Adam Nash is out as CEO of Wealthfront. Taking his place is Andy Rachleff, Wealthfront’s co-founder and executive chairman who previously stepped down as CEO in 2012. In a blog post praising Nash’s leadership in growing the companies client base, assets, brand recognition and venture capital funding, Rachleff said that the success has made him want to be more involved with the company. “I want to be the one to lead us to deliver on the promise we laid out in March: to be the only financial advisor our cleints will ever need,” Rachleff said. Nash will remain Wealthfront’s board of directors.
Missing the Mark on Advising Women
The financial service industry does such a poor job of attracting and understanding female clients its leaving $3- to-5 trillion of assets unadvised, said a panel of experts at MarketWatch’s recent symposium on women and retirement. Featuring financial planners, a consumer advocate and leaders from advisement firms, the panel outlined a few issues advisors should consider to better tailor their services: women generally have a lower risk tolerance than men, live longer and earn less over the course of their working lives. Moreover, women often times juggle additional financial burdens men aren't always dealing with, such as child care and elder care. “Until we both educate women as to what we do and reach women where they’re at as opposed to just sort of seeing this pile of wealth, we’re not going to help women face this big issue of retirement and having adequate resources,” said Eleanor Blayney, a panel member, certified financial planner and consumer advocate for the Certified Financial Planners Board of Standards.
HighTower Adds 11th Team This Year
A Wilmington, N.C. registered investment advisory with $250 million in assets has joined HighTower. IronGate Partners, led by Chief Investment Officer Steve Coggins, Chief Client Officer David R. Hartness and Chief Operating Officer Chris Jones, is the 11th team to join HighTower so far this year. The Chicago-based firm is on track to have its best recruiting year on record. In June, HighTower recruited a $300 million team from independent broker/dealer Securities America. And in August, a Morgan Stanley team with $500 million in assets broke away to join the HighTower platform. To support the firm’s growth, HighTower added Jeff Draper to its business development team, who will focus on the Southeast region of the U.S. The firm is also in the process of hiring other business development executives to cover the West and Midwest regions.