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Articles published 3/2013


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Kevin Dinino: I keep seeing financial advisors, big and small, making use of the same stale marketing content ... it drives me crazy.

Escaping the content bubble: How RIAs can break out of a PR slump

Being the messenger of old news is a bad strategy

March 29, 2013 at 7:11 PM

Brooke Southall: If we want to have a social-media presence, we are all self-publishers.

6 ways that RIAs can hone their expertise in social media by acting more like journalists

Like managing wealth properly, the production of content is a process that starts with some soul-searching and builds outward from there

March 29, 2013 at 5:16 AM

Gurinder Ahluwalia: You want to be something that the parent gets excited about.

Genworth's TAMP is bought up by two private-equity firms for $412 million

After a long spell on the block, Aquiline Capital and Genstar Capital coughed up the cash to buy the roll-up of Altegris, AssetMark and Centurion

March 28, 2013 at 3:45 PM

Charles Goldman: Once you take someone else's money, you have a commitment.

Advizent will close its doors after a final flurry of negotiations

Charles Goldman and Steve Lockshin had a moment of truth after receiving offers for funding

March 28, 2013 at 11:43 AM

Tom Bartholomew: I don't have to have the downtime and overhead and the legal costs of running the independent RIA.

How one IBD rep just zoomed to $1 billion AUM -- on his way to $2 billion -- but remains impervious to calls from RIA custodians

Tom Bartholomew says that his pull with Commonwealth gives him more time with clients and extra-responsive service

March 27, 2013 at 4:16 AM

Mark Cortazzo: I don't feel bad for the person who was expecting this residual revenue, because they're not doing their job.

Why a $750 million LPL hybrid is selling its annuities expertise by eyeballing client contracts for RIAs

VAs aren't all bad, according to one New Jersey RIA -- in fact, some yellowing agreements are well worth a second look and could be worth keeping

March 26, 2013 at 3:23 AM

 Rob Isbitts: That ensemble offering you create does not have to be a group of 20 people under the same roof.

5 entrenched ruts in which advisors are idling -- and how to shift gears to peel out of them

If you're trying to be an asset-gathering ninja and an investment management guru simultaneously, meet Jack

March 26, 2013 at 3:12 AM

Liz Nesvold: More hires are definitely on the way.

Enter the deal makers: RIA M&A firms are hiring furiously -- even without a deal boom

Silver Lane, DeVoe & Co. and Gladstone are among the companies buying desks and seeking more resumes

March 25, 2013 at 3:59 AM

Andy Rachleff: We're trying to build a business that attracts tens of billions or hundreds of billions of dollars.

Wealthfront raises a cool $20 million from VCs to pursue a big slice of a $1 trillion market

The Palo Alto fast-grower brought aboard a LinkedIn veteran who played a role in the 20-million- to 200-million-member jump; a VC tells how he 'leaned forward in his chair'

March 22, 2013 at 6:51 PM

Eric Henderson: Many clients have no intention of initiating a discussion about taxes.

Talking taxes: Why advisors need two approaches to shatter two counterproductive client attitudes

The new tax rates require new tax planning, but advisors find it's like feeding a big pill to a small dog

March 22, 2013 at 6:49 PM

Jack Waymire: Investors are supposed to believe [Barron's picks] produce superior results because they are responsible for large amounts of assets.

Does Barron's really have a bead on the best financial advisors in America?

The famed Top Advisor Rankings by State is an established and influential ranking but its criteria are murky and therefore misleading, according to this veteran who also vets RIAs

March 21, 2013 at 5:54 PM

Philip Palaveev: The goal of collaboration and sharing ideas is that ideally, you would not have to make all the errors yourself.

How I advise advisors to run an advisory business from my pulpit

Philip Palaveev tells just how much he can coach and where experience kicks in -- and how to get the best of both

March 21, 2013 at 4:43 PM

Jeff Chiappetta: The most common thing advisors use options for is to sell a covered call. A covered call generates income in the immediate term.

TD, Schwab and Pershing RIA units embrace mini-option mania to hedge Google, Apple, ETFs

Options have a gambling aura but some advisors find that the are quite the opposite when used with care

March 20, 2013 at 5:13 PM

Scott Collins is well known by advisors on B-D and hybrid side of the industry, making him a good catch for TD.

Veteran recruiter effects a reverse breakaway of his own, moving to a more captive, more compensated life at TD Ameritrade

Independence is swell, but the allure of a steady paycheck can be hard to resist -- especially for a father of college-aged kids, a former partner speculates

March 20, 2013 at 4:10 AM

Russ Koesterich: If income does start to rise, the economy should convert to a self-sustaining growth trajectory.

BlackRock: The bull market is really only an ingredient or two away from running room

Consumer stocks still look questionable but if wages follow employment rates up then more upside surprises are possible

March 19, 2013 at 9:49 PM

Scott Curtis says the payout changes were made with RIA custodians like Schwab, TD Ameritrade and Pershing in mind more than broker-dealers.

Raymond James launches 'phenomenal' RIA-like pay structure to the $100 million set

The custodian hopes its keep-all-the-gravy pay scheme will keep its own advisors from defecting and win would-be RIAs

March 19, 2013 at 7:52 PM

Andy Kalbaugh and Derek Bruton do a takeoff of an ESPN sports show called “Pardon the Interruption.”

LPL shows flashes of its new image at Financial Masters 2013

Mark Casady talked up a more 'personal' approach and Robert Moore suggests an increased focus on the high net worth market

March 19, 2013 at 7:34 PM

Frank Quattrone's magic did not produce an opportunity for Advent better than what it had in-house.

After 'anxiety' rises, Advent Software calls off plans to seek a buyer

The gorilla provider of portfolio accounting to RIAs will go it alone after casting about for white knight

March 18, 2013 at 8:04 PM

Tina Valenzuela: Schwab will continue looking into product development opportunities.

Killing two birds with one stone, Schwab delves deeper into the variable annuity game

With interest rates low, consumers are desperate for safe income and Schwab needs a way to generate revenues to replace lost money market fees

March 18, 2013 at 5:40 PM

Pat Burns: FINRA has been in the red financially and the addition of thousands of new member firms with their membership fees would certainly be helpful to its bottom line.

FINRA is making dog whistle comments hinting its SRO ambitions still simmer

'Harmonization' comments by Richard Ketchum make all the talk of the group abandoning its RIA-oversight ambitions seem like bunk

March 18, 2013 at 5:20 AM

William Hamm Jr. may shift his firm's value proposition.

An LPL super-client hits 'pause' on recruiting after an SEC inquiry and LPL is playing a parental role

Despite the scare, LPL stands by this OSJ and wants to support these explosive growers

March 15, 2013 at 5:47 PM

Matthew Tuttle: If I'm trading 100 shares and hold on to them forever, I'll think this is awesome, but for RIAs this is a disaster.

Fidelity quietly imposes an ETF 60-day fee that makes RIAs with trading strategies seethe

Mike Durbin says that Fidelity still has net trading costs on iShares that are pretty unbeatable

March 15, 2013 at 5:33 PM

Nicholas Gerber: By working with BlackRock, they gain scale but under their own banner.

Fidelity and BlackRock are cooking up a (de facto) de novo ETF company deep in the Rockies

The Boston giant appears to be renting the iShares first-mover advantage as a way to get big in a hurry

March 14, 2013 at 7:56 PM

Mike Durbin: We feel that the story about ETF investing goes beyond the simple costs and is like an onion, and there are several layers.

How Fidelity is locking arms with BlackRock and appealing to RIAs to fend off a Schwab ETF threat

The Boston and New York giants are seeking a big win by offering greater value through greater liquidity on the distribition side -- while quietly partnering on ETF-making in the fund factory

March 14, 2013 at 5:07 AM

Rick Rodgers: Some say it marks the end of an impressive bull market, while others say it’s just the beginning of a much larger rally.

Six boxes RIAs should check to lock in the windfall of Dow 14,000 without a full dismount of the bull

It's all about selling high and, News Flash, it's high -- but it could go higher

March 13, 2013 at 9:13 PM

Peter Hess has been putting Advent through a crash course of reinvention but now he may be seeking a buyer.

Advent Software is for sale, with Frank Quattrone as the sales agent, reports say

The owner of Black Diamond is well along in the process of seeking someone to take it private, according to a Reuters report and anonymous RIABiz sources

March 13, 2013 at 9:12 PM

Adam Birenbaum: We fundamentally believe that a group will emerge as a large practice that will compete against the wirehouses.

Top 5 most influential RIA figures of 2012 going into 2013

Putting their own capital -- and that of trusting others -- into their own edge-cutting ideas, these guys plow ahead with smiles on their faces

March 13, 2013 at 9:11 PM

Joe Piazza:  I have always felt that I was "interrupted" 10 years ago.

With big LPL backing, the Robertson Stephens brand revives to roll up advisors to the suddenly wealthy

Joe Piazza is taking the once-premium San Francisco investment banking brand and combining with Fortigent to lure brokers to a hybrid platform

March 12, 2013 at 6:24 AM

Hardeep Walia: These are crazy ideas, but they work.

A Microsoft alum stomps into the RIA business with $26 million in VC money, Sallie Krawcheck and a 'new' approach that looks old to skeptics

The Motif plan is monetize ideas, but other firms say they've been there, done it -- and found tepid interest

March 11, 2013 at 5:09 PM

Can RIAs do TED? George Tamer gives it a go.

How the FPA sexed up its 2013 Business Solutions Conference

One session was so successful that the attendees wouldn't let it end -- surely a conference first, our correspondent believes

March 11, 2013 at 6:07 AM

Chris Kojima told FundFire: The RIA business is a smaller part of the assets that AIMS manages, it has more than doubled in the last two years and it is growing

Sparks fly after FundFire reports that Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs are offering some RIAs their corner-office research

The Financial Times publication stands by its story, but Merrill won't comment, making the fiery situation smokier; Goldman is unabashed

March 8, 2013 at 4:59 PM

In a deal that rocked the RIA world, David Hou (pictured) and Mark Sear sold Luminous for a staggering $125 million in cash to a San Francisco bank.

10 most influential RIA figures going into 2013 and how they're reshaping the industry, Part 1

2012 was a year of drama as sweeping deals of unexpected size were struck and the industry took to the Hill to fight against FINRA overlords

March 8, 2013 at 4:58 PM

Howard and I were passing the 'cool old house' and noticed a 'For Rent' sign.

How a top RIA recruiter made an 18th century landmark into a breakaway safe house

Burgundy ooze and bats were daunting but the American Revolution-era structure is now home to cloud technology and flat-screen TVs

March 7, 2013 at 1:02 AM

Karen McIntyre: When you're talking about a firm with 30 to 40 branches, it's hard to find a place where you can put your personal stance into the company.

$1.6 billion RIA nabs Fidelity's $1 billion-man and a United Capital advisor seeking a gilded local brand

Philadelphia-based Westcott brings on a recruiter and a specialist in women in transition

March 6, 2013 at 5:06 PM

Peter Hess: They don't feel the same urgency.

How Black Diamond is working out -- or not -- as Advent's agent of deliberate cannibalization

The great migration from Axys to Blue Sky is still not a torrent -- and has actually slowed from pre-merger days -- thanks to an unforeseen psychological freeze from Axys clients

March 6, 2013 at 3:42 AM

Shiyan Koh: It's like a dating website for advisors.

NerdWallet's lead generation website has 20 Bay area advisors in beta, MIT, Wharton, Brown and Stanford folks running things and a Silicon Valley confidence

For Ask a Financial Advisor, the medium is the (video) message and the specializations include Lutherans

March 5, 2013 at 6:12 PM

Rob Francais: It gets a little easier each time. We learn how to do it more effectively.

Aspiriant sets the stage for its next big buy -- and only RIAs with more than $1 billion in assets need apply

Now that the $7-billion Los Angeles firm has digested Deloitte, its executive M&A team ponders its next move

March 5, 2013 at 5:11 PM

Aite Group's Alois Pirker (center) moderated a conversation on the joys of independence -- and interdependence

Fidelity goes to the Wall Street Ritz-Carlton with five partner firms and preaches going independent more dependently

The takeaway at this hybrid mini-summit: Yes you can -- but probably not without some serious backup

March 4, 2013 at 6:32 PM

The New York Times ran a very similar article to the one it published back in July.

The New York Times exposes JPMorgan's brokers, yet again

Same reporters, similar storyline as last summer's article, but this time with audio recordings as supporting material

March 4, 2013 at 5:58 PM

Mike Papedis: Partnership is not for all advisors.

It won't be long before HighTower's fee-for-service channel revenues draw even with its partner firm revenues

Chicago aggregator is in talks with 50 firms about signing up with the newly unveiled Network and Alliance options

March 4, 2013 at 4:50 AM

Mark Casady: They got the tone and pitch right.

LPL's marketing destiny got reshaped by a dark horse in a dark room

After several days of dog-and-pony shows by LA and NY-type marketing giants, Bernstein-Rein, inventors of the Happy Meal, went last and crushed it

March 1, 2013 at 9:15 PM

Bill Dwyer is at peace with his decision to leave -- and it was his decision, according to John Hyland.

LPL's Bill Dwyer decides to call it quits and Robert Moore is taking over his duties

The make-it-happen statesman salesman atop a B2B selling scheme cedes control to a Mark Casady favorite

March 1, 2013 at 7:08 AM

Skip Schweiss: Why one exam every five months? I'd still like that question answered.

RIA loyalists slam the SEC for playing into FINRA's darkest characterizations of haplessness

Is the Securities and Exchange Commission asking for more cash to examine RIAs, getting it, then spending it on other priorities?

March 1, 2013 at 7:05 AM

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