People Moves Related to "Oisin's Bits: Vanguard aborts banking effort, because it was more fixated on beating BoA than being itself, an analyst says; SEI is killing it in the Mercer/Russell realm by competing with a retrofitted TAMP-thingy"
Headline
Publish date
The exclusive deal SMArtX cinched with Black Diamond is yielding Tiffany results, and now SmartX is hiring to keep up
Growth is not an option for the tiny West Palm Beach concern after its SS&C alliance after AUM all but doubles in recent months requiring more inventory, expertise and staff
April 10, 2019 at 11:05 PM
Biz Briefs: Vanguard's tax-loss harvest yields a caveat• Vermont green with envy ... of red states? • CFP Board spends $12 million on bungee metaphor • BlackRock isn't neutral on Credit Suisse • Women are the Goliath of 'David' in UK finance
Tax-loss harvest gains may have some home assembly required, says Jeff DeMaso • Adrian Johnstone is now in the driving seat at Practifi • CFP Board spending just topped $150 million • and Vermont shares some Texas thinking on ESG investing.
March 25, 2023 at 1:32 AM
Biz Briefs: Fidelity says humans beat robots, even for Gen Z • Joe Lonsdale's Opto starts signing RIA test-drivers • Vanguard launches oddly delayed fund • Wealthbox hires, and Dynasty buys
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.
March 8, 2023 at 3:28 AM
Biz Briefs: Schwab puts checks for $52 million in mail to robo-RIA customers allegedly misled about cash allocations • BlackRock blacklisted (again) • iShares beats NZAM-exiter Vanguard • Fidelity makes first acquisition in eight years • CFP board realizes Moms don't like CFPs
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..
January 13, 2023 at 3:01 AM
RIA recap: Bernie Clark promises to 'be there' for coming TDA-Schwab system snafus; Fidelity gets custody win; Vanguard dishes out big tax bill to investors
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.
November 3, 2022 at 1:59 AM
Farther struts its startup magic and shows why a $375-million RIA can be worth $50 million -- by getting four advisors to bring books of business just to be part of the enterprise
The San Francisco firm claimed its software was at another level and now advisors are betting careers on it, though not of the UHNW variety imagined
November 2, 2022 at 3:27 AM
Goldman Sachs fought the squid, but the squid won as CEO David Solomon puts the United Capital-Ayco RIA back under the control of house asset managers
Solomon acknowledges he's largely reunifying wealth management and asset management to regain synergies after trying to give the in-house RIA agency.
November 1, 2022 at 4:03 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
UBS bets its 'wealth' future on ex-Schwabbie Naureen Hassan, a corporate digital A-lister, who analysts give a fighting chance to transcend PaineWebber's ossified culture
Still a $2-billion cash-flow cow, the Swiss bank's 6,000-broker, US-based wirehouse is milking aging broker relationships with aging investors but needs a new kind of human presence, empathy, mindset and smarts to draw in Gen Z.
July 16, 2022 at 1:35 AM
Robinhood shares spike 25% after CEO Vlad Tenev finally goes back on the attack against Acorns, Fidelity, and Schwabitrade by adding their tricks and features to its quiver
Semi-commoditized by giants and upstarts alike, the Menlo Park, Calif. firm is extending trading hours and doing its own Acorns-style round-up debit card to show it's in the fight.
March 29, 2022 at 7:19 PM
Goldman Sachs RIA custodian delayed indefinitely, as 'technical details' bedevil launch date
The clock is ticking on the New York City investment bank's strategic imperative to strike while TD Ameritrade and Schwab merge, but Goldman may be facing similar obstacles combining with Folio Institutional.
March 16, 2022 at 2:47 AM
Dynasty Financial hires 'real deal' TD Ameritrade RIA sales talent who left after Schwab deal; he'll again mine for RIAs on Florida's Gold Coast--first big news since IPO disclosed
The St. Peterburg, Fla., technology outsourcer made its 10th Florida hire since start of year but first one on the state's Southeastern Coast
February 17, 2022 at 2:50 AM
Robinhood gets 'brilliant' upper manager -- and a spare CEO -- by nabbing TD Ameritrade's ex-thinkorswim top exec, hopefully to throw a lifesaver to Robinhood's sinking stock
The Menlo Park, Calif., firm nabbed Steve Quirk as first-ever chief brokerage officer to 'bridge the gap between academia and reality.'
January 6, 2022 at 10:33 PM
Wealthfront cedes to four years of investors clamoring for crypto by taking on expensive third-party vendor that Betterment rules out
The Redwood City, Calif., robo-advisor turned a hard 'no' into a soft 'yes' by dealing with Grayscale and its 200 basis-point-plus fees, which its robo rival in NYC -- also without a crypto path -- finds ludicrous.
August 14, 2021 at 2:20 AM
Vanguard Group shows up as 'alpha' disciple with two new fixed-income fund launches as it surpasses PIMCO's $2 trillion with ex-Goldman Sachs partner now calling the shots
The $8 trillion Malvern, Pa. manager owns beta investing, but RIAs are demanding higher income -- hence market timing and cherry picking -- from their fixed-income allocation.
August 10, 2021 at 11:46 PM
Jason Wenk raises $50 million from Vanguard Group and others, and Altruist may soon overtake Pershing's No. 3 RIA custodian spot, the Altruist founder asserts
The Los Angeles founder's disruption blitz involves a mobile-first Robinhood feel and a plug-and-play outsourcing one-stop-shop -- a sweet combination, except that it may not lure many big RIAs, analysts say.
May 20, 2021 at 3:22 AM
Oisín's Bits: Betterment now a robo roll-up with Canadian IPO as catalyst • Insurers risk regulation for COVID-19 coverage delays • Vanguard shifts Asia focus to China's vast mom-pop retail market
Betterment rolls up a robo • The CFA warns insurers over COVID-19 life polices • Vanguard names Chinese fund head to pursue $6 trillion market.
March 5, 2021 at 1:16 AM
Elliot S. Weissbluth, Hightower Advisors mastermind, cashes out and vacates chairman role as Pershing's ex-CEO Lisa Dolly takes a board seat
The Chicago rollup's founder got paid better by doing the second-stage exit and the new cast on the Board also includes Bob Oros ascending to chair and Darrell Horn of Green Square Wealth Management joining
February 19, 2021 at 8:58 PM
Oisín's Doubletakes: Clara Shih returns to Salesforce after 11-year hiatus • Focus reloads for M&A with $500 million debt raise, taking its credit north of $1.5 billion • Goldman Sach's 2020 partners list looks less homogenous -- even 'accretive' of women
Former HearSay CEO returns to her mother corporation • Focus Financial Partners debt levels soar 50% on fresh debt issuance • Goldman adds diversity, but snubs Marcus partnerships
February 6, 2021 at 2:39 AM
Second Betterment exec departs as new CEO Sarah Levy orients to her first month on the job and is confronted by personnel matters
Chief operating officer Dustin Lucien is the latest to leave the New York City robo-advisor, one of at least eight positions open as it prepares a push across multiple business lines to ignite growth.
January 19, 2021 at 6:32 PM
Wealthfront's unlikely tapping of Sheila Bair and Tom Curry signals likely push to gain a bank charter, analysts say
The Redwood City robo-advisor's addition of two renowned former chief banking regulators brings legitimacy and guidance that could lead to a margin-fattening bank charter and help solve the robo-advisor's problem of high client acquisition costs.
December 31, 2020 at 4:37 AM
Jon Stein ousts himself as Betterment CEO and taps Sarah Levy, who joins an exclusive club of top women executives, with a mission -- an IPO
The co-founder of the New York robo-advisor headhunted the ex-Viacom brass through Harvard professors on the down low to ostensibly scale operations.
December 8, 2020 at 5:27 PM
Goldman Sachs lifts two superstar RIA recruiters from Schwab and Pershing, tipping hand on a big push into the RIA space, targeting early 2021 custody launch
The Wall Street B2B superbrand prepares RIA distribution and poaches Richard Lofgren and Bill Dalton -- with a TD Ameritrade hire potentially in the works -- months ahead of a harder launch.
October 6, 2020 at 11:25 PM
Pershing poaches a chief operating officer from Goldman Sachs, citing her experience doing client-onboarding revamps as a key
The Jersey City, N.J., clearing and custody company hired Emily Schlosser to fill the talent gap when Lori Hardwick left in 2017
July 23, 2020 at 11:19 PM
Envestnet nabs Dani Fava to cross-pollinate semi-autonomous units and reap 'financial wellness' as the end product
The Chicago outsourcer has a massive, partially disconnected arsenal of products that CEO Bill Crager is rationalizing into 'wellness' with yet another new unit.
July 23, 2020 at 1:42 AM
Oisín's Bits: Wealthfront drops old mission statement, declares war on institutions and emphasizes banking future • Seeking Utah charter, Edward Jones may become largest bank in US by branch count • After Advent chief leaves, Black Diamond head steps up
Andy Rachleff cans the old 'democratizing' mission statement at his robo; The 14,200 one-man Ed Jones branches may become branch banks; Steve Leivent consolidates power at SS&C.
July 3, 2020 at 1:12 AM
With $4 million VC raise fresh in hand, SMArtX takes next step to shed Black Diamond shadow by hiring a president/COO who casts his own
.Jonathan Pincus took overseen assets at Northern Trust from $3 billion to $70 billion at his Chicago firm and learned about SMartX after in his old role
May 22, 2020 at 9:36 PM
Marc Spilker adds Matt Brinker as chess piece -- and partner -- in what he calls a 'very selective' talent add to build platform-for-RIA platforms outside Wall Street
Merchant Investment Management's executive chairman wants good people good at their job and Brinker likes having a breakaway Goldman partner rather than one captive to the Wall Street giant.
January 15, 2020 at 2:42 AM
Into the PIMCO void, Vanguard re-applies itself to active fixed-income funds and Bond Kings get a bitter taste of what the Peter Lynches of yesteryear learned the hard way
The Malvern, Pa. giant has only 24% of assets invested in bonds but nearly 40% of its portfolio staff are bond-directed as it seeks to exploit a world of high fees driven by fiefdoms and petty monarchs.
January 3, 2020 at 1:33 AM
Executive shake-up and staff hiring binge change Dynasty Financial Partners' talent mix, with Todd Thomson, Scott Welch, Ed Friedman and 12 women as headliners
The St. Petersburg-based producer of 'synthetic RIA scale' will continue to aggressively hire and adjust its talent ranks as it readies for next growth push.
September 24, 2019 at 2:02 AM
Tim Hockey leaves baffled analysts (and everyone else) probing for answers to explain abrupt departure plan as TD Ameritrade CEO; It's about... nothing!
Discount brokers are facing myriad issues as trading fees continue sliding to zero, causing TD's board to seek a more RIA friendly CEO
August 8, 2019 at 6:32 PM
Goldman Sachs closes United Capital deal and Matt Brinker, Joe Duran's wingman, exits with social media swan song on same day
The M&A chief's departure from the Newport Beach, Calif. roll-up may signal that its rolling-up days are over
July 18, 2019 at 6:13 PM
How Aaron Schumm got Goldman Sachs' brightest young star aboard; he jammed in a meeting for a friend and accepted an offer he couldn't refuse--$30 million
The Vestwell CEO gets Rana Yared, the 35 year-old Goldman partner, on his board as part of the $30-million round she made happen
July 2, 2019 at 11:20 PM
As Bob Oros-led HighTower reboots, it bags an ex-Goldman RIA, hires two, makes a CMO imminent, and clarifies mission
The new CEO will need to somehow weave together the debris of the first roll-up run and the new one to the satisfaction of RIAs and the hundreds of people already inside the HighTower umbrella
March 20, 2019 at 11:32 PM
Channeling its inner BlackRock as bull market teeters, Vanguard Group gets constructively paranoid by creating chief risk officer role with big power including vast new software applications
With Aladdin overtones, the Malvern, Pa. asset-manager puts Joseph Brennan in charge with big stress testing on the agenda
October 19, 2018 at 7:41 PM
BNY Mellon goes on a wild poaching bender as it sets sights on playing a very 2019 game of digital catch-up
Building on Bridget Engle's appointment last year, the New York superbank completes three-hire talent binge, with a money-no-object eye to boosting wealth management
October 18, 2018 at 7:28 PM
Andres Garcia-Amaya taps two industry vets to guide Zoe Financial through the RIA referral market's rocky shoals, which have sunk more than one firm
Backed by a $2 million VC injection from JP Morgan and ex-BlackRock execs, the NYC startup appoints wirehouse veteran Robert Deutsch and Acorns' investment guru Chris Jones to board
October 9, 2018 at 8:55 PM
HighTower gets a new CEO, to be revealed later, as Elliot Weissbluth moves upstairs
Elliot Weissbluth's move upstairs ends an era, as Thomas H. Lee's reign begins in earnest, and Mark Cabezas comes in as M&A head.
