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Articles published 3/2014


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Rob Foregger left Personal Capital to found NextCapital, which has a rare attribute -- big managed assets.

How one 'robo-advisor' got $25 billion on its platform with a Mint.com mindset, 401(k) friendliness, a merger and 16 years of work

NextCapital has deals with Barron's, Dow Jones and Russell Investments as part of a brick-by-brick history in a put-up-your-robo-shingle world

March 31, 2014 at 4:53 PM

Carrie Gallaway's team had to write a check to Morgan Stanley but sees a long-term play with Lebenthal.

What exactly lured a sparkling Morgan Stanley advisor and $1.2 billion to a retreaded brand name attached to a fledgling RIA

Carrie Gallaway and partner Andrew Stern got no signing bonus but the Lebenthal brand, and what Frank Campanale is building with Fortigent, Envestnet and BNY Mellon, attracted them

March 28, 2014 at 4:38 AM

Bob Reynolds: We think that two plus two equals six. We want to be the best in this space.

Fidelity's old 401(k) mastermind, Bob Reynolds, gets a merger, a promotion and a stronger hand to compete with his old employer

With Great West and Putnam joining 401(k) units, there may be a dividend of critical mass and synergy

March 27, 2014 at 3:24 AM

Abby Salameh: Don't spin your wheels trying to find a niche.

5 thoughts about how to actually do what RIA experts say to do

Consultants like to believe we were born to write elevator speeches, define our niche and write a succession plan on demand

March 26, 2014 at 6:26 AM

Sheryl Rowling and Eric Clarke will join their softwares at the hip.

Orion Advisor Services inks licensing deal to close the rebalancing gap with Tamarac and Black Diamond

Eric Clarke makes Total Rebalance Expert one with his portfolio accounting software to assuage CPAs and other tax-minded advisors

March 25, 2014 at 1:30 PM

Dan Kern: Some of the audience members wanted to hear less of a love fest from the custodians.

Eavesdropping on the Barron's Top Independent Advisor Summit and appreciating its vibe

There was the usual fertile atmosphere for advisor-on-advisor chats and some impatience with RIA custodial heads' bloviations

March 25, 2014 at 3:34 AM

Mike Paulus (r.) being interviewed by Bill Winterberg: It was a very long and smooth transition. (photo courtesy of Winterberg.)

The face of Addepar leaves the company amid intrigue about just where it stands with the RIA market

Mike Paulus was company president during its formative time and exemplified its faith in youth

March 24, 2014 at 3:33 AM

Jacob Adamczyk: Some of them are filled with conflict because they are stuffed full of proprietary funds selected by the fund company -- if the underlying investments can be determined at all.

Why I use target date funds for some 401(k) clients in my RIA but with exaggerated scrutiny and care

The set-and-forget products have enormous potential for good but may also be a fiduciary nightmare

March 21, 2014 at 4:29 PM

Thomas Clark: There's no liability for Fidelity, but it just doesn't look good for them.

Fidelity Investments wins huge in the 'biggest 401(k) case in decades' -- but bearing battle scars

Boston 401(k) giant is able to reverse prior judgement related to fees in landmark Tussey v. ABB

March 20, 2014 at 7:07 AM

David Barry: I think we got back to who we are.

After a brief mini-Schwab era, Trust Company of America gets back to non-conformity and success

New CEO David Barry is concentrating on making fast-growing TAMPs-to-IARs grow even faster

March 19, 2014 at 5:16 AM

Dwayne Grady and Caroline Girgis: We wouldn't have taken this much off the table if the price of the stock wasn't what it is.

United Capital drops a six-figure check on 10 partner firms in share buyback program financed by SageView

Joe Duran's company is belatedly paying fully vested firms for up to 25% of their stock after the 2008 crash threw off the promised liquidity schedule

March 18, 2014 at 5:27 PM

Roger Paradisio: I think model delivery is early enough in its world—it's only been going on for so many years and it's small enough that we can contain it now.

How Envestnet is taking its stranglehold on money-managers-to-IBD reps distribution to a much wider channel base of financial advisors

The Chicago-based giant will use standards, critical mass, manager relations, folio technology and a special MMI blessing to cut costs and hassles in a way that shift the cost paradigm

March 17, 2014 at 6:40 AM

Elliot Weissbluth: These are not simple lift-outs.

Elliot Weissbluth pooh-poohs the idea that HighTower faces channel conflict as 'stupid and uninformed'

The roll-up has added franchise- and outsource-type channels in the wake of a capital raise that failed to materialize

March 14, 2014 at 5:59 AM

Jack Rivkin: I interviewed lots of people for three to four months but nobody met all the criteria. I pulled a Dick Cheney and said: I can do this.

VC firm installs one of its own, a Lehman Bros. legend, to get Altegris in gear

After months of searching on behalf of Aquiline, Jack L. Rivkin decided to nominate himself

March 13, 2014 at 3:53 AM

Phyllis Borzi: We're troubled by this and employers are having a hard time finding the documents they're looking for.

Phyllis Borzi tightens the noose on 401(k) providers that flout DOL disclosure, not without critics

The idea is to have a de facto big red arrow pointing to key disclosures on revenue sharing but it'll add to the verbiage surplus

March 11, 2014 at 9:04 PM

Matt McGinness long had the power of the pen and now has power, period.

Adam Antoniades names Matt McGinness as his replacement as CEO of First Allied's $4-billion RIA-TAMP to launch new business line

Long an RIA researcher at Cerulli and LPL, McGinness makes a big leap to turn the company's internal corporate RIA into an outward-facing TAMP

March 11, 2014 at 1:23 AM

Dave Grant: Viewers want to see someone who is real and provides them content that they can use.

Advisor as auteur: How to put a 'video selfie' front and center on your homepage using the film studio in your back pocket

You don't need Scorcese-level skills to make your first video -- just a smart phone or the webcam in your laptop and the willingness to try

March 10, 2014 at 11:43 PM

Racquel Oden is tasked with RIA-ifying the training program and infusing new blood into the starchy Merrill advisor force.

Is Merrill Lynch taking its more RIA-like training program another step forward with Racquel Oden's promotion?

The new head of training breaks stereotypes and may break new ground for the industry -- or not

March 10, 2014 at 1:31 AM

Mike Norton: They need new sources of revenue -- especially recurring revenue.

Bankers show muted confidence in competing with RIAs, Fidelity study shows

The projections from the most optimistic set of bankers predicts sub-5% growth annually, even on steep part of growth curve

March 6, 2014 at 9:32 PM

LPL advisors will join Mario Andretti and other jet-setters on the French Riviera next week.

LPL is taking its elite RIAs and other top producers to Monte Carlo in out-of-beribboned-box move

The broker-dealer's record first time sign-ups show the European haven strikes a chord with Orlando-weary advisors

March 5, 2014 at 9:54 PM

Benjamin Pierce: Jim names a donor-advised fund as charitable beneficiary to his assets because his goal is to keep heirs involved in philanthropy.

Strategic philanthropy: Exactly how to bequeath your values -- not taxes -- to the next generation

A case study illustrates how charitable impact and tax relief for family members are not mutually exclusive -- and may point the way to keep heirs on the true altruistic path

March 5, 2014 at 6:54 PM

Jeffrey Krum: It wasn't what we were missing at Merrill but we wanted more.

Loving Merrill but leaving Merrill, two 38-year olds and an 'old guy' take $700 million of assets to an RIA citing the model's better mousetrap

The three advisors found they had less and less in common with other Merrill advisors in the Portland, Ore. office

March 4, 2014 at 8:30 PM

Rob Fiore: Four years ago, it was a $40-million clients size average. We have seen a dramatic shift.

PCR singles out Advent/Black Diamond for reverse predatory pricing in bid to move further downmarket

The Wilton, Conn. white-shoe software firm wants to underscore its ultra-coddling that won private banks

March 3, 2014 at 9:21 PM

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