Has Schwab Won the RIA War?
June 10, 2020 By Janet Levaux, ThinkAdvisor Consolidation is everywhere, but new options for RIAs are rapidly emerging, Joel Bruckenstein and others say. Charles Schwab received lots of good news last week, with the Justice Department and shareholders approving its $26 billion merger with rival TD Ameritrade. The firms, which collectively work with more than 10,000 RIAs and $5 trillion, should come together by year-end. The technology and related integration, though, requires 18 to 36 months. The industry was “pretty much expecting this outcome, so it’s not a big surprise to anyone,” said Tim Welsh, head of the consultancy Nexus Strategy. “However, it does remove uncertainty, so we expect to see RIAs affiliated with TD Ameritrade ramp up their search and inquiries for a new custodian, particularly smaller firms who fear a lower service level and...