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Articles published 4/2014


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Joe Piazza: I prefer to let my actions and the success of our firm speak to the doubters.

Swatting aside 'doubters,' Joe Piazza uses an improbable hook to nab Wells Fargo private bankers -- pent-up Addepar lust

Robertson Stephens chief learns it's easier to court advisors winning Silicon Valley wealth using Made-in-Mountain-View software

April 30, 2014 at 5:26 PM

Jeff Maurer: At no point did we say let's go hire as many people from GenSpring as possible.
April 29, 2014 at 6:28 AM

Dave Welling accepts congrats from Gov. Rick Scott in Florida for creating a mini-Silicon Valley in Jacksonville.

Advent Software hits the local news in Jacksonville

Florida Gov. Rick Scott comes calling as the software maker's East Coast hub hits 145 employees with plans for a quick doubling

April 28, 2014 at 11:56 PM

Stuart DePina: It does close the gap with Salesforce.

Tamarac doubles down on Microsoft to be more like Salesforce

Stuart DePina has beyond-skin-deep reason for liking Microsoft Dynamics but Salesforce has prettier-girl attributes

April 28, 2014 at 5:59 PM

Oleg Tishkevich: If the 2045 Avatar Project is successful, we will have to expand the Finance Logix technology platform to creating financial plans for immortals.

Oleg Tishkevich lets loose a de facto RIA future-shock think tank in Vegas

A Heartbleed super-expert, Sochi Olympics security chief, Joel Bruckenstein's woodshed talk and Oleg's own Year 2045 post-robo oration set the shocking tone

April 28, 2014 at 6:13 AM

Joel Bruckenstein: When you're strong you can afford to overpay a little bit.

How Joe Mansueto's purchase of ByAllAccounts is mostly a show of faith in the Morningstar brand, global reach and the future of asset-quarterbacking as a billable service

The Woburn, Mass.-based aggregator has the dubious distinction of being a near-monopolist that can't quite crack the profits puzzle, sources say

April 25, 2014 at 5:28 AM

Cathy Clauson will act as the connective tissue between sales and the C-suite.

Charles Goldman recruits his one-time Schwab leftenant to be his right-hand woman at AssetMark

Cathy Clauson fills newly created position related to TAMP sales

April 25, 2014 at 12:08 AM

Steve Anderson became RIABiz' top Q1 newsmaker when he announced his firm had 'fired' $25 billion worth of 401(k) clients.

How rising RIA super-bloggers, 401(k) brush fires and a short RIA-Salesforce courtship captured RIABiz readership

As we examined our top 10 articles Q1, the common denominator was ... an RIA intangible that you know when you see

April 24, 2014 at 6:28 AM

Lauren Schadle: Nothing has changed to accommodate MetLife.

The FPA is now brought to you by MetLife, for better or worse

The insurer's cash is the good news but some see it as tainted money

April 23, 2014 at 5:42 AM

Jon Stein: I think anything's possible. That  [Betterment RIA business] could be the larger business [than the retail one] in the long term.

How Jon Stein plans to make the most of $45 million of VC money in remaking the RIA business

The Betterment founder says he is open to his B-to-B, read RIA unit, knocking his B-to-C business out of the spotlight

April 22, 2014 at 6:03 AM

Victor Fettter: We believe there's a special sauce that LPL can provide and I don't think there's one size fits all.

Victor Fetter turns his guns on LPL's thorniest software challenge -- 21st century performance reporting

The former Dell guru eschews a best-of-breed strategy as his firm plays a game of catch-up under a big tent

April 21, 2014 at 3:36 AM

Tom Valverde's hire is part of Fidelity's new 'geographical' sales strategy.

Fidelity Institutional bags Pershing's RIA sales chief and gives him a lesser title

The prize is Tom Valverde who Pershing replaces with Ben Harrison

April 17, 2014 at 3:20 PM

Mike Alfred: If you're hoarding all of this data and won't help wholesalers to help everyone get better they won't work with you.

BrightScope sees sales soar as formerly adversarial big 401(k) companies buy data about their own business

The business model of the La Jolla-based maverick evolves and triggers millions in new fee revenue and some big hires

April 16, 2014 at 7:58 AM

Libby Cherrington (right) and Krista Dunton have two kids and have been married almost five years.

How Morgan Stanley and a lesbian super-producer came to grief in South Carolina and why she alleges bias

The wirehouse's response: Libby Cherrington is using the gay issue to distract from a $6.7 million loan that has gone unpaid by the AIG rep

April 15, 2014 at 6:24 AM

Bill Morrissey epitomizes LPL's ability to grow rapidly.
April 14, 2014 at 6:52 PM

Eduardo Repetto: He is an excellent person to take on this critical role.

Dimensional Fund Advisors gives its globe-trotting co-CEO some relief by elevating another literal rocket scientist

The Austin-based firm is putting more CEO duties on Eduardo Repetto, and letting Gerard O'Reilly do the heavy CIO lifting

April 11, 2014 at 9:11 PM

Patrick Sheppard: Getting back into the retail world and getting back into the high-net worth world was more fulfilling than dealing with institutions on a global basis.

Why a $500-million RIA Rt. 495 start-up hired a no-book ex-BNY Mellon Asset Management CFO

Patrick Sheppard is ready for the hands-on life and New England Investment and Retirement is looking for a steady executive hand

April 11, 2014 at 8:03 PM


Charles Goldman: We bought the firm hoping the CEO would be there.

Charles Goldman speaks from the CEO Summit hotel about what he didn't see coming at AssetMark and how it changed his life

The Fidelity and Schwab veteran is criss-crossing the country as managing principal rather than part-time coach

April 10, 2014 at 3:27 AM

Steve Lockshin: I wrote a big check.

Tiburon CEO Summit extrudes big news: Betterment Institutional is born

Steve Lockshin lays out his plans for TAMP-like venture and how Michael Kitces, a public critic of the Betterment CEO, very much fits in

April 8, 2014 at 9:39 PM

Fidelity's alt investments brain trust: 'It used to be three guys and a dog in Greenwich.'

Fidelity, Goldman Sachs and Morningstar call 16 top reporters to New York to define the RIA alts problem -- and to explain how their Dream Team solves it

The conundrum: In the dawn of the Age of Transparency, alts makers still favor pulling down the shades, and charging a premium for the disservice

April 8, 2014 at 4:42 AM

Philip Chao: Captain Phillips was not thinking if he should serve in the best interest of his crew ... rather, his fiduciary commitment was on autopilot.

What I learned at Putnam Investments' analyst meeting from the real Capt. Phillips

The harrowing tale of a man charged with a boat, cargo and human lives helped think about fiduciary care

April 7, 2014 at 5:03 PM

Derek Bruton: It allowed me to step back and look at all I had accomplished to date and where I wanted to go from here.  In the short term, I will be taking some time to prioritize and recharge.

What is the story with Derek Bruton's sudden LPL departure?

The powerful veteran seemed to be in the prime of his career and rising with a long track record of goodwill

April 6, 2014 at 5:23 PM

Bob Reynolds: They reached out and asked if we'd like to buy their proprietary business.

Just what good Bob Reynolds' purchase of J.P. Morgan's billions -- sans sweet brand -- will do for his Great West-Putnam 401(k) empire

The Boston exec was opportunistic in getting this deal and remains open to others but the 'O' word that made Whole Foods famous is holding sway

April 4, 2014 at 5:01 AM

Walter Bettinger and Charles Schwab: It is time to treat the cancer aggressively.

Chuck Schwab and Walter Bettinger issue call to squash flash traders but RIAs question hysteria over the issue

Calling robo-traders a 'cancer', the Schwab execs lash out while Norm Boone and other advisors question whether this is a battle to pick

April 3, 2014 at 10:56 PM

Bob Reynolds: In this business especially it's a game of scale.

Bob Reynolds strikes again in his 401(k) quest -- this time buying JPMorgan's retirement recordkeeping business

The deal includes blue chip 401k accounts of Procter & Gamble, American Airlines and JPMorgan itself

April 3, 2014 at 5:37 PM

Scott Hanson:  I felt a little intimidated ... [at first] as a state school grad I didn't feel like I could cut out on anything.

What they do teach at Harvard Business School that's worth learning even after banking monetary success

Personally, I have accumulated sufficient assets, but ironically it took the famed business institution to give my career a deeper purpose

April 3, 2014 at 6:19 AM

Joe Mansueto sees the buy 'particularly bolstering our offerings that support an advisor’s workflow.'

Why Morningstar's purchase of ByAllAccounts might be a bigger deal than its paltry $28-million price tag shows

The Chicago firm becomes the king of charging for held-away assets facilitation and has a view into the data of its competitors

April 2, 2014 at 5:49 AM

Brooke Southall: By using 'robo' we say to snippy entrepreneurs: Take your cutesy website, your fancy VC backing, your geeks and your Harvard, Stanford or MIT degree and go back to your ivory tower.

Why I find the term 'robo-advisor' objectionable and unhelpful

In the end, all good advisors will likely be both bionic and biological and terms of art creating a false distinction are unhelpful

April 1, 2014 at 4:14 AM

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