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Articles published 10/2013


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Lon Morton: They knew it wasn't a discussion we were interested in having.

Lon Morton shows how to sell to a bank and live happily ever after -- but don't try this at home

Morton Capital weathered five years of rough seas but ultimately the misfortunes of its original bank owners accrued to his benefit

October 31, 2013 at 8:23 PM

Mike Watson: I was appealed to by TD's executive management team.

TD Ameritrade poaches Mike Watson back from LPL to head new unit targeting 100 mega-RIAs

The Omaha, Neb. -based firm move shows its intent to take its foot-in-the-door strategy to the RIA stratosphere

October 30, 2013 at 6:13 PM

Andrew Ghezzi: The most sensitive issue, hands down, was how to convey trust in an online environment.

A departing NestWise advisor tells what he learned from the whole experience

Andrew Ghezzi's experience with the mass-market, online entity was a pleasant surprise, but it was troubling that he was winning clients largely in proportion to their physical proximity to Boston

October 29, 2013 at 4:57 PM

Frank Troise says he sold his company for $6 million, signed on Loring Ward, The BAM Alliance and seven top hedge funds to receive his referrals.

How Frank Troise is looking to shoot the 'Google Love' moon -- with DFA, VC, crowd-sourcing and M&A aspects -- and why some critics see it as an elaborate salvage sale

The original referral model, MyFreeRetirementReport.com, proved suboptimal when brokers allegedly failed to pay up, and now industry leaders are leery of the new model's practical and regulatory viability

October 27, 2013 at 6:52 PM

Anthony Rochte:  We're not trying to build a passive-ETF business.

Why Fidelity's Anthony Rochte could still laugh best in the ETF game -- despite a late, late start

The Boston fund giant, with its hired gun ETF czar, has an outside shot at jumping from laughing stock also-ran in ETFs to first-mover if it pulls off its deep-in-the-rockies launch of active ETFs

October 25, 2013 at 3:20 AM

Given a choice to get to New York or move on from IN, Dan Jamieson went with his heart, located in fish-friendly waters off Long Beach. (Photo Credit: Roxanne McMillen.)

Dan Jamieson, Evan Cooper, Gloria Scoby are latest big names to exit InvestmentNews

Completing the West Coast editorial withdrawal, Suzanne Siracuse is re-peopling the Crain publication, making it more New York-centric with new talent -- including a big assist from Marion Asnes

October 24, 2013 at 6:36 PM

Here was the room where the more interesting exchanges took place.

Upper-crusty Napa Valley retreat brings together top family office execs, New Age VCs and top VCs -- at least locationally

The money men and the Windsor-knot crowd met on neutral ground and circled each other warily -- perhaps they have more in common than they know

October 24, 2013 at 6:50 AM

Patrick Burns: The shift was sudden.

Backs to the wall, wirehouses renew legal efforts to stem team breakaways -- with junior partners sparking the tension

Lawsuits by Merrill, UBS, Morgan Stanley have been spiking in recent months, according to industry observers and lawyers, and it can take precious time and big money to make them go away

October 23, 2013 at 5:53 AM

Edward Gilhuly had breakfast with Joe Duran, then his company reported it was writing a big check.

Ex-KKR capitalists reach the RIA gate by taking a $30-million stake in United Capital

After vowing never to take private equity again, Joe Duran describes a business model shift sparked by his 'Honest Conversations' method

October 22, 2013 at 6:35 PM

Lauren Schadle: We need to go back to our roots with a laser-like focus for why FPA was created in the first place -- and that is to support the CFP professional.

Lauren Schadle shows mettle as FPA stakes out turf in skirmish with CFP Board at its national conference in Orlando

Despite a no-show Phyllis Borzi, the FPA Experience was a substance-filled event in which the organization sought to redefine and reclaim its soul

October 22, 2013 at 5:00 PM

Jeff Peller: We've kind of brought the family office model down to the mid-tier millionaire.

How an RIA-only serial buyer-hirer sprinted to $2 billion of AUM with pieces from U.S. Trust, Fidelity, Genspring and Wachovia

SignatureFD just says no to hybrids, applies a family office approach and sticks around the Atlanta area -- for now

October 21, 2013 at 5:32 AM

Ruth Papazian: LPL was at that stage of really wanting to grow like H.D. Vest is today, and I love to grow things.

Ruth Papazian bursts back on the scene to jolt H.D. Vest out of its accountancy coma

The ex-LPL marketing czar lands at the Dallas firm as marketing and recruiting chief tasked with losing the 'stale' marketing and replenishing an army of low-producing advisors

October 18, 2013 at 5:36 AM

Fred Reish: It doesn't look good.

How the future of the 401(k) industry may hinge on the outcome of a lawsuit brought by Fidelity employees against their own company

The legal case is built on a Fidelity-only funds menu but the Boston 401(k) king intends to show these participating employees got a sweet, fair deal that went beyond DOL mandates

October 17, 2013 at 6:12 AM

Frank Campanale: E.F. Hutton was a whole generation ago.

Why Frank Campanale put his E.F. Hutton dream aside to join an OSJ

Campanale says the Hutton venture still has a future in Canada, but his heart went to an American fast-grower with momentum and a brand with $500 million of AUM

October 16, 2013 at 4:29 PM

Darin Pastor: All of my focus and energy is centered around Capstone Financial Group, but the fierce competition that run through me will take another slap shot on the NHL's net.

How Darin Pastor joined LPL, worked some Pepsi magic, and now has an OTC-derived market cap of $350-million-plus

Pastor saw how badly scuffed Wall Street was, so he founded Capstone, installed ex-wirehouse luminaries and is offering the rank-and-file big perks and equity up and down the line

October 15, 2013 at 4:04 AM

Jamie McIntyre: The out-of-pocket fees can be almost zero because we've embedded it into the investment management fees for research.

An LPL-ified Fortigent bursts back on the scene with new software, new pricing and a surge of growth

After a tense waiting period, the outsourcer is unveiling alternatives to six-figure research contracts and the launch of an online portal for all services

October 14, 2013 at 5:13 AM

Josh Brown -- right -- with partner Barry Ritholtz: Our message of simplifying your portfolio, passive investing, and putting the bulk of assets in index funds gets a little fuzzy when on the other side of the wall they're pitching hedge funds.

Mystery solved: Josh Brown and Barry Ritholtz start RIA -- or is that actually where the intrigue begins

After a couple of years of 24/7 tweeting and blogging, the duo is poised to scoop up talent on the cheap, keep it simple and dare to offend but experts say they also need to avoid 'talking heads' syndrome

October 11, 2013 at 6:19 PM

Adam Birenbaum: Someone will emerge from the RIA space to be the size and scale to compete with the largest wirehouses -- so why not us?

How a $20-billion RIA is buying its 'Microsoft' marketing agency as the engine for propulsion to $100-billion

Adam Birenbaum is betting on David Levin to be his J. Pierrepont Finch but to succeed by really trying

October 10, 2013 at 5:19 AM

Chip Roame: The problem is, the people with the debt aren't the same people who have the assets, so per capita we're very overleveraged.

Chip takes a 90-minute rip at wealth management at the Tiburon CEO Summit

The event's name oozes self-importance until Roame takes the stage and blasts everybody, himself included

October 9, 2013 at 6:43 PM

The Brothertons hope to keep their edge by banding with Joe Duran's crew.

United Capital announces an RIA deal with plenty of spin

The Newport Beach roll-up brings on a Fidelity RIA in Arizona with $150 million owned by a married couple that advises together and skates together

October 9, 2013 at 6:29 PM

Walt Bettinger: We expect that's a long-term play.

Why the whiff of another delay of Schwab's ETF-only 401(k) plan is drawing so much attention

As one snag follows another, the pressure builds on a signature Walt Bettinger effort, but some insiders call Schwab's pace and patience justified, even laudable

October 8, 2013 at 5:33 AM

Ajay Gupta will write a seven-figure check to UBS to gain his freedom as an RIA.

Schwab wins giant UBS breakaway in San Diego

Ajay Gupta has some famous ultrahigh-net-worth clients, including Deepak Chopra, and he wants 'true independence' to manage $540 million of assets

October 7, 2013 at 1:00 PM

Charles Goldman: Any company on the block for a year ... that's not good.

Charles Goldman becomes board chairman for Genworth Financial Wealth Management after playing a mastermind role in its purchase by private-equity buyers

The Advizent co-founder and former Fidelity and Schwab RIA chief sees potential to jumpstart the $20-billion TAMP after its two-year slump

October 7, 2013 at 11:47 AM

Mark Tibergien debated Dan Seivert at his LA event, then posed for a picture.

Dan Seivert brings 85 RIA deal-makers to la-la land 'Buyers' Boot Camp' for sun, sand and serious discussions

The ECHELON Partners chief exec fenced with Mark Tibergien, put a microscope on roll-ups and took M&A to a 404-level course

October 4, 2013 at 7:52 PM

Marty Bicknell: I don't consider this to be an afterthought.

Marty Bicknell jumps into the mass market with no 'robo-advisors' and a missionary zeal

After amassing $6 billion in his RIA and $18.5 billion in his asset manager, the Mariner Holdings chief is opening FirstPoint, its Old Navy for the impecunious to fill a Gap

October 4, 2013 at 3:25 PM

Gary Dorfman: We represented ourselves not as a startup but as part of one of the top institutional management companies.

How Matt Cooper is getting past the 'oh, sure' factor that came from a slow roll-out of ... the other Newport Beach roll-up

Not only are deals picking up at the $900-million Beacon Pointe Wealth Advisors but existing advisors are telling success stories that can be quantified

October 4, 2013 at 6:27 AM

Stephen Bozeman: There were some problems.

Unfazed by its misfire, BlackRock is taking a second shot at the 401(k) market, this time with a whiter hat

Skeptics abound but the world's largest asset manager aims to fill a mega-void by bringing payout precision of DC plans to the best-guess 401(k) business

October 3, 2013 at 5:15 PM

No Capris, please: At New York's University Club, hedge fund counsel gathered to find a safe way forward for their beleaguered clients.

The hedge fund legal elite meet in NYC to wrestle with a terrifying new threat -- RIA-like accountability

Something doesn't smell right to these attorneys about how allowing hedge funds to advertise with abandon coincides with making the them more liable for vetting investors

October 3, 2013 at 6:04 AM

Robert Boslego: We can see this 'change' for what it is -- a statement of remorse for prior freelanced investment moves.

What I learned from the CalPERS meeting in which the 10 Beliefs were unveiled -- and why I came away mystified

As a risk manager I was looking for trailblazing thinking but the bland statements of belief were quite the opposite

October 2, 2013 at 5:27 PM

Jason Wenk says he brought in 105 prospective clients through blogging last month. 'No one could keep up with that.'

How a 33 year-old advisor ditched the Midwest for California and used mad blogging and SEO skills to hijack annuity-bound web traffic to propel giant growth

With $40 million and counting in new business this year alone, Jason Wenk expects to double his AUM by year's end in part by mining clients' keyword gold

October 2, 2013 at 5:26 PM

Jeffrey Maggioncalda: I think it becomes harder and harder for a product solution to replicate this holistic service solution that we put into the marketplace.

Financial Engines more than doubles its share price by defining a niche in the 401(k) market between target date funds and RIAs

Wall Street is seeing things Jeff Maggioncalda's way for now, as new DOL regs make plan sponsors more certain they want participants advised inexpensively but not cheaply

October 1, 2013 at 5:12 AM

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