Industry

2011 may be remembered for its Walls Street thrills and spills, but the merger and acquisition deals made a huge mark on Main Street and the RIA business. National aggregator and private equity firms accounted for a vast majority of the top deals. Here’s a look at 10 of the most significant deals in the RIA sector in the past year.

RS Investments has named Matthew H. Scanlan chief executive officer. He was previously president and CEO of Renaissance Institutional Management, a subsidiary of hedge fund manager Renaissance Technologies. Previously, he was head of Barclays Global Investors' institutional business and a portfolio manager at The Northern Trust Co.

Service providers are always looking for ways to serve RIAs, including managing client assets, even if it means buying other firms to gain the expertise.

Web Exclusive: The woman who runs the nation's largest RIA firm, Maria Elena Lagomasino, doesn't have much faith in the non-fiduciary side of her industry. In fact, she says an unfortunate number of planners at large banks and brokerage houses run their businesses to benefit themselves as much – or more than – their clients.

Putnam Investments is laying off 78 employees, or 4.4% of its workforce. The layoffs, primarily in operations, follow a 3% decline in assets under management, from $121 billion in 2010, to $117 billion in 2011.

William Polk Carey, founder of investment management firm W.P. Carey & Co., died on Jan. 2 at age 81, the company announced.

Raymond James & Associates has hired two financial advisors from Wells Fargo to open its first office Richmond, Va., office for its employee broker-dealer business.

Web Exclusive: It took Oxford Financial CEO Jeffrey Thomasson years to figure out how to recruit and hire the best people. Now, the nation’s second-largest RIA has it down to a science – and the firm is thriving like never before.

Web Exclusive: The nation’s third-largest RIA now has more than $10 billion in assets under management due in large part to its comprehensive approach to managing and maximizing clients’ investments with the taxman in mind.

There is strength in numbers, and practices across the country are banking on size to position themselves for success.