RIABiz

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RIABiz

Articles published 3/2015


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James Osborne: I grew weary of explaining underperformance to clients and frustrated that our best attempts to find the 'best' managers seemed left to chance.

My 10-year journey from a BoA call center to establishing a solo $73-million AUM RIA

I established my own business two years ago with a pitch [and fee structure] so appealing I don't always finish it

March 31, 2015 at 7:46 PM

Jonathan Haray: The real question is if the evidence will stem to Virtus from F-Squared, and in some sense the investigators are starting from scratch.

SEC denies Freedom of Information request by RIABiz related to Virtus funds as Ameriprise and TD Ameritrade become latest biggies to cut ties

The regulator's non-response isn't proof of an investigation but big broker-dealers continue to see smoke as fire -- and Virtus's own SEC docs seem to warn of potential trouble brewing

March 30, 2015 at 5:19 PM

Kings of RIA custody Mark Tibergien. Bob Oros, Tom Nally and Bernie Clark in a panel moderated by Sterling Shea -- and a pesky mobile app

How an iPhone app cut through stilted questioning at Barron's RIA custody panel in Scottsdale

Sterling Shea invited advisors to vote on pressing RIA questions via iPhone -- and they acidly asked Bernie Clark whether Schwab is robo-competing against them

March 27, 2015 at 7:13 PM

Chris Daniels [no photo exists online]: It hasn't been done before because it's more of a marketing challenge than a technology challenge.

Why EF Hutton's rebooters took the arse-backward tack of selling public shares and buying a brand before developing a product

CEO Chris Daniels is betting the brand's 20th century fame combined with 21st century digital technology -- and a Nasdaq listing -- will translate into success

March 26, 2015 at 8:02 PM

Howard Present says any blame lies elsewhere.

In reply to SEC, Howard Present blames bad advice for any alleged wrongdoing

The F-Squared founder cries foul for what the SEC calls fraud

March 24, 2015 at 10:49 PM

Sophie Schmidt: I think they're taking a very bold approach.

Schwab is accelerating its software upgrading pace on the back end

The San Francisco-based firm's front-end technology surpasses the system's foundation, which is OK for now, but the bill is coming due

March 24, 2015 at 8:18 PM

David Giantasio: ['Blue' explains its mission] in measured tones that make me believe it would really rather kill all humans!

Trade publication critiques the inhumanity of Schwab's robo advertising

AdWeek notes the Blue's oh-so-calm, 'kill-all-the-humans' voice

March 24, 2015 at 4:59 PM

Bernie Clark: We have been working closely with advisor groups over the past year to shape our offer.

Schwab makes thousands of its RIAs subject to fee for robo-software, allocation of client cash to Schwab Bank

The San Francisco firm told RIAs on a webcast that their firms must have $100 million on account or pay for robo-software

March 23, 2015 at 7:21 PM

Glenn Neasham: We couldn't say anything. We just cried. [credit: LifeHealthPro]

Found innocent after being sentenced to jail for alleged bilking of an old lady, Glenn Neasham struggles to rebuild his career

Former Vikings quarterback-turned-marketer Fran Tarkenton is scrambling to help but Neasham is delivering pizzas at night

March 20, 2015 at 8:38 PM

Joe Martinetto: Schwab Advisor Services' RIAs will drive about $8 billion of incremental growth to the balance sheet of the bank in 2015.

For sub-$500k accounts, Schwab is sweeping RIA client cash into its bank, pumping up corporate profits

Unlike the robo, RIAs can manually direct funds to money market funds which makes this change less controversial

March 19, 2015 at 5:51 PM

Ajay Gupta: I knew the book was going to be a success. I didn't know that three months later it would be on its ninth printing and still be a New York Times bestseller.

Swamped by Tony Robbins' referrals, Ajay Gupta launches national venture with Jemstep and United Capital as notable partners

The UBS breakaway mentioned in the self-help guru's book is now calling on RIAs nationwide to share the referral wealth

March 18, 2015 at 7:41 PM

Andrew McFadden: As a startup, it is very difficult to limit yourself to working with a specific clientele. Nevertheless, I decided to go by the book and specialize.

How exactly I started a specialized RIA for under $10,000

Andrew McFadden started Panoramic Financial Advice out of his Fresno, Calif. home and cut costs to the bone -- except where only retail would do -- and isn't afraid to send micro-accounts to a competitor

March 17, 2015 at 6:49 PM

Mike Durbin: We're clearly serious about being a technology company in the arms race but not necessarily to the exclusion of other third parties.

The mission-critical task Abby Johnson has entrusted to Mike Durbin regarding Fidelity's RIAs and automation

The Fidelity CEO's move reflects a paradigm shift for RIAs, for the whole company

March 16, 2015 at 8:17 PM

Roger Hewins: It comes with their 'approved investments' instead of ours, so its a non-starter.

With apprehension in the air, Schwab invites its RIAs to a one-hour meeting about robo-advice

Many of Schwab's 7,000 advisors are eager for robo-technology but are wary of what's behind the amiable blue facade

March 13, 2015 at 5:47 PM

Robert Shapiro: It makes a big difference to us that we're now judging the risks and returns ourselves

After lassoing Banyan and Silver Bridge talent, Ropes & Gray launches $2.7 billion RIA to extend its legal brand to financial advice

The 150-year-old white shoe, which counseled Mitt Romney on financial matters, is unshackled to advise as Ropes Wealth Advisors

March 12, 2015 at 5:58 PM

Adam Nash's blog broadside features a photo of Chuck Schwab from his company's 'David' days of taking on the Merrill Lynch 'Goliath'

Adam Nash makes direct 'CEO-to-CEO' plea to Schwab to rethink its robo

In a blistering blog entry, the Wealthfront chief executive expresses outrage at the Schwab robo's ADV contents -- and gets an earful back from the San Francisco giant

March 11, 2015 at 4:16 AM

Karin Risi's 18-year Vanguard tenure got afterburners when she made the firm's de novo RIA zoom.

Vanguard Group's econo-RIA chief will now report to her CEO as unit hits $5 billion, gains steam

Bill McNabb wants a direct line to Karin Risi as Vanguard Personal Advisor Services hits $5 billion of AUM

March 10, 2015 at 7:13 PM

GerriLeder: These secret millionaires ... drove 12-year-old cars, lived in the same small house for more than 30 years and worked until after dark every day into his 70s.

How a Vermont janitor's $8-million bequest highlights lessons for advisors found in Tom Stanley's bestseller, 'The Millionaire Next Door'

Mercedes and McMansion owners aren't always 'Prodigious Accumulators of Wealth,' according to the late advisor and researcher

March 10, 2015 at 4:36 PM

Schwab Intelligent Portfolios is now evocatively named 'Blue'

Schwab sings 'Blue' as it rolls out its robo -- and phono -- functions ahead of deadline, with minimums

Schwab Intelligent Portfolios now has breakpoints of $5,000 and $50,000 of assets -- and comes with human broker help

March 9, 2015 at 10:07 PM

Payel Farasat: You become very humble when you have to sit across from clients and manage their life savings. This is big stuff.

Extraordinary women awaken the RIA business, shepherd billions

In a business starved for beyond-the-books talent, executives are turning to a largely untapped gender

March 6, 2015 at 8:53 PM

Bob Oros has climbed about every rung on the RIA ladder

Bob Oros jumps to the top 'RIA' spot at Fidelity

With Mike Durbin taking a new day job at the Boston giant, the sales journeyman of Schwab, LPL and TCoA fame gets a coveted title

March 5, 2015 at 8:59 PM

Robert Moore leaves LPL after steadying the firm.

Robert Moore walks from LPL Financial president role for new gig, but Dan Arnold softens the blow by filling the void

Mark Casady's second-in-command was hired as CFO from a bank early in the 2008 crisis but Arnold is known as entrepreneurial soul who can 'do' corporate

March 3, 2015 at 9:04 PM

Matt Brinker: It wasn't technically a transaction for various reasons.

How United Capital's unconventional rolling up of a $2 billion RIA reveals how close the roll-up model is to extinction

Joe Duran's Newport Beach firm does cryptic non-transactional acquisition as Focus Financial becomes a tuck-in machine and HighTower sells de facto franchises

March 3, 2015 at 6:43 PM

Stuart DePina:  All that plumbing is there but it's not what the end investor sees. This Upside technology is the last mile

Envestnet buys baby robo-advisor to add 'last mile' to its grown-up platform

Upside will cast its lot with the Chicago outsourcing giant in Sunnyvale, becoming the first robo to get consolidated

March 2, 2015 at 9:08 PM

Don Trone: The individuals I am critical of are the members of fiduciary advocacy groups who have turned a blind eye to unethical, and in some cases, illegal behavior.

Where Barbara Roper and Ron Rhoades lose traction in their fiduciary arguments

Lay fiduciary decision-makers have difficulty in discerning conflicts of interest.

March 2, 2015 at 6:19 PM

This little piggy went to market forces that made allies out of Twitter foes, Mssrs. Kitces and Stein

After famous Twitter feud, Jon Stein and Michael Kitces make up and join forces

As XY Planning Network hits 61 members, its co-founder bets that Betterment Institutional is the best platform for his mostly younger RIAs

March 2, 2015 at 6:42 AM

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