Approval clears the way for the mega-merger of RIA custodians and discount brokers to close on schedule.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has approved Charles Schwab’s $26bn takeover of TD Ameritrade.
Regulatory approval clears the way for the merger of discount brokers to close in the second half of 2020, as the companies indicated when the deal was first revealed in November of 2019. Shareholders of both Schwab and TD Ameritrade are set to vote on the merger today.
WSJ Wealth Adviser Briefing: Gun Stocks, Safer Investments, Sleep Changes
John Furey, managing partner and founder of Advisor Growth Strategies, wrote in Barron's that it stands to reason that a global crisis like the Covid-19 pandemic, and its economic
aftershocks, would slam the brakes on mergers and acquisitions in the RIA space. Time will not wait for firms in need of succession plans. They need resources and commitment to court the next generation of advisors and clients, and those resources must come from growth. We don’t know how long the pandemic will impact the industry’s appetite for M&A, but the good news is that RIAs can still do plenty of things, right now, to secure advantageous footing when we come through the crisis.
The Case for a Permanent RIA Road Show
It stands to reason that a global crisis like the Covid-19 pandemic, and its economic aftershocks, would slam the brakes on mergers and acquisitions in the RIA space. A recent Fidelity report highlights a stark reversal in deal flow: six RIA deals in March and April, compared to 20 in January and February, representing a 38% year-to-date decline against the same period in 2019. While buyers and sellers might turn to playing it safe during this volatile period, the fundamental needs that drive industry M&A have not gone away.
Navigating Client 'Concentration Risk' in a Sale
According to a November 2019 Cerulli Associates report, in the next five to 10 years, RIA firms with about $2.5 trillion in assets under management could be acquired.
Cerulli breaks down that number with $1.6 trillion based on retiring RIAs, $469 billion attributed to breakaway advisors, and $348 for growth-challenged firms.
Coronavirus crisis puts advisor succession planning in focus
The wealth management industry is scrambling as the coronavirus pandemic accelerates a retirement crisis — and no, it’s not about the clients.
With questions of health, longevity, and business continuity gaining more prominence than ever, firms in the U.S. are giving some much-needed reflection to when and how many advisors are leaving the workforce, and who will be there to replace them, reported Business Insider.
A financial-adviser retirement wave that could put trillions of assets in play is kicking into high gear thanks to the pandemic. Here's how firms are tackling the handover crisis.
The big business of managing money has a retirement problem: there are more financial advisers leaving than there is new blood going in. The coronavirus pandemic isn't helping balance out the equation.
As the wealth management industry grapples with its own retirement crisis, the pandemic is pushing advisers to think in a more urgent way about who will one day take over their clients. While that isn't helping to get rookie advisers in the door, it may result in more advisers figuring out their succession plans sooner.