RIABiz

News, Vision & Voice for the Advisory Community

RIABiz

Articles published 2/2010


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Les Abromovitz: When the SEC takes a stand on social media, it is likely to reach many of the same conclusions

FINRA guidance may help RIAs avoid social media blunders

Even employees' LinkedIn profiles ought to be supervised

February 26, 2010 at 7:49 AM

Joe Duran: Nobody thinks of Cisco as an acquiring company because they have one culture [and by following that example] that's how we end up with an arbitrage

The faces of United Capital on an idyllic spring day on the Berkeley campus

Photographs of United Capital partners and executives at the Haas School of Business event

February 26, 2010 at 7:04 AM

Elisse Walter: We’ve been making it too hard on ourselves.

SEC's Walter looks for an easier way out on fiduciary question

Johnson amendment gains primacy as jockeying continues on the Hill

February 25, 2010 at 10:56 PM

Joseph Vietri: Check-up calls on wire transfers will continue indefinitely and more safeguarding steps will be added to the program

Schwab won't stop at wire transfer check-up calls in its quest for airtight security of RIA client assets

Top service exec at big custodian says the tumult of the last 18 months led to the escalation of asset safeguards

February 25, 2010 at 5:36 AM

Joe Duran: Our goal is to [help make] our partner firms into the dominant market leaders in their respective cities and to help build several $5 to $10 million offices in the next few years.

United Capital calls its partner firms to Berkeley to help execute ambitious plan

Haas business school professors will orient consolidator's RIAs toward new ways of looking at growth

February 25, 2010 at 5:36 AM

Jay Quinn will help Barnaby Grist to make Cetera's broker-dealers better for hybrid RIAs

Jay Quinn joins Cetera subsidiary to help Barnaby Grist pave way for more hybrid RIAs

Two ex-Schwab executives unite in Los Angeles to upgrade old ING platform

February 24, 2010 at 7:34 AM

Steve Walkenbach is heading Scottrade's RIA custody unit but the company is seeking a replacement for Doug Talir

Scottrade is ramping up marketing -- with an interim leader at the helm

The St. Louis-based discount broker has big momentum and a big position to fill

February 24, 2010 at 7:33 AM

Robert Eisenbeis says the too-big-to-fail legislation is likely to be complex and arcane. "This is the sausage," he says.

A different take on too-big-to-fail

Shadow Committee posits that bankruptcy law may be better after all

February 23, 2010 at 11:29 PM

Roger Hartley and Keith Mitchell: We are fairly eclectic in terms of the types of businesses we think we can be helpful with.

New M&A firm with Putnam Lovell alumni appears on the wealth management landscape

Mitchell Hartley straddles world of asset management and wealth management

February 23, 2010 at 6:19 AM

Don Trone: Plan sponsors want advisors who can lead the way.

7 things a financial advisor needs to know to succeed in the 401(k) business

Needy plan sponsors are green pastures for those with the right tools

February 23, 2010 at 6:17 AM

George Tamer let it be known that technology without a dedicated effort by the financial advisor won't yield great results

The T3 conference hit its stride Friday with key speeches and a hum of activity

An IBM big wig cleared up some issues surrounding 'cloud' computing

February 22, 2010 at 3:42 PM

Steve Bartlett: If we can move the needle and get our hundred companies into the automatic transfer [system], it will change the economy of this country in a profound way in a few short years.

Giant push is on in Washington to create a nation of savers

Banks are taking the lead but companies like Fidelity Investments, Raymond James, and Edward Jones plan to jump aboard

February 22, 2010 at 6:18 AM

Elaine Lennox of IBM was the main event

Faces of the T3 conference in San Diego

Top IBM-er lets crowd know that cloud computing is a nebulous subject

February 20, 2010 at 8:13 AM

Matt Abar is talking up his vision of the future at the T3 conference

T3 conference sizzles under the hot San Diego sun

RIA event is all about making expensive business decisions

February 19, 2010 at 7:09 AM

A peek at our admin system

How we have leveraged Google services to jumpstart RIABiz

Thinking of building a website? We might advise a closer look at the search giant

February 19, 2010 at 7:09 AM

Tim Johnson: Proposing a study instead of immediate reform of fiduciary standard

Johnson amendment a stalking horse for FINRA oversight of RIAs?

Advisor groups say legislative language lays ground for shift or regulators; others see it is a 'prudent measure'

February 18, 2010 at 5:24 AM

James Carney: There's little pushback from clients on the idea of fees on held-away assets

Nearly half of advisors now charge clients to manage held-away assets

Shift in billing protocol solves problems for advisors and the clients

February 18, 2010 at 5:19 AM

Bernie Clark: We will be spending a great deal of money

Schwab is a big custodian with plans to step it up in 2010

Bernie Clark will have a juggling act of keeping service top notch and shoring up the hybrid offering

February 17, 2010 at 8:10 AM

David Hou and Mark Sear  believe cold calls have a place at an RIA.

Hou-Sear team applies Goldman Sachs marketing approach in second year as RIAs

Luminous Capital uses intensive cold-calling and a breakaway strategy to augment giant referral flow

February 16, 2010 at 5:01 PM

Matt Mathias: Every time there's a merger, clients are disrupted.

Consolidation pushes a veteran of Wachovia, U.S. Trust, National City into the RIA space

Trendspotters see increase in bank breakaways as wealth management divisions consolidate

February 16, 2010 at 5:53 AM

Ron Rhoades: If investment advice becomes a profession, demand will soar.
February 15, 2010 at 5:57 AM

Washington's attention to financial advice is a major step in its evolution

Part Two: The last advice model standing

Five links on the evolutionary chain toward a profession

February 15, 2010 at 5:55 AM

Chet Helck: We are still attracting top-tier advisors

Raymond James wins breakaway brokers that are 'pragmatists'

With the get-me-out-of-here mentality mostly gone, a breakaway of a more deliberate stripe steps forward, recruiter says

February 13, 2010 at 6:20 AM

Joel Bruckenstein says it was the final straw when his speech at a big industry conference got bumped into nighttime.

The T3 conference has a rebellious air and the makings of success

Bruckenstein and Drucker channeled their frustration about industry conferences into creating a tech mecca for RIAs

February 12, 2010 at 6:02 AM

Fortigent LLC posted this photo for clients as a nod to the snow

Beltway-area advisors are rocked by the snowstorms of the century

Financial advisors are out shoveling like crazy but web connections minimize setbacks

February 12, 2010 at 6:00 AM

Jessica Bibliowicz: We acted quickly in a difficult environment. We are now a stronger and more seasoned company.

Bibliowicz's turnaround plan for National Financial Partners includes rolling up RIAs

Publicly traded consolidator sees RIAs deals as a promising avenue of growth and stable earnings

February 11, 2010 at 6:47 AM

Charles Goldman: Because this industry is filled with so many wonderful people, I truly believe that the best is yet to come.

Postscript to the story of Charles Goldman parting ways with Fidelity Investments

Many people are still coming to grips with the quick split of the attractive couple

February 11, 2010 at 6:36 AM

Frederick Van Den Abbeel has made CNBC his ally in recruiting RIAs to his Florida-based custodian

Trade-PMR is elbowing its way into the RIA custody market with cheap software and expensive advertising slots

Florida custodian is opening its doors to career-changers and smaller IBD reps who want to become RIAs

February 10, 2010 at 5:35 AM

Jessica Bibliowicz is taking big steps to keep her company out of the red

NFP found profitability but shed firms and office space last quarter

Big roll-up is using drastic measures to make ends meet

February 10, 2010 at 5:33 AM

One predator willing to feast on wirehouse talent that has yet to sign the broker protocol

Broker protocol list grows again and RIABiz is keeping a running count

Firms poise themselves legally to pounce on wirehouse talent

February 10, 2010 at 4:47 AM

Frank Shull: Our pipeline is very full.

Focus Financial looks more like a consolidator-of-consolidators as its partner firms go on buying sprees

Lara, Shull pulls off five deals to nearly double its assets in a year

February 9, 2010 at 5:36 AM

Gerri Leder: Where do you find help with social networking? Check the college intern boards.

How to execute a social media strategy: Take a college kid to lunch

All the social media seminars in the world may be no substitute for the kid at Starbucks with the blue hair

February 9, 2010 at 4:34 AM

Fred Tomczyk: RIAs will continue to get what they need from TD
February 8, 2010 at 5:36 AM

Ed Clark told Fred Tomczyk to 'blow Schwab and Fidelity out of the water.'

Ed Clark: TD Ameritrade will not compete with RIAs through its branches

'Absolutely not' he says in response to RIA's quiz about spread of Canadian practices to US

February 8, 2010 at 5:36 AM

Kenneth Kaltman bags the Clinton, Bush chairs in lunchtime auction

Distant snows and lunchtime auction keep TD Ameritrade conference buzzing today

Some East Coast attendees rearrange schedules to avoid spending unplanned weekend in Orlando

February 5, 2010 at 6:55 PM

Rob Isbitts: Markets go through several little bi-polar episodes before they return to sanity.  Don't fight that, expecting to "get even" quickly
February 5, 2010 at 4:45 PM

Barnaby Grist helped develop sales and business development strategies for Schwab

Barnaby Grist is leaving Schwab and Jon Beatty is stepping up

The prominent Schwab executive goes for a new opportunity in Los Angeles

February 5, 2010 at 4:47 AM

Tom Bradley: Says TD Ameritrade's conference, long second to Schwab's, now is the industry's  best-attended

Tom Bradley and Fred Tomczyk team up to give forward-looking state-of-the-TD Ameritrade speech

The Omaha-based parent of the RIA custodian is launching a four-year push on technology

February 4, 2010 at 11:21 PM

Patrick Burns: You want your full book protected -- not half your book

An ex-wirehouse broker and a regulatory lawyer divulge breakaway insights at TD Ameritrade conference

Burns recommends to TD breakaway prospects that they resist discussing with clients the reasons they broke away

February 4, 2010 at 5:22 AM

Bernie Clark: Advisors just appreciate us understanding them and this [move] supports that understanding

Why RIAs see Bernie Clark's appointment at Schwab as a positive event

The new head of the RIA unit needs no introduction for most Schwab advisors

February 3, 2010 at 7:27 AM

Tom Bradley: We were very, very pleased with how we did across our advisory service business, and we’re set up well for 2010

Where TD Ameritrade has come since its 2006 merger and where it is headed in 2010

The Jersey City-based custodian keeps finding ways to grow, improve and land on its feet

February 3, 2010 at 5:42 AM

Ron Fiske: You don't have to have that discussion with clients about what the right forum is to do business

9 things RIAs need to know about Fidelity's pricing moves on equities and ETFs

The trade commissions grab headlines but ETF cuts are a glimpse of the future

February 3, 2010 at 5:25 AM

Jim McCool handed over some of his duties to Bernie Clark to sharpen focus

Jim McCool makes Bernie Clark the head of Schwab Advisor Services

Move brings Clark up a notch from sales and unifies a bifurcated structure

February 2, 2010 at 6:12 PM

Derek Bruton's hybrid RIA platform receives an endorsement from an unlikely source: Morgan Stanley

Top 10 findings of Morgan Stanley report include: Schwab as the best RIA custodian, LPL for highest advisor satisfaction

Wall Street's endorsement of the RIA model is a sign of the times in the industry, analysts note

February 2, 2010 at 6:10 AM

Les Abromovitz: Regulators are very wary of advertising and marketing efforts aimed at senior investors, including the so-called free-lunch seminars.

SEC’s heightened interest in the older set means advisors should pay heed

Questions of diminished capacity, appropriate investing strategy apply

February 2, 2010 at 5:13 AM

Stephen Finn is betting on  Maiorano to keep his growth streak alive

Stephen Finn taps Maiorano to take small custodian to the next level

Schwab RIA pioneer plans to make his custodian more mainstream

February 1, 2010 at 6:13 AM

Brooke Southall: The Custody Project has grown to do justice to the scope and quality of the material it covers

Asset Custody Project rolls forward

The scope of the RIABiz plan for 2009 recaps and 2010 outlooks of RIA custodians took on a life of its own

February 1, 2010 at 6:09 AM

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