This Week in Wealth

Alex, Ian and Alec discuss a relatively rocky week for some key players in the wealth management industry, starting with some indicators in LPL Financial's latest earnings report that its recruiting engine has slowed down amidst its battle to retain Commonwealth advisors. The trio also go over the recent spate of data breaches across a host of household names which have exposed thousands of clients' sensitive data.

Sam Bojarski, senior reporter at CityWire RAA who covers RIA investors and capital raises. He breaks down Merchant Investment Management’s fresh fundraising and its move toward bigger or majority stakes. They also tackle Focus Financial’s leadership transition and scale-up plans. Plus a surprising shout-out to Rulla Pontarelli’s newfound reality TV spotlight.

They dig into where more than 11,000 advisors moved and which firms lost the most ground. Discussion covers big-team breakaways and which firms picked up the departures. They unpack a flurry of strategic moves from Charles Schwab, from lending pilots to AI and crypto plays. There is also a peek into a private Tiburon CEO summit and the mood among wealth leaders.

Alec Rich, a Citywire reporter who analyzes RIA M&A data, joins to unpack Q1 deal activity. He highlights who has been buying, deal types and sizes, active acquirers and PE backers. The conversation also covers Osaic’s Bain-backed capital raise and LPL/PAG’s purchase of Mariner’s $31bn platform business.

Michael Batnick, managing partner at Ritholtz Wealth Management and prolific podcaster, discusses Fidelity's Wealth Advisor Solutions review and the mechanics and risks of custodian referral programs. He explains Ritholtz’s internal succession choice and why the firm avoided private credit. Conversation covers advisor recruitment, aggregator buyouts, and industry outlook.

Kevin Thompson, former New York Yankee turned CEO of 9i Capital Group, shares his path from baseball to building a client-first RIA. He recalls the Stanford collapse that reshaped his career. Conversation covers running a small firm amid consolidation, practical tech and recruitment choices, and plans to grow via referrals while boosting diversity in advising.

A legal saga over a huge SEC penalty and how a drawn-out court fight slashed it to a fraction. Deep dive into fee-splitting mechanics and what the settlement signals about enforcement trends. Debate on the CFP Board weighing removal of the bachelor’s degree for certification and how standards, competency, and accessibility might shift. Quick market takes from an RIA summit and light sports banter to close.

Ian and Alex discuss Edelman Financial Engines’ decision to award $175m in equity grants to its financial planners, the spate of lawsuits facing RIAs over client data breaches, and AlTi Global’s failure to meet its full-year earnings filing deadline.

Ian and Alex are joined by Citywire founder and chairman Lawrence Lever to discuss why US consolidators are looking across the pond to buy British wealth managers. These firms are cheap, compared to their US peers, so what's the catch? They also cover Anthropic's endorsement of human financial advice and the key takeaways from Citywire's recent CEO Summit.

Ian, Alec, and Alex discuss two divergent deals from two of the largest RIAs in the market. Wealth Enhancement enters the support services game with its deal for FocusPoint Solutions, while Hightower edges away from that model, growing its Signature Wealth business by merging in $5bn Journey Strategic Wealth. Plus, Ric Edelman on how and why we might see a $1tn RIA. If you want to keep track of all the M&A in the RIA market, take a look at our Deals Database.