiMarco who will step down in June

January 6, 2012 at 3:57 PM

Daniel Bernstein: If an advisor posted that they 'held a great meeting on 401(k) plans,' and someone 'liked' it, it could be construed as a testimonial.

SEC sends sharp warning to advisors using social media

RIAs have to make sure they don't get 'liked' on popular websites like Facebook

January 6, 2012 at 3:20 PM

Terrence Morgan: It wouldn't surprise me if people are stalling and hoping that Phyllis Borzi is fired.

Report of a possible delay in DOL's fee disclosure rule sparks apprehension among advisors and industry observers

Advisors say they can't comply with the rule until they know what's in it but one delay could lead to another

January 5, 2012 at 3:57 PM

Les Abromovitz: You won't score points with examiners by having superfluous or irrelevant policies and procedures.

Recent SEC enforcement actions make annual policies and procedures exams even more important

Sprucing up your compliance manual early and often can prevent the SEC leaving coal in your Christmas stocking

January 5, 2012 at 4:59 AM

Peter Hess drove the Advent-Black Diamond merger and may have created an RIA-friendly monster.

The 10 most influential figures in the RIA business going into 2012, Part 2

These advisors and executives made dramatic moves that advanced the business of registered investment advisors

January 4, 2012 at 5:46 AM

Andy Putterman: It couldn't be any more offensive.

LPL makes big advance into the RIA business with Fortigent acquisition

The kingpin of product-based mass affluent advice now has a major beachhead with high-net-worth investors

January 3, 2012 at 8:34 PM

Andrew Salesky: We're very optimistic with the ability to build this model.
January 3, 2012 at 3:51 AM

The RIA business is getting a critical mass of these notable and influential people -- backed by teams that make them shine.

What the 10 most influential list is all about

These people are stirring things up in the RIA business

January 3, 2012 at 3:51 AM

Bill Nasgovitz:  The cash is there. Attractive valuations are there.

How one big contrarian money manager is gearing up for 2012

Heartland CEO, Bill Nasgovitz says small-cap stocks may be poised to rebound with a vengeance

January 3, 2012 at 3:29 AM

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