Bumps in the road

The block (fee) is hot

With Alex and Ian on the road, Andrew, Sam and Alec take over the pod to discuss the rollout of Charles Schwab’s new $5-per-account block trading fee, which has caused some understandable fretting among RIAs, as well as the court-ordered end of a high-profile legal beef between two of the country’s largest independent wealth managers (plus, a few notes on SpaceX’s mega-IPO and what it means for advisors and their clients).

This Decade in Wealth

Alex, Ian and Andrew celebrate Citywire's 10th anniversary of operating in the US with an extra-special news quiz covering the biggest stories we've written since Citywire RIA began publishing in 2018. How many can you name?

Hightower and Summit Trail kick off a 'summer of scoops'

Alex, Ian and — live from New York! — Andrew discuss Citywire's recent scoops on Hightower pursuing a sale of a controlling stake and Summit Trail Advisors pursuing an outright sale, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. What do these kinds of deals mean for the RIA market? The team also checks in on a pair of million-dollar bets between Creative Planning CEO Peter Mallouk and "Shark Tank" star Mark Cuban.

Who might buy DFA? What's the state of advisor pay?

Dimensional Fund Advisors is exploring a sale, sources told Citywire earlier in the week! But why now, who might buy it, and what would they get? These questions, and many more, are covered by Citywire editors Ian Wenik and Alex Steger in today’s episode of This Week in Wealth. They also take a deep dive into Citywire’s annual RIA Pay Report, which looks at advisor compensation from all angles, including job function, location, gender, and whether a firm has PE backing.

‘Backstabbing, blackmail and betrayal’: Inside a $14bn Tamp’s sensational suit

Turnkey asset management program Matson Money is suing its former co-CEO, who is also the firm’s founder’s son-in-law, alleging that he tried to start a competing business using protected information. Sam Bojarski, Ian Wenik, and Alex Steger break down the sensational suit. The team also discusses The Mather Group’s pursuit of a new institutional investor and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision to drop its ‘gag rule’ in enforcement settlements.