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RIABiz

Articles published 8/2022


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Jeffrey Ptak: The star rating seems to tip the odds in the investor’s favor.'

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

Greg Calnon: NextCapital brings a creative spirit.

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

Mark McCombe: We think that it’s time to a little bit say, ‘No.’

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

Jeff Levine:  Do we have the skillset necessary to provide same-sex couples the sort specialized planning advice they’d need?

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

Kylen Moran is one of three siblings who are building their career under their father, despite a world of options.

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

Alison Dooher: We've led the way ... and we're extending that lead.

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

Peter Mallouk: 'If we were buying everything our debt capabilities would allow us to acquire, we would be a $500 billion dollar firm.'

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

Taylor Matthews: The way we started differently is we started with code.

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

Eric Clarke: Our shared clients were notified the [TDA] program would be sunset about a year ago.

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

Starting RIABiz in 2009 was about making do from my houseboat couch and well before I had a cell phone.

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

Rudy Adolf: We see a softening of multiples.

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

Bob Veres: Several advisors have told me their relationship manager has tipped them to a Labor Day weekend deadline.

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

Josh Gray 'dramatically improved the velocity of his tech team everywhere he worked.'

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

David Booth has kept a steady hand on the tiller at DFA, but is it enough?

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

Tyrone Ross Jr.: BlackRock leapfrogged everyone today.

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

David Solomon: Over the course of the next three years to five years, it will be an area that we see opportunity in.

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

Walt Bettinger is playing his crypto cards carefully.

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

Stephanie Link made a key hire to allow Hightower to deliver an alternative to vanilla alternative investments.

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

Anders Jones: We can help [ RIA clients] get the right coverage.

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.

August 2, 2022 at 1:47 AM

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