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Articles published 2/2023


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Mike Wunderli: When a company makes a significant and surprising move like this, they need to make sure to cover their bases.

CD&R mollifies Focus Financial 'FOMO' with non-monetary sweetener to ease the shareholder pain of dumping the company in a sour market

The New York City buyout firm is offering a 'knock-yourself-out' provision to let Focus make a last-ditch effort to find a white knight to 'cover its bases from a liability standpoint.'

February 28, 2023 at 2:54 AM

Thomas Lee's firm still owns Atria Wealth. It previously cashed out of Edelman Financial.

Thomas H. Lee made his mark on the RIA business before his death at 78, in part, because he took Ric Edelman to meet Larry Fink to good effect

The founder of his eponymous Thomas H. Lee Partners private equity firm got rich on Snapple and Dunkin' Donuts stakes but made a strong cameo with the radio host's firm then invested in Atria in 2017

February 25, 2023 at 3:33 AM

Bill Crager: Of course, we're aware of the filings and publication that Impactive has published.

Bill Crager rebuts what activist hedge fund investor alleged by promising Envestnet is 'turning corner' on profit margins

The embattled CEO says he 'talked to lots of investors' last quarter during the verbal assault and also laid out his case to Wall Street analysts -- Envestnet's profit margins and market share are expanding.

February 24, 2023 at 1:30 AM

Julian Lopez: I'm close to Kelly [Smith].We worked together.

Another RIA whisperer, Julian Lopez, has left Schwab Advisor Services after 24 years to join LPL, which he sees as more advisor-focused and 'entrepreneurial'

The Houston executive, like Kelly Smith in Chicago, was considered a key service talent for RIAs though Lopez says his circumstances differ.

February 23, 2023 at 8:14 AM

Rudy Adolf: We will not be opening up the lines for Q&A as we normally do, but want to thank everyone as always.

Rudy Adolf dodges questions on Focus Financial earnings call, possibly because one inconvenient question overhangs a PE firm's $53 share price offer

The New York City rollup CEO said take-private negotiations precluded answering analyst questions; one big question is why the company accepted a $53-a-share offer only 4.5 years past its IPO

February 22, 2023 at 2:42 AM

Sarah Levy: Today’s actions ensure we can control our destiny and execute against our long-term strategic plan.

Sarah Levy makes second unpopular decision at Betterment in two months after showing forbearance her first two years as CEO

The Betterment executive raised prices last month, and she's cutting staff this month to buy time to execute the robo-advisor's strategic pivot to RIA servicing.

February 17, 2023 at 4:25 PM

Fidelity's plan to hire 4,000 by July is perhaps captured by this picture of exactly 4,000 though our square formatting shaves more than 1,000 from view on the wings.

Fidelity will hire 4,000 staff in first half -- a staggering number but a tapering off from 'unprecedented' rate in 2021-2022 that catapulted it to 68,000 employees

The $10.3 trillion giant explains its hiring -- in a layoff environment -- as an RIA-like goal, namely having the human bandwidth to develop 'lifetime' relationships with its 40 million investors

February 17, 2023 at 2:49 AM

Fidelity is seeking to chill would-be brand pirates seeking to capitalize on the foggy rules of metaverse commerce.

Fidelity files for vast trademark protection as it readies Fidelity 3.0 for the Wild West metaverse -- whatever and wherever it may be

The Boston giant wants to sell in the three-dimensional world, but it wants the U.S. government to confirm its can still win in a real court on brand infringement if all that green pops into 3-D.

February 16, 2023 at 4:14 AM

Alan Moore: Continuing to ride two rocket ships at once was certainly becoming too much.

Alan Moore is the No. 2 busiest man in the RIA business and he just convinced the No. 1 busiest man to budget $200,000 to hire a 'rockstar' to replace him

Alan Moore is CEO of both XY Planning Network and AdvicePay -- and he has three young kids; Michael Kitces agreed to let him hire a full-time replacement CEO for AdvicePay -- with some giant reqirements for the new exec.

February 14, 2023 at 3:15 AM

Fidelity's poach of Kelly Smith from Schwab Advisor Services left former colleagues frustrated.

Fidelity lands RIA whisperer from Schwab in a coup, apparently using quality-of-life perks as lure

Kelly Smith chose the Boston rival for greater flexibility, better pay and a chance to move upmarket to sell family office services to RIAs that mix with the ultra-high-net-worth elite.

February 10, 2023 at 3:39 AM

Naj Srinivas: Once you think it is possible some of it is probable.

With IRA inflows as tailwind, RIAs are taking over U.S. pension assets by the trillions as second act to 35 years of ransacking wirehouse talent and booty

Rollovers to individual retirement accounts hit a net $444 billion in 2021, Cerulli reports; advisors got 63% and the 401(k) cow is only going to get more productive.

February 9, 2023 at 5:23 AM

Joe Duran: I happen to be the weird intersect between Goldman Sachs and the RIA.

Joe Duran will co-develop Goldman Sachs unit aimed at outsourcing to non-Goldman RIAs after 'magic' never materialized for direct-to-consumer RIA

The Newport Beach, Calif. RIA legend plans to shift from B2C to B2B to fix Goldman's disconnect with RIAs and play to the strengths for him and the bank

February 8, 2023 at 3:03 AM

Liz Nesvold: Thanks to my team for sticking with me through thick and thin.

RIA M&A superstar Liz Nesvold takes control of her own destiny by invoking a contract clause at Raymond James -- and signaling that there is a hard way and easy way the next 90 days can go

The 'Michael Jordan of RIA M&A' may have been passed over on the St. Petersburg, Fla., investment bank's corporate ladder, despite her legendary rainmaking

February 4, 2023 at 2:53 AM

Focus Financial could get rolled down if Clayton, Dubilier & Rice takes over.

Focus Financial is pushing shareholders to take a take-it-or-leave-it private equity offer worth about $6 billion -- including $2 billion debt assumption -- despite a break-up value near $10 billion

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice's $53-a-share, or $4.1 billion, offer is predatory but likely to be accepted, in the sense that analysts imagine the rollup could be sold off in parts; Buckingham, alone, may fetch $2 billion.

February 3, 2023 at 3:03 AM

Walt Bettinger: We think we'll unearth all sorts of relationships.

Charles Schwab Corp. boasts 99.9% success with (likely) mock conversion of TD Ameritrade data to its own systems on eve of going live, and a hidden bonus -- $500 billion in held-away TDA assets ripe for the picking

First 500,000 TDA accounts will convert to Schwab this month with the promise of little to no repapering, but Schwab braces, nonetheless, for Murphy's Law.

February 2, 2023 at 3:04 AM

Gavin Spitzner: To everyone ... I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Gavin Spitzner, incredibly brilliant, but never overpowering, dies of acute myeloid leukemia, but not before sharing his uplifting spirit with the RIA industry he loved, in the face of his own 'finitude'

The breakaway wirehouse executive and independent consultant made his RIA mark quickly with knowledge, enthusiasm and love, then shared the lessons of mortality with urgency and thankfulness.

February 1, 2023 at 2:03 AM

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