Rick Wurster Launches (Initially) Unprompted Defense of Schwab's Business Model at Analyst Meeting, and Says AI Won't Threaten Schwab's Cash...
Rick Wurster defended Charles Schwab’s cash‑sweep model, arguing AI won’t erode its core cash‑deposit business. At the same time, RIA‑focused cash managers are thriving; MaxMyInterest offers a 1.71% FDIC‑insured yield while StoneCastle, Flourish and Galileo have cut rates to near‑zero after the Fed’s March rate cuts. SoFi’s $1.2 billion acquisition of Galileo signals consolidation in the B2B cash‑management space. The shifting rate environment is reshaping revenue spreads for traditional brokers and robo‑advisors alike.
Corient Is Set to Leapfrog Its AUM 135% to $479 Billion, Largely Through European Deals; Now It's Circling Back to...
Corient, a fee‑only wealth‑management startup, is set to boost assets under management by 135% to $479 billion, driven by a string of European acquisitions. The firm is now targeting a $7.5 billion U.S. RIA in Tulsa to cement its claim as the...
Schwab Is Joining Fidelity in 'Law-of-the-Jungle' Shakedown of ETFs (with Vanguard Not Immune) to Claim up to 15% of Fee-Revenues,...
Charles Schwab and Fidelity are rolling out a joint "pay‑to‑play" scheme that will charge ETF managers up to 15% of their fee revenue for shelf‑space on the firms' platforms. Managers that refuse to pay will face a $100‑per‑trade penalty on...
Morningstar Plants Big Flag at Vanguard Amid 16-Month, Share-Price Nosedive, After It Offloads Three Lackluster Units and Makes Fortuitous Deal...
Morningstar is branding 13 Vanguard funds—representing $3.2 trillion in assets—with its name, a move that follows the $375 million acquisition of CRSP and the divestiture of three under‑performing units. The deal gives Morningstar licensing rights to Vanguard’s massive distribution network, while Vanguard...
Altruist CTO Departs After Just One Year -- but What a Year; Jason Wenk Cites Strong Bench and Says Search...
Charles Schwab reported Q1 2026 earnings that beat EPS expectations but missed revenue forecasts, prompting a 7.6% share decline. The firm announced a $65 million investment to acquire Wealth.com, aiming to embed AI across estate, tax and portfolio services. Schwab says...
Advyzon Stages 'Coup' By Bagging $676-Billion Citi Wealth Account as Part of the Andy Sieg Tech Revamp -- and Making...
Advyzon has landed a landmark contract to power Citi Wealth’s platform, covering roughly $676 billion of assets and nearly $1 trillion in administration. The Chicago‑based firm will replace Citi’s fragmented legacy technology with a unified, multi‑currency solution that enables advisors to manage...
Vanguard Could 'Flip Narrative' As Key Poach of Ally Bank Exec Positions It to Meet 'Overwhelming Demand' For Debit Card,...
Vanguard is reviving its cash‑management suite by planning a debit card for its Cash Plus account, after hiring former Ally Bank executives Sonia Fraher and Adam Gill to lead the effort. The move targets the 500,000 existing Cash Plus users...
Under Circumstances Not yet Fully Explained, BlackRock and State Street Are Filing to Finally Compete with Invesco's QQQ ETF, After...
BlackRock and State Street have filed with the SEC to launch SPDR and iShares Nasdaq‑100 ETFs, directly challenging Invesco’s long‑standing monopoly on the QQQ product. The filings follow Nasdaq’s recent decision to open its index‑licensing to multiple providers and to...
OpenAI Makes Second Move Toward RIA Business with Catch-and-Kill of Financial Planning Website, Hiro; Artificial Intelligence Is Powerful, and Sam...
OpenAI announced the acquisition of Hiro Finance on April 14, promising to cease Hiro's operations by May 13 and delete its client data. Hiro, which used an AI chatbot to manage budgeting scenarios for more than $1 billion in retail assets,...
Schwab Advisor Services' $5 Block-Trading Fee Survives Stir at Barron's RIA Confab After Being Reframed as Taming Advisor Excess and...
Charles Schwab’s Advisor Services will impose a $5 per‑account fee on each block trade starting June 1, after a three‑month pause sparked strong pushback at the Barron's RIA summit. The charge is framed as an “inertia tax” to encourage advisors to...
Morningstar Moves on From ByAllAccounts -- Sending It to a Startup Incubator -- 12 Years After Former CEO Joe Mansueto...
Morningstar has sold its ByAllAccounts account‑aggregation business to Pello Companies, a tech‑startup incubator founded in 2024. The divestiture ends a decade‑old, $28 million acquisition that many analysts said was overpriced in a market that has become increasingly commoditized. Morningstar will keep...
RIA Channel's High Speed Adoption of AI Is Delivering yet Another Blow to Slow-Footed Wirehouse Channel, Though a Morgan Stanley...
Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) are rapidly integrating artificial intelligence, leveraging modern data stacks to outpace traditional wirehouses in speed and breadth of deployment. Wirehouses, which manage roughly $6.5 trillion across 15,000 brokers, still benefit from centralized technology hubs but are hampered...
DOL Proposes 'Safe Harbors' For Fiduciaries Sailing Into 'Alts' In 401(k) Plans, but Morningstar Says It May Not Be Safe...
The U.S. Department of Labor has issued a proposed rule creating six “safe harbors” that would shield 401(k) fiduciaries who add alternative assets such as private equity, real estate, commodities, and digital assets to retirement plans. The framework aims to...
Thanks to RIAs (in Large Part), Schwab CEO Rick Wurster's Pay Leaped 49%, and May Have Soared Higher -- Much...
Charles Schwab Corp. disclosed that CEO Rick Wurster’s 2025 compensation jumped 49% to $18.76 million, driven largely by a surge in assets under management from registered‑investment advisers. The firm added $519 billion in net‑new assets, with the RIA custody unit contributing $285 billion....
Mike Durbin Reunites with His Fidelity/eMoney Running Mate, Ed O'Brien as No. 2 at Cetera, in Part to Help 'RIA...
Cetera Financial Group announced that CEO Mike Durbin has appointed former Fidelity and eMoney executive Ed O’Brien as the firm’s chief operating officer, effectively making him the No. 2 leader. The hire is aimed at shaping Cetera’s newly created “RIA &...