RIABiz

News, Vision & Voice for the Advisory Community

RIABiz

Articles published 1/2016


Headline

Publish date


Steve Dunlap: One of the things I was always so outspoken about was the engineering was great but the user-interface and the experience was something that could have been better.

Ex-Lockwood CEO Steve Dunlap takes on role at FolioDynamix after being a customer with a bone to pick

With new Actua ownership, Dunlap and capital, FolioDynamix CEO Joseph Mrak says his firm has Envestnet in its sights

January 29, 2016 at 9:04 PM

Richard Ketchum professed support for a fiduciary standard,then, in the same speech, opposed the DOL's proposed rule-making, calling it 'problematic.'

Tick, tick, tick ... FINRA rewrites 'culture,' 'conflicts of interest' and 'ethics' into a farcical 'best interests' code after DOL drops a bomb on its suitability ethos

In its latest burst of bureaucratic creativity, the wirehouse cop acknowledges the scourge of Wall Street culture then quickly excuses the behavior it elicits

January 29, 2016 at 6:33 PM

Brad McMillan: The outcome [for the Middle East] could well resemble that of the Soviet Union, which faced the same problem.

A fresh look at the seemingly preposterous notion that cheap oil is somehow harmful

Net-net, an energy glut affords big benefits but the systemic shock, markets, economies and geopolitics, pose plausible threats

January 28, 2016 at 11:22 PM

Justin Wisz: It's the same type of tracking Google has on you and me ... If we had that, we'd have the Holy Grail.

Vestorly makes play for RIA browsers with $4.1 million of VC funding -- tiptoeing past prowling issue

Justin Wisz's robo-marketing for advisors already serves RIAs like Halbert Hargrove but now he's reaching for a higher rung of robotics

January 28, 2016 at 9:15 PM

Chieh Huang: At Boxed, we're a technology company at heart, so working with Betterment is a natural fit for us.

Betterment adds 50 firms to its new 401(k) plan -- and IBM and Marcia Wagner connections

Smaller companies with Betterment-ish-sounding names like Earnest Operations and Boxed are the early guinea pigs but big dogs are on the robo's 401(k) board of directors

January 27, 2016 at 7:24 PM

Valerie Brown: AIG products don't and won't get special treatment.

Why Lightyear's purchase of AIG Advisor Group isn't a Cetera-type fixer-upper case and how Donald Marron will respond accordingly

The New York-based private equity firm picked up ING's brokers in 2009 for a song after market meltdown but AIG networks has intangible value as a survivor

January 26, 2016 at 8:47 PM

Tracy Calder spent 18 years at UBS before leading efforts at JP Morgan Securities.

LPL keeps on stockpiling tip-top compliance execs, with JP Morgan's ex-CCO the latest

Tracy Calder joins a lengthening line of hires that follow a deluge of SEC fines

January 26, 2016 at 4:11 PM

Bill McNabb told Inside ETFs' audience that Vanguard's RIA is mostly only advising people with $50,000-level portfolios.

Bill McNabb declares 'bull market' for RIA advice then downplays role of Vanguard Personal Advisor Services

The Vanguard CEO sees new era of 'advisor alpha' facilitated by software and low costs

January 26, 2016 at 12:56 AM

Craig Iskowitz: The market is talking and they see their assets going down. The smaller account sizes are becoming the long tail for the wealth management business.

As OneSource asset levels falter, Schwab slashes no-transaction-fee minimum to invest

The San Francisco-based firm is first to create published minimums and all the Big Three custodians point fingers at recalcitrant asset managers

January 22, 2016 at 10:05 PM

The tangible damage that a loss of money can do in our lives is often substantially less threatening than the amorphously intangible fear of losing control of some portion of our destiny, our pride and our sense of security.

Three ways RIAs can reassure clients when they're feeling none-too-assured themselves

The objective isn't to cure the disease but to treat the myriad of symptoms being experienced until healing can occur

January 22, 2016 at 12:23 AM

Burt White: We may not have seen full-blown panic, but we have gained some confidence that the upside opportunity for stocks from here may outweigh the downside.

Any bulls left? If not, that could be a good thing, opines LPL Financial's CIO

The ominious 'death cross' phenomenon suggest the market could be scraping bottom

January 21, 2016 at 7:56 PM

Brad Bickham: We gained geography, great partners and another investment strategy.

In a deal made in Schwab land, a $1 billion Boulder RIA buys smaller rival but takes the bolder name of its quarry

Sargent Bickham Lagudis rebrands under $250 million AUM Colorado Financial Management in search for newly prosperous clients

January 21, 2016 at 7:35 PM

Steve Cucchiaro: I have to say that I've particularly enjoyed entrepreneurial experiences.

As Schwab noncompete expires, Steve Cucchiaro jumps back into the ETF management game with old staff

After selling $4.5-billion Windhaven to Schwab for $150 million he eventually left at $19 billion, then missed the culture of independence

January 20, 2016 at 9:34 PM

Matt Sonnen: I was employee zero at Luminous. I built the firm in the shadows outside of Merrill.

How the mastermind of the Luminous Capital breakaway is parlaying his cloak-and-dagger skills into 'Pure Financial Independence'

With his wife, Larissa, as sidearm, Matt Sonnen seeks to fulfill a niche for a service level between John Furey and Shirl Penney

January 19, 2016 at 8:38 PM

David Selig: We worked to figure out what to do when both firms competed for the same clients. Finally, we just decided to compete.

Two RIA M&A firms merge -- sort of -- when they're not competing head-to-head

Park Sutton and Advice Dynamics Partners are trying out the power of two, without too much heavy paperwork

January 19, 2016 at 6:20 PM

Brad McMillan: Confidence-driven bear markets have taken about six months to recover in the past.

As the S&P 500 shoots below the moving averages, how much more should we worry?

More. But at about 14.75x forward earnings, or the levels of mid-2013, so far, so normal.

January 15, 2016 at 10:49 PM

Mitchell Kovitz: With access to Focus’ resources and capital, we believe Kovitz will be able to enter into its next phase of growth while maintaining our independence.

Focus Financial bags $3.1 billion, 50-person RIA and why it 'really is impressive'

Kovitz Investment Group becomes the roll-up's fourth Chicago holding -- and maybe the most ambitious

January 15, 2016 at 3:20 PM

All eyes shouldn’t be on Kellehner to see if he succeeds -- they should be on James Gorman [pictured] to see if he survives.

What the deletion of no-drama Greg Fleming bodes for Morgan Stanley, wirehouses and CEO James Gorman

Moves leading up to the 52-year-old Yalie's departure, made under duress, removed the CEO's chief rival and chief heat shield

January 14, 2016 at 9:56 PM

Peter Intraligi: This is completely open architecture.

How exactly Invesco plans to get a return on its Jemstep robo purchase with a TAMP-evoking strategy

The $800-billion Atlanta money manager is trying a modern model portfolios play on buying distribution for a more prominent seat at the table

January 13, 2016 at 9:39 PM

Vanguard's arid Scottsdale, Ariz. plant, where most Vanguard advisors are stationed.

Vanguard's virtual RIA adds $10 billion in last six-month period, an acceleration to $1.6 billion per month of net new assets

Does Vanguard's Personal Advisor Services' zoom to $31 billion makes it a the 'single greatest threat' to classic RIAs?

January 12, 2016 at 10:40 PM

The 2014 RIA hype frenzy may have peaked when suddenly Tony Robbins was everywhere.

Why the RIA business starts 2016 without its swagger: 2014 and 2015

What's hot right now? Almost nothing and nobody. But it might be a 'healthy correction' of equilibrium

January 11, 2016 at 11:42 PM

Min Zhang: We think about body-mass index. The questions can feel awkward.

With algorithms and awkward questions, an ex-PIMCO 32-year-old crashes the RIA business

Min Zhang will literally size you up and analyze your life like an actuary with Totum Wealth

January 9, 2016 at 12:17 AM

Michael J. Cleary: One of the things our clients are going to be looking for in the next five to 10 years is what's next for Cleary Gull.

An $8.4 billion wealth manager emerges in Milwaukee after old RBC spinoff, Cleary Gull, finds local love

Johnson Financial Group adds 40 advisors and $2.1 billion but does a reverse branding merger

January 7, 2016 at 10:47 PM

Brooke Southall: The RIA business continues to have two big problems. Maybe there is one solution.

Need an up-to-the-minute 2016 RIA model? Read the large print in Brooke's hypothetical Southall Advisors RIA brochure

In a world of undifferentiated wealth managers, a culture of millennial-style openness addresses the core issues -- trust and accountability

January 6, 2016 at 10:45 PM

Joan Khoury: What I'm drawn to here is the ability to create the narrative and the story. This firm isn't as well known but it has good name recognition.

Joan Khoury gets hired as CMO to revive brand of the other Oppenheimer

LPL's ex-marketing chief comes to the long-forgotten wirehouse believing its long history provides grist for a compelling narrative

January 5, 2016 at 11:10 PM

Tony Sirianni: You get views by not selling out.

Tony Sirriani buys AdvisorHUB

The founder and former CEO of Washington Wealth Management vows not to 'sell out' but AdvisorHUB's new business model is still being developed

January 5, 2016 at 5:08 PM

Bucking industry skepticism, Jon Stein is pitching his robo as a one-stop 401[k] shop for legacy firms.

The 10 biggest RIA moves of 2015 and what conclusions to draw from them

PE dollars, succession angst, women executives seeking same and, of course, the robo sweepstakes spurred these advisor-entrepreneurs to dare and to risk much

January 4, 2016 at 9:28 PM

RIABiz Archives

RIABiz Directory

The Industry Sourcebook for RIAs

   |    LISTING


RIABiz Directory sponsored by:

Directory Sponsor Logo