News, Vision & Voice for the Advisory Community
The days when RIAs were the outsiders at the 401(k) party are fast coming to a close. What's new is that the mass of 401(k) assets
is getting critical at about $3 trillion; fiduciary advisors are getting appreciated; fat fees and questionable kickbacks are getting exposed and stepping out of line is getting dicier as the Department of Labor tightens the regulatory screws. The old reasons why the 401(k) business is attractive are still in place: there are fresh assets pouring in every month and when employees leave jobs or retire, they produce rollovers that build up IRA accounts for financial advisors. The drawbacks of getting into the 401(k) business are still in place, too. Dealing with retirement assets is really a second line of business and it remains -- unless you overcharge with hidden fees -- a low margin business with high potential fiduciary liabilities. Still, the outsourcers, infrastructure and accumulated knowledge for RIAs to capitalize on is growing daily and a the mega-shift of assets away from brokers is making the 401(k) business riskier and riskier -- to ignore.
Fidelity wins Delta Airlines business with sweetener • Opto pairs-up with Riskalyze and Merchant • Moonfare raises $15 million • CAIS bucks real estate trend • Vanguard launches "curious[ly]" delayed fund • WealthBox, Dynasty, and others buy and hire.
Author Oisin Breen March 8, 2023 at 3:28 AM
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.
Author Oisin Breen February 9, 2023 at 5:23 AM
Brooke's Note: Since the late 1980's RIAs have plucked wirehouse people and assets as if it were their private orchard. Less accessible were those trillions of dollars of pension assets managed by “institutional” managers for defined benefit, or even defined contribution plans. Now it's all ...
The Omaha, Neb., RIA slid below $19 billion by end of 2022 but has a deal with Vestwell to encourage its RIAs to seek 401(k) plans
Author Lisa Shidler January 18, 2023 at 3:33 AM
Carson Wealth Management is launching a new way of attracting assets with upstart Vestwell, after shifting from the usual RIA custody partners -- Fidelity Institutional or TD Ameritrade Institutional – amid stagnating assets.
Americans are struggling, though jobs are plentiful; Larry Fink's ESG zeal costs BlackRock another client, just as the Vatican issues ESG guidance; UBS says we didn't like you anyway to mass affluent and Michael Kitces and Craig Iskowitz join forces.
Author Oisin Breen December 3, 2022 at 3:16 AM
Orion and DFA are now selling 60/40 RIA portfolios to RIAs and IBD reps -- packaged in ETFs.
The Overland Park, Kan.-based firm's staff bolted for Morgan Stanley, including its CEO, but experts say regulators may not be far behind.
Author Oisin Breen December 1, 2022 at 8:25 PM
Brooke's Note: Blooom is one of those firms we all admired from afar as a unique success story. It raked in billions of AUM but largely under the radar because it was founded in Kansas by a young crew that didn't seem interested in much ...
These items caught RIABiz's eye this week, starting with Aaron Klein's intent to retire 'Riskalyze'; Robert Huebscher's zero-degree separation from Jamie Dimon, and what's driving Vanguard to suggest not-too-junky junk bonds as a way to play the recession it predicts for 2023.
Author Oisin Breen October 27, 2022 at 1:01 AM
The days are numbered for the Riskalyze brand because at least one person, CEO Aaron Klein, sees deficiencies.
The lawsuits against 401(k) plan sponsors also threaten every RIA and fiduciary, if underperformance becomes a legal liability, lawyers say.
Author Oisin Breen September 22, 2022 at 1:34 AM
Retirement plan sponsors are fake fiduciaries if they offer cheap, highly rated funds from premium brands in 401(k) plans without factoring in fund performance, according to a fresh wave of ERISA class action cases.
Some 47% of plan sponsors are considering a new advisor, up from 34% last year, and 48% are considering a change of recordkeepers.
Author Lisa Shidler September 13, 2022 at 1:51 AM
Brooke's Note: Remember the DOL Rule and all the hubbub around it? We had half-forgotten about it, too. The Trump Department of Labor (DOL) took a scalpel to the original Obama administration version in 2020, but it still had a few rose bush thorns of ...
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.
Author Brooke Southall August 30, 2022 at 1:07 AM
Goldman Sachs today (Aug. 29) announced the closing of NextCapital Group, Inc., giving the New York City investment bank a place to launch an offensive into the burgeoning defined contribution (DC) retirement market.
The new San Diego firm will be a TAMP-like unit that gives a way for small companies to get big-plan leverage while still letting RIAs handle the investment advice, says CEO Jason Roberts.
Author Lisa Shidler June 23, 2022 at 6:56 PM
A top ERISA attorney is co-founding a venture to crack the fertile but fallow small business 401(k) market by allying with RIAs.
The $12-trillion Boston firm shocked everyone with the timing of the 'seminal' move, the Labor Dept.'s tut-tutting 'guidance' not withstanding, after concluding Bitcoin's volatile days are behind it.
Author Lisa Shidler April 29, 2022 at 2:08 AM
Brooke's Note: Pretty much come hell or high water the great capitulation to 'The Experiment' that is cryptocurrency has happened. Whether you're a teenager or a financial sophisticate, there's no turning back. Poverty is an option. Leaving an adventure like Bitcoin investing in the rear ...
The Chicago 401(k) robo-advisor became a ‘plug-in’ versus a ‘platform,’ relegating it to a guest role, a pragmatic move, yet, perhaps, diminishing its destiny.
Author Oisin Breen April 6, 2022 at 4:48 AM
Goldman Sachs Asset Management is again the golden parachute for an RIA venture where the lead entrepreneur ran low on steam, the business model hit headwinds and the seven-year bell rang for private equity investors anxious to cash out.
The 10-year-old New York City firm nixed its FeeX brand and its old business model after RIAs said they wanted 'action' more than information.
Author Lisa Shidler March 24, 2022 at 11:19 PM
FeeX just raised $45 million but first it had to change its business model from an X-ray to a bridge and renamed itself accordingly. Big RIAs with a 401(k) bent are rewarding them with contracts.
After record AUM high, BlackRock chairman and CEO Larry Fink brushes off a milestone • SchwabSchwab hits records; Wall Street wants more • Mutual fund giant's ETF conversion yields bragging rights • Regulation Best Interest headaches unnecessary, despite SEC brouhaha, lawyers say • Workplace scheme wins big for Fidelity.
Author Oisin Breen January 21, 2022 at 3:16 AM
BlackRock's AUM tops $10 trillion -- "It's just a number," says CEO Larry Fink with likely a nod and a wink.
The Mountain View, Calif., manager of $260 billion of AUM is splitting a two-hour slot in 25 markets between its namesake's new show and two ringers -- Jean Chatzky and Soledad O'Brien
Author Lisa Shidler December 13, 2021 at 7:45 PM
Brooke's Note: I am not entirely sure what is going on here. At its peak, "The Ric Edelman Show" commanded a two-hour slot in 85 markets. Now its primary replacement show is one hour in 75 markets and does not include Ric himself. But Ric ...
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