Articles published 4/2019
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Mike Alfred scores headhunt coup by hiring brother, Ryan -- and, oh yeah, he raised $6 million
The co-founder and CEO of Digital Assets Data not only got his ace sibling but co-founder Kurt Fenstermacher, ex-Bridgewater, took over as COO changing the trajectory of the startup
April 30, 2019 at 5:25 PM
Shirl Penney and Brian Hamburger gang-tackle largest breakaway of 2019 as Jason Fertitta, Team Americana bolt Morgan Stanley to form Schwab RIA
The Dynasty CEO and MarketCounsel CEO fended off the logistical and legal furies for small team with $6 billion in AUM and average accounts of $50 million
April 29, 2019 at 5:11 PM
Wealthfront adds staggering $1 billion to its robo-bank in 'less than a month', but critics say it's treading the line, again, on possible conflicts of interest
CEO Andy Rachleff's made a smart move -- short-term, for sure -- but the two months come with a big asterisk and cultural, business model and marketing pivot may cause longer-term headaches
April 26, 2019 at 2:20 AM
Addepar finally makes friends with Fidelity and reboots its RIA service, again -- helped by a key ex-Tamarac hire
The $1.3-trillion performance software maker hired Samuel King, former Tamarac service chief and wins -- for keeps -- big RIA users as it puts its science project reputation aside to prosper
April 24, 2019 at 7:44 PM
Free of 2012 merger entanglements, Roger Hewins's second RIA act is on a hiring binge after zeroing in on women as target market -- knowing full well the gender tilt never seems to work
'Team Hewins' has some old hands from Redwood City, San Francisco, Boca Raton, and Miami overseeing billion of dollars and a push to create a place where the culture trumps pink-and-shrink in making notoriously leery women get invested
April 23, 2019 at 6:31 PM
Oleg Tishkevich signs Envestnet to a contract with a company he started during an Envestnet non-compete -- and four years after selling Finance Logix to it for $32 million
Invent.us hits the ground running with several contracts reflecting friends in high places but critics ask whether he can fly so close to the sun without getting scorched
April 20, 2019 at 2:19 AM
Howard Milstein scrubs Mark Hurley's stringent contracts with 22 RIAs then buys $1.5-billion semi-RIA through satellite entity with a looser mandate
With its new billionaire owner calling the shots, the Mark Hurley baby is doing some fence-mending but economical deals remain elusive in crowded market
April 18, 2019 at 4:50 AM
Orion's Eric Clarke tests new strategy to combat Envestnet's Jud Bergman in a Game of Thrones style clash for keys to RIA and IBD kingdoms
NorthStar and sister firm FTJ FundChoice are rebranded Orion, which might as well be Eric Clarke, observers agree, as strategic shift follows Envestnet's MoneyGuidePro and PortfolioCenter acquisitions.
April 16, 2019 at 8:50 PM
Schwab connected lawyer’s InvestmentNews column erupts like a sudden spring storm, roiling advisors, after firing a warning shot at RIAs without revealing connections
Lawyer Robyn Crowther of white shoe LA law firm Steptoe penned article; both Schwab and InvestmentNews disavowed knowledge of its origin or author conflicts
April 13, 2019 at 3:27 AM
Commonwealth CEO Wayne Bloom brushes off rep pushback, spins off Advisor360 to sell formerly exclusive software and research to competitors
From the standpoint of the Waltham, Mass.-based brokerage chief, the revenue from repurposing rep software that creatively finances his firm's $35,000-per-head tech overhead is a necessary evil that has far fewer drawbacks than perceived.
April 12, 2019 at 9:13 PM
Betterment (and RBC) rush to exploit a fissure that opened between Dimensional Fund Advisors and the asset custodians who serve its 3,000-plus RIAs
The New York City robo will initially roll out to a handful of $1-billion-plus DFA RIAs that seek an efficient means of handling smaller accounts; the rest is up to Betterment CEO Jon Stein to make happen
April 11, 2019 at 3:19 PM
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
Raj Udeshi invokes 'Theranos' fraud in testy exchanges over data collection with Envestnet's Bill Crager and Jud Bergman at Tiburon CEO Summit
HiddenLevers co-founder offended some audience members with his accusations, but others say he raises a valid concern: Where is the line drawn for firms capturing and selling advisor and client data?
April 9, 2019 at 2:29 AM
Aaron Schumm is in the catbird seat after the biggest cat in the Wall Street jungle, Goldman Sachs, validates Vestwell by taking a big bite of a new $30 million funding round
Just under three years old, Vestwell may have the keys to a kingdom -- a mighty sales force that can sell small 401(k) plans for a profit without ticking of the DOL
April 5, 2019 at 10:49 PM
Michael Kitces and FPA enter uneasy truce after Kitces apologizes and FPA publishes its audited financials
Skip Schweiss played mediator after latest Kitces-FPA spat got nasty; Kitces used the word 'fraud' (albeit not alleged) in regard to what turned out to be a simple accounting change that outsiders couldn't see
April 4, 2019 at 2:57 AM
Facet Wealth gets Vanguard's RIA man in Arizona with hopes he can replicate the fund firm's $115-billion success--before burning through Facet's VC backing
Fresh off 27 new hires, 400 new clients, $47 million in fresh assets, Facet CEO Anders Jones knows he needs one hire for new AUM and new CFPs in grand measure
April 3, 2019 at 2:22 AM
Building a robo for RIAs with (maybe) no robo baggage, 55ip sizzles with hires as it makes Matt Abar a partner and strives to make 'risk' a profitable, four-letter word
The PhD-laden startup semi-bootstraps on $10-million of VC cash becomes a FinFolio client, a Riskalyze poacher and a VEO player with a book of real customers
