News, Vision & Voice for the Advisory Community
A look at the numbers shows that exchange traded funds are starting to move in lockstep with RIAs and vice-versa. RIAs invested $496 billion in ETFs in the 12-month period ended June 30, 2015 – that’s a $78 billion increase compared to the same period the year before. By comparison, the wirehouse channel added 20% fewer ETF assets, or $397 billion in the last year; granted, an amount that was $70 billion greater than its aggregate investment during the same 12-month period the year before, according to Broadridge Financial Solutions. RIAs that manage portfolios and make discretionary investment choices for their clients value ETFs because they provide advisors with easy access to market segments at a cheap price – an especially important factor for RIAs who are compensated on an asset-fee basis. Fee-based advisors appreciate ETFs’ tax efficiency, liquidity and broad exposure at low cost. Conversely, RIAs are a prized channel for ETF-makers like State Street, Invesco, PowerShares, Vanguard Group and BlackRock. ETFs are also a major ingredient in portfolios devised by robo-advisors -- essentially automated RIAs -- for the mass affluent who invest more than 90% of their assets using ETFs.
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
The Malvern, Pa. firm mostly blew away the index-investing field in a tumultuous year as its size strained its service; analysts sense a breaking point could come as service aces Schwab and Fidelity shrink its price advantage.
Vanguard Group made a mockery of doubters in 2022 by growing index assets when all but BlackRock fell back, but it's also testing the limits of its lean-and-mean approach – and could pay a dear price later, according to analysts.
BlackRock gets Kentucky coal in stocking, and Vanguard keeps skating; iShares inches above -- by 2.8% -- Vanguard's annual net new ETF asset haul; Fidelity takes "natural next step" for stock plan business; new CFP chair outlines plans and the DOJ is set to become a major Robinhood shareholder..
Author Oisin Breen January 13, 2023 at 3:01 AM
Charles Schwab & Co. put checks in the mail to clients this month for its alleged sins from 2015 to 2018 involving its marketing of Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, according to Barron's.
The Malvern, Pa. firm played the Bogle card amid an about-face on NZAM, which it joined 21 months ago with heavy hitters like BlackRock, to 'steward' client assets, but external GOP political pressures may have forced it to cave.
Author Oisin Breen January 4, 2023 at 2:02 AM
Brooke's Note: Vanguard is the kind of company that used to make the news maybe twice a year. Now it is a man-bites-dog story time and time again. Each time the story's hook differs, but the common denominator stays consistent. The $7-trillion asset manager is ...
The $540-billion AUM Austin, Texas factor-fund factory dropped $30 billion or so in AUM since August -- enough to make any manager launch a second real estate ETF in 2022
Author Oisin Breen December 22, 2022 at 2:27 AM
Dimensional Fund Advisors is getting real about the reality of ETF disruption and the need to give RIAs better access to real estate.
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 $6.7 trillion Malvern, Pa., giant was already edging away from share-the-love pricing before market-downturn, AUM jolts exacerbated the trend.
Author Oisin Breen November 29, 2022 at 9:57 PM
The Vanguard Group is ready for Black Friday as it steps up its share-the-misery pricing policy that reflects margin pressures exerted by as much as a $1.3 trillion shrinkage in AUM.
The Westlake, Texas broker will now take a 12- to 19-basis-point fee on the new (institutional no-transaction fee) INTF platform versus the 40-basis-point shellacking by OneSource.
Author Oisin Breen November 8, 2022 at 1:13 AM
Brooke's Note: Schwab's OneSource might be Chuck Schwab's greatest innovation. Creating a supermarket of mutual funds was a huge marketing boost for managers, a huge efficiency boost for advisors and a hugely profitable line of business for Schwab itself. The $200-billion or so of assets ...
Schwab RIA chief petitions for 'patience' for coming merger inconveniences but 'repapering' is no culprit; Carrie Pomerantz gets Schwab board seat; Addepar wins $65 billion AUM contract.
Author Oisin Breen November 3, 2022 at 1:59 AM
The merger of Charles Schwab Corp. and TD Ameritrade (TDA) systems will cause problems yet not demand RIAs be forgiving – but patience is requested, says Schwab's RIA chief.
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.
RIABiz ticks off four dozen stories this week, including big companies experiencing big trouble and small ones appearing out of Bento boxes
Author Oisin Breen October 20, 2022 at 11:01 PM
Brooke's Notes: At RIABiz we stick to storytelling, breaking news and deep analysis. The downside of depth is that you give up what's on the surface. So we are experimenting with this blitz. Have a read, or a scan of this storm of briefs that ...
The Malvern, Pa., manager blamed $44-million fund's scale, but marked underperformance and a manager departure as likely doomed it, one Vanguard watcher says
Author Brooke Southall September 27, 2022 at 1:51 AM
Brooke's Note: The reason so many financial advisors like factor funds is that -- over time -- you get all the benefits of indexes but with a cherry on top of slight out performance, if you invest long-term. It's cerebral and disciplined. But what happens ...
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.
Author Oisin Breen August 31, 2022 at 5:08 AM
Judge not, that ye be not judged -- unless you are the subject of a scathing, 4,500-word Wall Street Journal takedown of your marquee fund rating system.
Vanguard, BlackRock and Avantis rattle a complacent Dimensional Fund Advisors with fee cuts and ETF roll outs based on 'smart beta.'
Author Oisin Breen August 9, 2022 at 1:57 AM
Brooke's Note: DFA was founded in 1981 with an RIA-aligned philosophy of slow-and-steady-wins-the-race, long on thoughtful process and short on glitz. It's going strong in 2022, but if growth is a measure of health, then it's caught a cold or showing early signs of something ...
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.
Author Lisa Shidler August 3, 2022 at 1:59 AM
Brooke's Note: He who is last shall be first -- or something like that. Schwab is a laggard in getting behind cryptocurrency but the envy of most in where it's entering the market -- during a fire sale. MicroStrategy tossed Michael Saylor out of the CEO ...
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