Articles published 8/2022
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Morningstar jumpstarts its star rating system with favorable self-review yet audit finds it misses the mark in bear markets, supporting claim of dubious predictive value cited by Wall Street Journal
The Chicago-based tracker assures investors that its ratings tilt odds in their favor though critics say it's more a gauge of momentum than scientific research.
August 31, 2022 at 5:08 AM
Goldman Sachs closes deal for NextCapital to extend a tentacle into the 401(k) market and yank out 'a thorn in the side of the retirement industry'
The New York City bank now owns a unit that had slowing growth pre-deal but may face fresh headwinds carrying the baggage of its new owner.
August 30, 2022 at 1:07 AM
Texas just pronounced BlackRock guilty of pandering to sustainable investing interests -- and BlackRock is having none of it
Despite the ESG reprieve BlackRock's CEO granted the fossil fuel industry in May, it's answer to the Texas power play is 'no,' it tells Bloomberg
August 27, 2022 at 12:03 AM
RIA wildfire erupted on Twitter after Clarence Thomas put same-sex marriage on conservative hit list with 'Roe v. Wade;' It could make LGBTQ+ financial planning apparatus obsolete
Thomas became second Supreme Court Justice to lament the loss of state control over marriage, casting a shadow over RIAs who long struggled with a potential 50 sets of rules to help gay couples plan a life together.
August 26, 2022 at 1:56 AM
Tom Moran charts own course in moving $4 billion AUM, and family, to Pershing under new RIA, giving Schwab a pass based on TD Ameritrade merger uncertainty
Ten years' Barron's top advisor in Florida, the Wells, then FiNet broker in Naples, Fla. did a classic DIY breakaway of Moran Wealth where rollups, outside capital and outsourcers held no allure -- and Pershing spent the last three months on premises.
August 25, 2022 at 1:55 AM
Suddenly onboarding is a hot RIA game, and Schwab Advisor Services leaps ahead with a 'digital ' process that one expert says beats Fidelity and bodes well for a post-merger 'Schwabitrade'
The $3.2 trillion RIA custodian tripled its tech budget, zeroed in on 'onboarding,' promoted Alison Dooher to succeed the also promoted Andrew Salesky, brought aboard Google/Amazon whiz kids and allowed some TD Ameritrade culture to seep in.
August 23, 2022 at 2:00 AM
Clobbered by 'flood' of opportunity, Peter Mallouk is now the unlikely RIA M&A king, which took root in rich organic growth -- now adding a $5-billion RIA with a 'nightmare' that the deal excludes
His $235-billion Creative Planning RIA closed 15 deals in eight months, grew $135 billion in that time, helped by organic growth higher than ever, too.
August 20, 2022 at 12:48 AM
Private equity firms value a $250 million RIA at $50 million based on killer business model that includes 'grid payouts,' classic RIA fees and a startup robo-level of attention to software
Bessemer, MassMutual and others put $15-million of seed capital into Farther, which will need to grow AUM 10-fold 'every few years' to justify the optimistic valuation.
August 19, 2022 at 2:39 AM
Schwab Advisor Services scuttles Orion's sweetheart TD Ameritrade software deal, but Eric Clarke is hopeful a fresh romance with Apex Clearing may blossom the same way
The Westlake, Texas RIA custodian 'sunset' the 2009 Eric Clarke deal with former TDA CEO Tom Bradley that lifted both Omaha firms.
August 17, 2022 at 1:24 AM
RIABiz turns 13 after riding out COVID-19 and grows at a record rate by trusting that our readers and advertisers 'get it'
Founded in the can't get-worse 2009 financial crisis, the Mill Valley, Calif. publication grew in the 2020-2022 COVID crisis right along with the RIA industry.
August 16, 2022 at 1:45 AM
With RIA valuations ticking down and successions ticking up, Focus Financial deep sixes 'drunken sailor' pause, forgoes buyback plan and adds a CEO
CEO Rudy Adolf sees a 'softening' in multiples after a couple of frothy years when CI Financial dominated headlines and big RIA deals
August 13, 2022 at 12:39 AM
Schwab Advisor Services denies reports of a Sept. 2023 'hard date' to finalize TD Ameritrade merger as new details emerge about behind-the-scenes efforts to accomodate TDA RIAs
Since at least February, Schwab has been running 'JumpStart' a new program to let TDA RIAs add net new assets onto the Schwab system ahead of the mass conversion of legacy assets.
August 12, 2022 at 1:29 AM
After Riskalyze raised a pile of cash, it went shopping for a chief technology officer and found him at Apex Clearing
The Auburn, Calif., risk software maker is undergoing a shift to enterprises and nabs Josh Gray from the Dallas firm.
August 10, 2022 at 2:25 AM
Dimensional Fund Advisors, long the flagship of factor investing, struggles to chart a course as a nimble rival and big foot competitors cut into its market--and exploit its slow move to ETFs
Vanguard, BlackRock and Avantis rattle a complacent Dimensional Fund Advisors with fee cuts and ETF roll outs based on 'smart beta.'
August 9, 2022 at 1:57 AM
BlackRock and Coinbase snatch victory from the jaws of defeat by creating a 'monumental' combo that 'leapfrogs' Fidelity and others vying to dominate advised crypto investing
The New York and San Francisco superpowers in conventional assets and crypto assets sacrifice profit margins and exclusivity with investors but are 'huge' in tandem by tearing down prohibitive RIA barriers, says Tyrone Ross Jr and other RIA crypto experts
August 6, 2022 at 1:06 AM
Goldman Sachs CEO confirms RIA custody service back-burnered amid exec exits, cut budgets and slipped deadlines relating to wealth management
David Solomon says resources will be 'small' for years, which leaves Folio acquisition twisting in the wind as Greg Vigrass and others leave -- amid parallel departures at its national RIA.
August 4, 2022 at 12:29 AM
Schwab's late entry into the 'crypto' game with a 'spaghetti' product just might be primo
With investors undeterred by crypto winter, the SEC offering wiggle room and Fidelity, a largely unopposed giant, threatening to run away with the market, CEO Walt Bettinger makes a bold leap from even two years ago.
August 3, 2022 at 1:59 AM
Tuning its 'machine' business model, Hightower Advisors just hired an ex-Carlyle due-diligence maven for alts investing to offer an alternative to the CAIS and iCapital standard inventory
The $141-billion AUA Chicago aggregator sees a big future of $50-million-and-up UHNW clients, and it want to maximize RIA access to premier alts managers.
August 2, 2022 at 2:24 AM
Facet Wealth throws a lifeline to struggling 'insurtech' firm amid an industry shakeout; Facet is delivering a mother lode of referrals and asking nothing in return
Policygenius does the heavy lifting and keeps commissions, but the national RIA has 500 CFP-administered financial plans that include executed insurance policies for younger clients.
