RIABiz

An Amazon intern in 2020, Nevis CEO Mark Swan is the unlikely dream weaver for Focus Financial and other big RIA rollups with 'nightmare' integration issues -- with …

With a new Nevis contract, Focus CEO Adam Biernbaum concluded he was buying a process, not a product, because applying ...
RIABiz

Bank of America analyst 'double' slams Ameriprise not least because RIA 'structural' advantage triggered proactive in-house retention bonuses that take a bite out of m…

The Minneapolis brokerage giant is paying its own to stay put to slow a breakaway onslaught, but it could expensively raise ...
RIABiz

TD Bank's RIA unit poaches Schwab's 'head of firmwide AI' and makes him its 'head of U.S. Wealth' with an eye on national franchise

After hitting $8-billion plus of AUM and $16 bilion of AUA, the Mt. Laurel, N.J., bank wealth unit nabbed Hardeep Walia to ...
RIABiz

No sooner does MassMutual sell control of Flourish than it massively buys its cash management services for its 6,000 brokers; odd timing explained by 'plumbing'

MassMutual expanded Flourish Cash access to its entire network of 6,000 financial professionals nationwide. Flourish secured the deal by targeting held-away bank assets rather than competing with ...
RIABiz

LPL finally stops (largely) Anthropic-fueled stock price skid by confirming 'something big' -- with Anthropic -- a new Morningstar report pounding the table to buy LPL shares ...

LPL Financial shares stabilized after Anthropic executives confirmed an expanded partnership focused on wealth management AI. Anthropic's new agentic AI tools aim to automate complex, regulated tasks ...
RIABiz

Will Trout

State Street's newly launched Apex-powered RIA custody unit has sizzle and 'wedge' power, especially after Pershing's Wove 'fell flat;' but to avoid fizzling, the power duo needs to steer past ...
RIABiz

Fidelity Investments just cast a wider net for RIA custody revenues by backstopping Savvy Wealth's (expected mid-2027 ) custody launch -- hastened by the lean-in of 'multi ...

Ritik Malhotra: We have some multi-billion dollar AUM groups of folks that are very seriously considering the RIA platform right now. Fidelity Investments now has another, more AI-focused fishing line ...
RIABiz

After dominating Forbes rankings for years, Morgan Stanley suspends participation over $6-million editor scandal -- forcing RIAs and wirehouses to weigh whether 'rented ...

Emma Smith: The amount of money being made around these rankings makes the 'separation of church and state' incredibly important. Brooke's Note: We were working all week on a follow-up to last ...
RIABiz

Marty Bicknell commits $175 million to install 700 'AI' bots to revolutionize RIA automation; the gamble isn't AI but whether advisors, clients, staff and leadership will ...

Mariner Wealth Advisors is committing $175 million to deploy 700 AI bots for enterprise-wide back-office automation. Automating administrative tasks aims to free advisors from drudgery, allowing them ...
RIABiz

XY Planning recruiting spikes as RIA M&A refugees flee rollups that dangle downer contracts

Alan Moore (l) and Michael Kitces: An advisor with 75+ million AUM was given 30 days to decide whether to sign new agreements or leave. Key Points XY Planning Network reports record growth as advisors ...
RIABiz

Vanguard Group and Altruist can win RIA hearts, no problem, experts say, but the bro-cultural chasm – 2,700 miles apart and two ways of defining 'client-first' – will ...

Jason Wenk (right) [with Salim Ramji]: We've been defying the odds and proving the haters wrong for nearly eight years. Brooke's Note: We are still staggered at RIABiz that this $4.6 billion merger is ...
RIABiz

Ritik Malhotra sells not-for-sale Savvy stake for $100 million after Utah Jazz owner showed up big for his LPL-disruption-by-AI play -- and Mark Casady re-upped at the new ...

Ritik Malhotra: We're up 4-x this past year to $9 billion in assets under management, with another $5 billion in recruited assets on the way. Key Points Savvy Wealth secured a $100 million Series C ...