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Articles published 4/2016


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Tom Kimberly: It was my decision.

Betterment informs RIA clients of new $2,400 license fee then cancels it, for now, after advisor blowback

During an intense 48-hour period and 'dozens' of conversations with RIA principals, Tom Kimberly capitulated to advisors who say the fee outstrips the features

April 29, 2016 at 8:48 PM

Dawn Bennett was named as example of how the Barron's Top 100 list can lead investors astray.

AdvisorHub slams Barron's for its advisor list - correlating higher rankings with higher complaint rates

Jed Horowitz cites an unholy alliance between the Dow Jones publication and the many advisors and firms who make the list -- with criteria based largely on asset accumulation

April 28, 2016 at 7:57 PM

Seth Waugh is neither a real Alex. Brown guy nor somebody who has walked in a broker's shoes, but his Wall Street bona fides are platinum grade.

As Raymond James seeks to wire its Alex. Brown upbranding deal, it hires past Deutsche CEO Seth Waugh with bona fides and baggage

In adding execuive chair, Raymond James is looking to complete the orchid botanist's task of providing just the right Wall Street water and Baltimore sunlight

April 27, 2016 at 7:49 PM

Greg Sullivan: Now we have more latitude and can act more quickly when we want to hire someone or give people raises.

Why a $2.8 billion RIA spun away from a Canadian bank despite a 'really good relationship' spanning 13 years

Sullivan Bruyette Speros & Blayney principals want to ramp up growth but BMO Harris banker body language said: Not so fast

April 26, 2016 at 8:33 PM

Mary Jo White: Nine of 10 startups fail but an equally interesting statistic from one post-mortem analysis is that 70% of failed startups die within 20 months after their last financing and have raised an average of $11 million

Why crowdfunding is madness, but maybe not with an RIA at the helm

With its holier-than-thou pitches and self-dealing syndication fees, crowdfunding is really only good if you're the crowdseeker

April 26, 2016 at 5:38 PM

Dan Skiles: The reality with today's advisor technology is that you can compete with anyone -- you don't have legacy issues.

Feeling RIA custody oats, Dan Skiles and Peter Mangan attract smaller RIAs but big-name lights to SSG event

The ex-Schwab RIA software chief delivered keynote at his Shareholders Service Group confab

April 25, 2016 at 7:41 PM

Walt Bettinger: The retail investor tends not to move as rapidly . . . or certainly doesn’t have a mutual fund sales person calling on them, telling them to move, like you have going on in the RIA space.

Amid hail of DOL questions, Walt Bettinger calls RIAs' draining OneSource 'identified' risk, and explains away LPL/ RBC/BBVA picks of BlackRock FutureAdvisor over Schwab robo

Schwab CEO admits he underappreciated 'brand' barrier in selling Schwab robo on B2B basis, and DOL 'best interest' issue hangs fire

April 22, 2016 at 9:23 PM

Brad MacMillan: I'm going to be using fewer and fewer qualifiers—and the day when I drop them entirely will probably come sooner than you might expect.

That employment boom is pretty much here

With the Great Recession in the rear-view mirror, all signs point to a job-creation bonanza not seen since the 1990s

April 22, 2016 at 6:46 PM

Don A. Steinbrugge: Obviously most hedge fund managers do not have houses in The Hamptons or private jets.

A hedgie defends hedge funds -- and their disparaged managers -- amid a tough PR run for the category

Pension funds won't hit their must-have 8% assumption rate on a bland diet of fixed-income and equities -- a carefully chosen manager can add much-needed spice

April 21, 2016 at 8:04 PM

Bing Waldert: 401(k) plans are difficult [when it comes] to generating income. You can set up a withdrawal but only at a certain age. If you need to take out a big chunk because of a big medical bill, you can't do that.

Why luring 401(k) assets to IRA rollovers in a post-DOL-rule world remains child's play, which keeps $7.6 trillion in the IRA game and growing

Clients still hate 401(k) inflexibility around withdrawals and the DOL granted advisors the upper hand in getting clients to sign away protections with regard to pricier products

April 20, 2016 at 8:25 PM

Adam Nash: We're firm believers that artificial intelligence applied to your actual behavior will provide far more powerful advice than what traditional advisors offer today.

After Betterment's $100 million VC raise makes 25 newspapers, Wealthfront unveils 3.0 on blog and Twitter

The big Redwood City robo is staying in character by touting 'artificial intelligence,' in synch with Facebook's CEO, but whether it's a real delineation or simple evolution is hard to tell

April 19, 2016 at 9:35 PM

Edward Siedle: Overstaffing, underfunding, a lack of transparency and too much politics [are unacceptable].

The exit of CalPERS' turnaround CEO Anne Stausboll raises the question of whether the pension Goliath's changes are too little, too late and mostly superficial

Stausboll made a big showing of cutting hedge funds and other active managers but her last big act was to pay up for a New York office tower, funded by the sale of a diversified real estate portfolio

April 18, 2016 at 8:12 PM

Scott Smith: I don't think the goal for them is to fight Wealthfront.

With BlackRock ahead and blue ocean behind, LPL finds its robo comfort zone

With the 150 basis-point-plus price of Guided Wealth Portfolios, LPL's robo plan doesn't look so robo, except for the onboarding

April 15, 2016 at 7:59 PM

Don Trone: 'Acting in the best interests of others' is a principle. It only takes seven words .... The DOL uses 1,000 pages of rules to kill the concept.

Don Trone's 7 reasons why the DOL rule is flawed to the point of 'folly'

Hurling jabs at opponents and proponents alike, the fiduciary maven says both sides failed to recognize and incorporate the role of RIAs

April 15, 2016 at 5:40 PM

Irwin Stein: Those crickets you heard from those quarters in the wake of the DOL rule's publication constituted stifled jubilation.

A veteran of securities law killed his weekend reading all 1,000 pages of the DOL rule -- and has a takeaway to share

Despite reassuring words, the rules steer ill-done-by investors down that dark alley of FINRA arbitrations where complaints go to die

April 13, 2016 at 9:30 PM

Ryan Parker was brought over to LPL from Russell Investments and now heads its robo efforts.

LPL unveils BlackRock's FutureAdvisor as its robo partner -- albeit with LPL model portfolios

After Nestwise dropped off the twig, then crickets, then a secret pilot launch, LPL announces that robo FutureAdvisor gets the nod

April 13, 2016 at 6:15 PM

John Clendening: I saw this unbelievable potential in this business.

Schwab's former retail chief ends garden leave with two new gigs -- as chief of HD Vest holding company, and as Betterment CEO's operations confidante

John Clendening is now CEO of Blucora and a director at Betterment -- and a new resident of Bellevue. Wash.

April 12, 2016 at 9:58 PM

Charles Goldman: They're buying the management team.

Charles Goldman's turnaround of Genworth castoff leads Chinese investor to pay stunning price

AssetMark grew from $21 billion of AUM to $29 billion but PE firms made quick 300% return

April 12, 2016 at 3:47 AM

Josh Charlson: Although the high costs have come down, returns have not surpassed their hurdle rate.

Fidelity dumps two liquid alts managers after they fail to deliver the vaunted 'hedge effect' in stormy markets

The Boston giant gave Arden, then Blackstone, the bum's rush after their halo effect was tarnished by high expenses, low returns

April 8, 2016 at 6:12 PM

Knut Rostad: Phyllis Borzi moved heaven and earth with the tools she had and I think we let her down. I think we were too polite.

How Wall Street emasculated the DOL rule with an old-fashioned end game: 'Somebody made a deal' -- and why tort lawyers are licking their chops

End-game style politics exposed fiduciaries' lack of playoff experience, but RIAs can console themselves because DOL exposed shady dealings on 'the dark side'

April 7, 2016 at 3:10 PM

Thomas Perez: We don't believe it's necessary for an employee of MetLife to have an obligation to advise a client about the products that New York Life is selling.

The DOL's final rule contains a litany of 11th hour concessions to brokers that show Wall Street lobbyists earned their keep

12(b)1 fees, variable annuities and proprietary products are all still allowed and so is partiality in the sales process

April 6, 2016 at 10:00 AM

Tarek El Gammal-Ortiz:

Why a Miami breakaway trio sees no vice in leaving half-a-billion of client assets on JP Morgan's table

Element Pointe Advisors seek to ease HNW and UHNW client angst by watching their held-away assets

April 5, 2016 at 8:05 PM

Peter Mallouk: I basically said: I've got a bit of a monster here and what am I going to do?

What to make of Peter Mallouk's sweeping deal with Tony Robbins -- and where the unlikely pairing goes from here

After deliberately relinquishing his cherished anonymity, the CEO of $18-billion AUM is using the Robbins deals as part of a larger charge from the bulrushes

April 5, 2016 at 3:58 AM

Michael Kitces: By definition, you’re answering questions for free from people who would rather type their questions into Google or a free site rather than pay someone.

Michael Kitces blasts Investopedia for squeezing free advice out of RIAs and the advice super-site responds

The industry blogger says the routing of web traffic and its monetization works for the publication, not fo advisor practices

April 1, 2016 at 4:23 PM

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