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Articles published 1/2013


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Ben Welch: We are bridging that gap.

TD Ameritrade will make iRebal software available free to all its RIA clients

The custodian may disrupt both the RIA technology and RIA custody businesses -- but not inexpensively

January 31, 2013 at 7:51 PM

Bill Winterberg seems to have set off a social media ruckus with a timely tweet.

Audience remark at Andy Gluck's session at TD Ameritrade pre-event session sets off a tweet chorus

A college student needed two hours to break into an RIA's files and it took only minutes for Twitterati to pass the story along at TD

January 31, 2013 at 4:59 PM

Peter Tamposi: If you believe what they say, he lied and stole money. They tried to make it look sensational.

How an RIA got in hot water in New Hampshire and why RedBlack is being touched by an ensuing bankruptcy

Nicholas B. Rowe was a founding investor in the rebalancing software maker and regulators are chasing down every asset he has

January 30, 2013 at 5:18 PM

Abby Salameh: I could see the vast ocean below. We were descending quickly towards it.

Why my financial advisor came to mind (seriously) as my airplane was plummeting toward the ocean

White light can wait: When death is at hand, you get in touch with your inner actuary

January 29, 2013 at 9:46 PM

Tim Whiting: I jumped at the chance.

Tim Whiting leaves SourceMedia to join Julie Littlechild in her growing venture

Advisor Impact will begin marketing its service to enterprises, not just the advisors who use them

January 29, 2013 at 9:43 PM

Jon Beatty says many advisors are still more fixated on tending to nervous clients than doing deals.

The RIA M&A market stumbled in 2012, but giants were not deterred, Schwab end-of-year data shows

M&A activity still sickly slow by some reckonings, but harbingers of mating activity abound

January 28, 2013 at 4:34 PM

Jack Waymire: A high percentage of investors, in particular investors with larger asset amounts, believe bigger is better.

The SEC needs to clean up its semantics before accusing RIAs of inflating AUM

Advisors stretching for the $100-million mark advisors need to be told what assets to count and which ones are merely hanging out

January 28, 2013 at 4:39 AM

Peter Raimondi and Scott Dell'Orfano are building on a relationship forged as client and custodian exec in Boston.

Scott Dell'Orfano lands at a $1.4 billion RIA with plans to deal its way to $10 billion

The ex-Fidelity RIA exec will oversee the spending of private-equity capital on behalf of Peter Raimondi's burgeoning RIA

January 25, 2013 at 3:24 AM

Haley Rockwell: It didn't make sense to structure it as an acquisition, because I want to grow with the business.

How three small firms backed with big-time M&A muscle brought in $450 million with strategic buys

There are vivid back stories behind each Focus-owned firm's deal; taken together they could show the way forward for the aggregator model

January 24, 2013 at 8:04 PM

Philip Palaveev: We really want to increase the number of participants.

Philip Palaveev will help oversee effort to solve big IN-Moss Adams comp study problem -- a survey that can take a day to complete

With Kelli Cruz out the door, the ex-Moss Adams star is stepping in with plans to get the survey down to a one-hour task

January 24, 2013 at 7:46 PM

Maury Fertig: When it came to their personal investments, they were bad as everyone else.

How a Chicago RIA grew to more than $700 million by carving out a client niche of wirehouse execs

Two Salomon Brothers alums gained the trust of masters of the universe who have seen how the sausage is made yet still make rookie investing blunders

January 23, 2013 at 3:50 AM

All roads led to Silicon Valley as technology firms serving the financial advisory industry found their groove.

Top 12 crucial technology happenings affecting RIAs in 2012, Part 2

Silicon Valley woke up to the potential RIA business, a phenomenon perhaps best embodied by the meteoric rise of one youth-fueled venture -- and our No. 1 pick on this list

January 22, 2013 at 4:15 AM

Roger Hewins:We don't use them. We don't even look at them.

Why Schwab handed Facebook and Apple 'F' ratings -- and why advisors seem unfazed

Clients may be perturbed by the flunking grades meted out to the popular Silicon Valley firms even as some RIAs discount the data as 'backward-looking'

January 21, 2013 at 2:53 AM

Bernie Clark with Paul Merage Scbool of Business dean Andy Policano: 'Schwab is thrilled to be supporting academic institutions to cultivate highly skilled future business leaders'.

Schwab nonprofit ponies up $500K for simulated securities floor to give prospective advisors hands-on experience

Cozying up to academic institutions has both a charitable and a shrewd side; Zero Alpha Group also launches an education project

January 18, 2013 at 4:28 AM

At Salesforce headquarters, they may or may not know an RIA from an IRA, but the company still solidified the exalted position of potential industry standard bearer.

12 key events of 2012 that rocked the RIA technology landscape, Part 1

Salesforce become the industry elephant, FinFolio emerges as a player, Pershing's NetX360-whisperer gets kicked upstairs, the Weatlhcare lawsuit gets an outcome, and more

January 17, 2013 at 7:30 AM

Shari Burns: We're not going to country clubs with clients.

United Capital eyes 'Paragon' brand for the $10-million-plus set after nabbing $1 billion RIA in Seattle

Joe Duran is pleased bring aboard another woman-led firm -- a trophy, albeit low-key, outfit that sits among brand giants like Starbucks, Amazon and Microsoft

January 16, 2013 at 9:35 PM

Amy Reynolds: Handing retirees a lump sum check and wishing them 'good luck' doesn't cut it.

10 essential steps that 401(k) plan sponsors need to take in 2013 to put clients on the right road to retirement

Developing white-label and spend-down strategies for all DC plans is important and carefully explained here

January 16, 2013 at 5:25 AM

Kelli Cruz: There's a lot of: What am I going to be when I grow up?

Kelli Cruz and Jennifer Specter leave consulting unit at InvestmentNews for new 'come-to-Jesus' venture

The departures mark some big changes at IN away from consulting to advisors

January 16, 2013 at 5:11 AM

Christopher Giles: Folio offers us a competitive platform to grow into.

LPL signs on with FolioDynamix for rebalancing to boost its IBD offering and Fortigent's

The huge independent broker-dealer will wean advisors off its homegrown trading and rebalancing suite and stick with Fortigent for research and performance offerings

January 15, 2013 at 6:28 AM

Mike Papedis: It shouldn't be surprising that high-caliber advisors have a following, too.

After a five-month deal-making hiatus, HighTower adds a couple of advisors and hints at a busy 2013

The serial buyer nabs a combined $400-million of tuck-ins-as-partners after a deliberate breath-catching and a financing no-go

January 14, 2013 at 8:41 PM

Rob Isbitts: The best chance we have of a meaningful up year for stocks is the fact that few are expecting it, and the market typically rewards the least amount of people possible.

13 for 2013: A baker’s dozen of issues you and your clients should really be focusing on this year

Trendmeister Isbitts canvasses burning topics ranging from gold to the bond bubble to the rise of the Millennials, explains why the 'plastics'-like word of the year is 'dividends' and boldly revisits his predictions for 2012

January 14, 2013 at 4:49 AM

Adam Birenbaum: We don't think it's happening anywhere else.

A $17-billion RIA doubles down on a social media strategy that netted it 50 Facebook employees

Super bloggers with real street cred are the missing ingredient for casting a Web net

January 11, 2013 at 5:28 AM

Knut Rostad: One unfamiliar with the nuanced differences in play may well ask, 'What, again, is wrong with being suitable?'

Op-Ed: The fiduciary standard is in worse shape than it was four years ago

The teachable moment of Lehman's collapse seems to have dissipated, and forces of dissimilation are winning the day

January 11, 2013 at 4:41 AM

Colleen Lindstrom: I typically gather and review a significant amount of data and input before making a decision.

Why it took Rudy Adolf seven years to win an elusive $1.5-billion RIA to cap a $14-billion-asset year

The $60-billion-AUA firm has its mojo back as it brings on a woman-run firm with a 49-state presence

January 10, 2013 at 6:36 AM

J. Fielding Miller: This has that magic fit.

CAPTRUST wakes up the 401(k) industry by buying $1-billion advisor/recordkeeper that adds the 'magic' to its arsenal

Freedom One's system offers 3(38) fiduciary management that allows the $85-billion Raleigh behemoth a way to take greater control of assets

January 9, 2013 at 5:25 AM

Travis Rychnovsky: We wanted functionality that PortfolioCenter didn't have.

Orion bags Schwab's 'best' advisor -- a $1.3 billion RIA weaned on Schwab PortfolioCenter

Eric Clarke will serve Foster Group but he's also becoming a vendor of the firm's startup, Orchestrate, which automates work flows through Salesforce

January 9, 2013 at 3:58 AM

Ethan Eden: The business model is sustainable. It's a much larger opportunity than to simply charge advisors.

Market76's young Ivy League founder is threading a business-model needle and extending his mother's legacy

Over 2,000 advisors were added in nine months and the free software is looking like it's worth more than what you pay for it

January 8, 2013 at 6:31 PM

Mark Feldman: We're lining up outside funding. Schwab wants to be a partner.

Why a $1.5 billion RIA is selling internally this time -- perhaps with Schwab as 'investment bank' -- after a sale to an outsider went bad

Miller/Russell of Phoenix is partially owned by a client and plans to enlist custodians to finance junior advisors in their quest for partnership

January 7, 2013 at 8:56 PM

Zohar Swaine: InStream does not intend to limit an advisor's choice of which financial provider to use -- this key point may have been misreported or not understood by others.

Could inStream be the Next Big Thing in RIA technology?

Alex Murguia is assembling a minor Dream Team of RIA execs including Zohar Swaine, but the revenue model is causing some consternation

January 7, 2013 at 4:20 AM

Phyllis Borzi is poised to continue her mission of protecting 401(k) investors in 2013: "The laws need to keep up."

10 most influential individuals in the 401(k) industry affecting RIAs in 2012, Part 2

Executives and lawmakers are leading the charge on a fast-shifting landscape as retirement funds gain increasing importance to an aging US population

January 4, 2013 at 5:10 AM

"The agreement should ... allow tax season to begin with minimal delay."

The killer cheat sheet of just where RIA clients stand after the near-cliff experience

We all know that income of more than $400,000 will get hit but there's so, so much more to know

January 4, 2013 at 5:04 AM

He arrived with an urgent need to know whether he should buy bonds headed into 2013 -- and if not, why not.

What I witnessed at an RIA office that helped me understand the rewards the business provides

An exacting client left a trail of advisors in the dust before finding an RIA that understood just what he needed

January 3, 2013 at 4:42 AM

Christopher Dean: Our view is that more assets are going to move out of the traditional brokerage channel.

The 19 ways private equity has juiced up the RIA business and how it's working out

RIAs, rollups, technology companies, RIA-friendly IBDs are among the firms soaking up the high-ROI capital

January 2, 2013 at 5:40 PM

Mike Golaszewski: If your product has an advisor end-client-facing component and it's not mobile, you probably don't have a product in two years.

Where RIA technology stands heading into 2013 after 2012 lost some steam

Philip Palaveev, Mike Golaszewski, Spencer Segal and Joel Bruckenstein weigh in on whether the 'mega-solution' will gain traction vs. the mix and match option

January 2, 2013 at 5:30 PM

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