The Wire

AssetMark, the industry's third-largest turnkey asset management provider, hit the $50 billion mark by agreeing to buy Global Financial Private Capital, a $5.7 billion RIA that provides outsourcing services to around 200 advisors.

Although the TAMP business is dominated by Envestnet with over $500 billion advisor assets on its platform, AssetMark, headed by Charles Goldman, former head of Schwab Institutional and president of Fidelity's clearing and custody business, is making an aggressive push to catch number two SEI Advisor Network, which has around $65 billion in assets.

The industry may be adding registered investment advisers annually, but it's also consolidating at a record pace for one reason: the power of scale. Highly competitive,, aggressive growth RIAs are reshaping the landscape.

Armed with capital, they are harvesting RIAs seeking to sell or breakaways that don't want the burden of running their own firms. It seems that every week, another RIA joins the $1 billion club. I fully expect the emergence of a dozen or more very large regional and national RIAs.

Shirl Penney bounded onto the scene in 2011 with the then novel proposition of being home to big breakaway stock brokers as they began life as RIAs, but with one big difference from roll-ups. He asked for no ownership stake. See: What exactly is Dynasty Financial Partners and why is the Smith Barney execs' startup gaining so much attention?

Seven years later, the CEO of Dynasty Financial Partners is using a novel pitch to pursue another new market -- existing RIAs with AUM starting at $1 billion, but lacking the nous to take the next step. The bet is that Dynasty is primed for an upmarket move and that big RIAs are ready for the tough-love advice and expanded "synthetic" scale that the firm will deliver.

In a blockbuster deal seen as remaking the digital advice landscape, robo advice pioneer Financial Engines is being bought for $3 billion and combined with Edelman Financial Services. Private equity firm Hellman & Friedman, which is a majority shareholder in Edelman, agreed to pay $3.02 billion in an all-cash transaction. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter. Read More

Just as professional athletes benefit from coaching, so can advisors. Knowledgeable outsiders can spot holes in one's performance and suggest ways to plug them. In helping advisors grow their business, consultants often focus on processes and work habits. For example, advisors may lack systems to generate referrals, manage their time or build a thriving team.

Even if advisors think they operate efficient businesses, they may still want to improve. By enlisting a coach, they can reset their priorities and identify better ways to attract and retain clients.

The goal for most advisers is to increase the size of the firm, both in assets under management and the number of employees. But as the late rapper Notorious B.I.G. once said, "Mo money, mo problems." The Alliance for Registered Investment Advisors, a think tank of entrepreneurs behind some of the most successful RIAs, discussed the setbacks of building a billion-dollar firm at the TD Ameritrade National LINC conference Thursday. The panelists agreed that growth requires talented employees, but finding and hiring the right people is often one of the hardest challenges. Read More