AI drafts, humans decide: the new advice divide
Survey finds 72% of Americans want a human leading AI-supported financial decisions.
August 19
The Close Desk 23 stories this week · 135 total
The daily column: one argument about the industry's day, prosecuted with evidence.
The Close
Managed accounts become the private-markets front door
Schwab, Morgan Stanley, and Invesco are routing alternatives through managed accounts, redrawing the economics and changing how advisors reach illiquid assets.
Trust decides who gets to deploy AI in wealth management
AI is moving from drafting to acting. The firms that can say who answers when it goes wrong will be the ones trusted to deploy.
Vanguard bends to RIAs, and John Bogle's ghost winces
Vanguard's model portfolio reset trades revenue and control for market share, with Orion, Black Diamond, and Vestmark collecting the overlay fees.
ETF launches fail from a trust deficit
Advisor trust, not capital, determines which ETFs survive. The winners earn it before launch.
Retail SMAs on pace for $3.6 trillion by 2026
Cerulli expects retail SMA assets to reach $3.6 trillion in 2026 as personalization and fee-based revenue remake advice.
Carson hires Osaic's recruiting veteran to lead independent channel
The move puts a nearly three-decade recruiting veteran in charge of Carson's independent growth push.
Atlanta is the new front in the RIA roll-up war
MAI's $490 million Atlanta purchase, backed by Carlyle, makes the Southeast the region to watch in RIA consolidation.
Private credit stress hits highest level since 2017
Renewed pressure in a $2 trillion asset class should send allocators back to their fund statements.
Family offices are now bidding against PE for real assets
Realm's platform and CVC DIF's Frankfurt data center trade put family offices in the same auction as the funds they used to back.
The $83 Trillion Transfer Runs on Family Governance
The firms that teach families how to decide will hold the $83.5 trillion.
Family Offices Trim Private Equity, But Taxes Keep It Sticky
Goldman's survey shows the biggest allocation shifts—equities up, private equity down—reflect tax-aware holding and an AI bet that runs through public markets.
Apogem Raises $385M for Senior Direct Lending Fund
The pooled investment vehicle's Form D shows continued demand for private credit.
Four AQR Flex 1 Series LLC Filings Report $95.9M Sold
A set of four AQR Flex 1 Series LLC sleeve filings discloses $95.9 million in capital sold as of July 29.
The Private-Market Risk Family Offices Haven't Prepared Their Heirs For
Family offices are piling into private equity before finishing the succession work the asset class demands.