What you missed in wealth management: May 3 - 7

May 6, 2021 11:04 PM

A $900 million UBS team left for RBC, Raymond James asset-management subsidiary Carillon Tower Advisers hired a new president, Dynasty Financial Partners will begin taking minority stakes in RIAs in its network, and Beacon Pointe made its seventh acquisition so far this year. Plus: academic research, financial literacy surveys, and other career moves around the industry.

Employees Work From Home As U.S. Coronavirus Cases Rise Slightly

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This week in new academic working papers from the National Bureau of Economic Research: even after the COVID pandemic winds down, Americans will continue to work from home: “20% of full workdays will be supplied from home after the pandemic ends, compared with just 5% before.” This will be good for employees, especially higher-earning ones, and will add a 5% jump in productivity to the economy due in part to time saved commuting, but will cut spending in the biggest cities by at least 5-10%. In another study, researchers ran experiments to see how likely retail traders would be to show “myopic loss aversion,” in which an investor is so worried about losing money in the short term that it affects their investing behavior. Then they compared these experimental results to the investors’ real-world brokerage statements over two years and found that their behavior in the lab predicted, but not perfectly, how they would act in the markets. And another team of researchers studied the worldwide gap in financial literacy between women and men, finding that about one-third of this discrepancy can be explained by women’s lower levels of confidence in their own financial knowledge.

Carillon Tower Advisers, a boutique asset management firm and subsidiary of Raymond James, announced it has hired a new president, effective May 7. The new executive, Robert D. Kendall, is coming from DWS Americas, where he served as CEO.

Kendall is succeeding Cooper Abbott, who retired from Carillon on March 31. Carillon and its affiliates oversaw $74 billion in assets at the end of March.

“We have great confidence that he will lead the firm and its affiliates into a new phase of growth, drive forward our culture of collaboration and transparency, and build on our commitment to meeting client needs,” said Jeff Dowdle, COO of Raymond James.

Demonstrators Hold Rally Calling On Biden For A Global Vaccine Plan

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More than nine in 10 advisors and financial professionals think that a bill now making its way through Congress will help their clients save for retirement. Nationwide Retirement Solutions, part of the large insurer, found that 93% of those polled were sanguine about the SECURE 2.0 legislation. The bill, now headed for a full House vote, would raise the age at which required minimum distributions start, to 75 from 72, and increase the size of “catch-up” contributions for those aged 62 through 64.

Compliance fintech RIA in a Box has acquired ITEGRIA, a provider of cloud-based virtual desktops for independent advisors. ITEGRIA’s technology lets RIAs and their support staff securely access their work environment and data virtually and from any device, which has fueled the company’s growth during the work-from-home era. After the acquisition, RIA in a Box will count 2,200 RIA firms as its customers, representing a collective $400 billion in assets.

Canadian Bank Branches As Earnings Figures Are Released

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RBC opened a branch in Roanoke, Virginia with a four-advisor UBS team managing approximately $900 million in client assets, according to RBC. “Being able to offer our clients the full wealth management platform of RBC is something we believe will benefit our clients now and for decades to come,” Michael Kemp, managing director of the team, said in a statement. “And we love that RBC gives back in a significant way to nonprofit organizations in the communities in which it operates. It’s truly a win-win.”

The North American Securities Administrators Association’s electronic filing depository system has expanded to include franchise filings. “We are pleased to continue to modernize and streamline the filing process and offer additional efficiencies for franchisors,” NASAA President Lisa Hopkins said in a statement.

RIA platform Dynasty Financial Partners is now offering members of its network the option of selling minority stakes to the private-equity backed firm. “The advantage of minority equity is that RIAs maintain control and independence while achieving certain strategic objectives,” Harris Baltch, head of M&A and Dynasty Capital Strategies, said in a statement. “They are getting capital from a partner – someone they already know and trust.”

LPL Financial brought a $200 million Voya Financial Advisors duo into its fold at Independent Network of Consultants & Advisors, an OSJ with LPL. The team’s main office is located in Montvale, New Jersey.

LPL’s M&A services were a key driver of the deal, according to a press release. CEO Vladislav (Vlad) Zherenovsky, who was born in Latvia, has purchased 11 books of business in 11 years.

“As a teenager, I watched my parents figure out how to work with money in a new way,” Zherenovsky said in a statement. “When we relocated to the United States and I saw the complexity of the U.S. financial system, I knew I wanted to learn everything I could about finances so I could protect my family and the people I care about.”

Tax strategy fintech LifeYield tapped 10-year veteran marketing executive John Wernz for its advisory board of industry professionals consulting with the firm on its strategy. More than 90,000 advisors use the firm’s products in their practices.

Advisors David Baysinger and Kelly Elsensohn and their four-person team managing $109 million in client assets dropped their RIA to move the practice to WealthSource Partners. “A choice as important as this cannot be made hastily, without consideration for clients or our future growth as an advisory practice,” Baysinger said in a statement. “With WealthSource, we found a team with an advisor-first mindset that has walked in our shoes.”

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New York Life Investments launched a practice management and professional development school called the Advisor Advancement Institute. In collaboration with R.J. Shook of Shook Research and sports psychologist Kevin Elko, the institute started with “How the Best Become the Best.” The program includes a 50-question “top advisor mindset assessment” and a six-module video series with contributions from leading advisors.

A D in financial literacy: Some 15,000 Americans who took a quiz on the website of personal finance education service Finny got an average of 66% over the past five months, according to the company. While the vast majority of respondents understand that insurance premiums aren’t refundable and that mutual funds and ETFs are lower-risk than individual equities, the results showed lower figures in six other areas.

Marketing software developer FMG Suite and its recently acquired subsidiary, Twenty Over Ten, launched a new series of tools designed to help advisors use client testimonials in compliance with a new SEC rule allowing for them. “Our teams have been tracking, researching and ideating solutions with our broker dealer partners since the new rule was first announced," FMG CEO Scott White said in a statement. "With these tools and resources, we aim to empower advisors and help them feel confident to better market their businesses in a digital environment."

Kim Hayes, the former director of financial planning at Waddell & Reed Financial, and a member since 2016 on the CFP Board's Disciplinary and Ethics Commission, is now the organization’s director of corporate relations. In the position, she’s reporting to Managing Director for Corporate Relations Joseph Maugeri and working to craft the certifying organization’s strategy for promoting the designation.

Private equity-backed Beacon Pointe Advisors has completed its seventh acquisition in the past five months, buying a North Carolina-based RIA named DMJ Wealth Advisors. Advisors Charles Carrick, Sheryl Austin and Jeff Hwang lead the firm, which has four offices and $610 million in assets under management. “We sought to partner with a firm which could provide us with advanced back-office technology, enabling us to deepen the personalized service our clients have come to expect," Austin said in a statement. "We also anticipate that the next investment cycle will increase the need for a broader array of investment choices.”

Nathan Stibbs was appointed to president of Continuum Advisory.

Former Triad Advisors recruiting executive Nathan Stibbs is now president of Continuum Advisory, a hybrid RIA that uses his former firm as its broker-dealer. The RIA manages more than $3 billion in assets under administration.

Wealth Partners Capital Group-backed MAI Capital Management closed two acquisitions in a week: Naples, Florida-based MWM Investment Consulting and the wealth management division of Ownership Advisors. The former practice manages $100 million in client assets. Cleveland-based MAI has more than $10 billion in assets under management.

Advisor Jim Galkowski and Senior Client Specialist Jill Roux opened a new branch of Baird in Rochester, Minnesota. The team left Wells Fargo Advisors, where they managed $482 million in client assets. It’s Baird’s fourth office in the state.

Newport Beach, California-based Oglevee and Devine Group dropped UBS for Rockefeller Capital Management. The team consists of Stefan Oglevee, Janna Devine, Stefan "Max" Oglevee, Client Service Associate Justin Medeiros and Client Service Associate Robb Lindell. They managed $550 million in client assets with their prior firm.

Ex-Merrill Lynch advisor Michael Cuttita went independent with LPL Financial to launch Paramus, New Jersey-based Platinum Wealth Advisors. Cuttita chose Gladstone Wealth Partners as the practice’s office of supervisory jurisdiction. His team managed $120 billion in client assets with the wirehouse.