Why TD Ameritrade didn't reveal Tom Bradley's new executive position during its national conference
...and other things I learned from talking to the new president of TD retail and his replacement, Tom Nally
3 min read- Bradley's retail promotion and Nally's RIA leadership were decided unexpectedly over a weekend.
- Nally's decade-long grooming prepared him to seamlessly succeed Bradley at TD Ameritrade Institutional.
- TD Ameritrade retail branches may see closer collaboration with RIAs under the new leadership.
Brooke’s Note: It was a whirlwind the past few days but I finally got Tom Bradley and Tom Nally on the phone. These are two very excited individuals who filled in a few blanks.
There wasn’t a hint, not even a whiff, at TD Ameritrade’s big event in Orlando that it was was a kind of farewell party for Tom Bradley and a coming out party for Tom Nally.
The two executives and their boss, Fred Tomczyk, were business as usual and there have been various Tweets since then about why they didn’t use the national conference as a time to tell of such big changes in person. Tom Bradley, 49, left his job as head of the RIA business to become head of retail. Tom Nally, 40, is now president of TD Ameritrade Institutional. See: Tom Nally to take the reins of TD Ameritrade’s RIA business from Tom Bradley.
The answer to why they had such effective poker faces is not a precursor to their career in Las Vegas. They simply had no idea that the changes were imminent, they say. The appointments were rather the result of a chain reaction set off when John Bunch resigned as the head of retail to take a position with a financial advisory firm. He is now the CEO of The Mutual Fund Store. See: John Bunch is hired as the new CEO of The Mutual Fund Store
What Tom Bradley's 25-year reign at TD Ameritrade says about the RIA business
Weekend plans
“It all came together over the weekend. I’m thrilled it didn’t happen before,” Bradley says.
Though the actual timing of the baton passing was a surprise, the decision to tap Nally as a successor goes back more than a decade.
“I hired Tom 20 years ago and I’ve been grooming him for a long time,” Bradley says.
Story Timeline
But isn’t Bradley sad to be leaving his creation? See: What Tom Bradley’s 25-year reign at TD Ameritrade says about the RIA business.
Leaving my baby
Tom Nally to take the reins of TD Ameritrade's RIA business from Tom Bradley
“As far as leaving my baby…I worked very hard over the years to make sure we have a strong team and a deep team. I’m just incredibly excited…the retail side is the dominant player. The retail business is huge.”
TD Ameritrade has about 100 branches.
Nally is based in Fort Worth, Texas, home to considerable TD Ameritrade Institutional operations and a jumping-off point for travel.
“I will stay in Texas. It enables me to be in the middle of the country,” Nally says.
Nally is well-known now because he has been heading up sales. But he wants it remembered he took that job only recently after overseeing service, technology and operations for years.
“I know the business inside out,” he says. “Tom’s been an incredible mentor.”
Nally adds that he will follow the Bradley script in building the advisor business because it’s been working. As for what he’ll do with the branches, Bradley says there is a possibility they could work a little more closely with RIAs. But he doesn’t anticipate that there will be any new push toward more advice delivered through that channel and that they will continue to offer what can better be described as guidance.
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