One big casualty of Fidelity Investments' buckle on zero-fee commissions may be the zero-fee RIA custody tailwind of three decades duration

With Pershing last to collect trade revenues, Schwab, TD Ameritrade and Fido have leverage and ' I think Fidelity will be the first to try,' Kitces says.

Author Oisin Breen October 15, 2019 at 8:42 PM

4 Comments

Fidelity's Abby Johnson took eight days to succumb Chuck Schwab's commission torpedo but those days may have been put to good use.

RIA Custodians

Abby Johnson

Tim Hockey

Fidelity

TD Ameritrade

E*Trade

Charles Schwab

Charles Schwab & Co.

Jeff Spears

October 16, 2019 — 5:43 PM

We didn't have to wait long to understand why Schwab cut commissions to zero. <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/news/3450717-schwab-q1-gains-net-interest-revenue-increase" rel="nofollow">https://seekingalpha.com/news/3450717-schwab-q1-gains-net-interest-revenue-increase</a>

Peter Giza

October 16, 2019 — 6:22 PM

Oisi IMHO it's a brilliant move for the following reasons. 1) Creates enormous buzz and confusion. 2) It forces everyone to do it, sets them back on their heels strategically and forces a quick tactical decision. 3) Takes all the stupid management of minimizing fees off the table for advisors. 4) Creates a more insulated fee structure that is less subject to the whims of the market and other custodian pricing. 5) It's a fee that is soon forgotten whereas trading fees are always right there in your face. 6) Opens up some interesting opportunities for fintech players. Pete Pete Giza | CPO | AdvisorPeak

Brian Patrick Murphy

October 16, 2019 — 6:42 PM

I agree with Pete, I think this opens up some interesting opportunities for nascent Fintech players (not those already established per se) but up and comers.

JPL

October 17, 2019 — 10:30 AM

Am I missing something, this decision puts mutual funds at a blatant disadvantage on the custodial platforms. From what I have read the investor will be charged a transaction fee for all buys and sells while ETF’s and stock trades will be executed for free. To add insult to injury, the platforms charge mutual fund families approximately 10 bps of assets while ETF’s and Stocks pay nothing.

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TD Ameritrade's board suddenly pushes out Tim Hockey after his big misread of RIAs; Tom Bradley name-dropped as successor

The CEO broke the TD promise never to compete with RIAs, took it back and got sent packing

July 23, 2019 at 4:30 AM

A canary in the coal mine, Amy Richardson left Charles Schwab & Co. for an RIA -- before the 2,000 layoffs -- now a robust job market is saving the Schwab diaspora, she says

The former Schwab director wants former colleagues to know life exists after Schwab and good job opportunities are plentiful in the financial services sector.

December 20, 2023 at 1:52 AM

Biz Briefs: The sorry scene at my local First Republic branch • Schwab launches new (smaller) lay-off round • Schwab hoovers pennies passing FINRA fee to clients • Gensler pleas for funds • Fidelity owner's private equity pres. retires • an Orion-Envestnet staff switcheroo • LPL dumps FutureAdvisor

Range Rovers screeched in and drivers joined a grim queue to get their cash, and cookie • The Schwab-TDA deal cull count now stands at roughly 3.5% of its staff • FMR's hockey star president has stepped down • SEC chief wants more enforcers • An Envestnet executive proves joining a rival is good business • LPL now has an in-house robot.

April 29, 2023 at 1:36 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

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TD Ameritrade
Asset Custodian
Top Executive: Tom Nally