Industry

In the RIA space, rapid consolidation is driving firms to merge, acquire and seek larger partners. In 10 to 20 years, many predict a series of giant $100 billion-AUM firms will emerge to dominate the market. So what does the future hold for smaller firms?

Mark Cahn, general counsel at the Securities and Exchange Commission, is leaving the agency at the end of the year to return to the private sector.

Brinton Eaton, a Madison, N.J., based wealth manager with $700 million in assets under management, has joined Chicago-based Mariner Wealth Advisors, bringing the latter’s AUM to $6.3 billion.

In the first half of 2012, bank and thrift holding companies generated $59.4 billion in wealth management income, down 6.6% from the year before.

Upon completion of the addition of two West Coast advisories by the end of 2012, hybrid RIA Washington Wealth Management will reach over $1 billion in recruited assets under management, representing a 900% increase since December 2011.

With RIA balance sheets healthier, banks once again are taking an interest in RIAs, which are growing as much as 50% more rapidly than wirehouses.

Huntington Bank has named Gregory Forbes as Senior Vice President for business development for Huntington Asset Services. Forbes will focus on expanding market share in servicing larger fund companies and institutional clients.

OppenheimerFunds today officially closed the book on its acquisition of SteelPath Capital Management and SteelPath Fund Advisors.

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management has added eight financial advisors from rival firms Merrill Lynch and Barclays.

“[A] segment of wealth managers appear to live in denial, clinging to investment methodologies that have patently failed twice over the past decade and are likely to fall short again,” the authors of a white paper accompanying the survey results wrote.