Good morning.
Vanguard’s new CEO is shaking things up.
In one of Salim Ramji’s first major moves, the company announced a restructuring of its $900 billion advice and wealth business, marking the largest revamp for the company in more than a decade. While Vanguard made its name on low-cost investment products — amassing more than 50 million customers with nearly $10 trillion in assets along the way — it’s now hoping to convert more of them into wealth management clients.
Vanguard’s move also comes as fintech firms, banks, and alternative asset strategists are gobbling up managed assets faster than ever. Vanguard even dropped investment minimums to just $100 in September. Nothing like a little friendly competition, eh?
Ron ‘Omani’ Carson’s Next Venture? Spiritual Retreats
It’s all about finding your inner assets.
Ron Carson, the founder of the $38 billion Carson Group in Omaha, Nebraska, has charted an unorthodox path since stepping down as the firm’s chief executive in April. He changed his first name to Omani, opened up about his use of mind-altering hallucinogens and gave away his entire collection of neckties.
The industry veteran is now launching a consulting business called Omya that offers members personal growth and spiritual getaways around the globe. The insights presumably help industry leaders create and run better advisory practices. “The ultimate goal of Omya is to change the world from the inside out, from the bottom up, to create conscious leaders, to allow you to have more joy and happiness in your life,” Carson said in a video on the company’s website.
He’s also leaving behind a mega-RIA that’s undergoing seismic shifts in leadership. Two of the company’s prominent executives recently moved on, along with three others that reportedly left the company earlier this month.
Call Me Omani
The spiritual getaways offered by Carson’s new firm are designed to help advisors prioritize important goals. Omya’s website appears to offer trips to a handful of locations across the globe. Members get access to a Nebraska estate called Freedom Healing Ranch, a houseboat on Lake Powell in Arizona, a center in Mexico and retreats in Panama and the Amazon, among others. The company also touts its annual gathering, OR, that takes place at the Freedom Healing Ranch.
“Nothing has been created like this,” he said in the video. While exact details about the company’s offerings or pricings are not widely available, Carson called the business a “category killer.”
Say It Ain’t So. While Carson has undergone something of a transformation, so, too, has the Carson Group, which he founded in 1983. President Teri Shepherd said on Friday that she plans to step down from her role at the end of March to spend more time with family. Shepherd was the first female executive to join the Carson Group team, and made significant strides during her tenure:
- The percentage of female advisors at the firm grew significantly during her time as president, according to ThinkAdvisor.
- The firm also established a new focus on M&A under Shepherd and took on some 150 partner offices and more than 50 Carson Wealth locations.
“Teri has been a mainstay of our organization, providing a steady hand and an empathetic presence through times of transformation,” Carson Group CEO Burt White said in an email. Aaron Schaben, who was once Carson Group co-president and heir apparent to Carson himself, also announced a new role. Carson is still the chairman of the firm and retains majority ownership.
“In 1983, I started the company Carson Group that I stepped down from three months ago, in order to launch what I believe is my life’s calling,” Carson said in the video. “Come and be a part of making history.”
What Trump’s SEC Chair Pick Paul Atkins Means for Crypto
It’s a crypto miracle just in time for the holidays.
After months of speculation, President-elect Donald Trump announced plans to nominate Paul Atkins as the next Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman and is hoping he can help revamp the cryptocurrency industry. Atkins, who previously served as an SEC commissioner under George W. Bush’s administration, is the current CEO of the consulting firm Patomak Partners and serves on the board for the Digital Chamber, a blockchain technology advocacy group. He was an advisor to the Reserve Rights Foundation, a stablecoin platform that aims to create currencies that will never inflate.
Experts say Atkins could bring a lighter touch to regulation and make digital assets more mainstream. He is also expected to collaborate with the crypto industry, instead of hampering it.
“You’re going to see a very bipartisan effort to pass digital asset legislation,” said Carl Fornaris, partner at law firm Winston & Strawn. “It might benefit sub sectors like stablecoin issuers, and it could also provide clarity on what the SEC can and cannot regulate.”
Move It, Or Lose It
Many in the crypto crowd felt current SEC Chair Gary Gensler dragged his feet on policy and vehemently targeted the crypto industry. While Gensler is knowledgeable about crypto, he was slow to work with the industry and had to be strong-armed into approving the first Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs earlier this year, said Davis Richardson, managing partner at Paradox Public Relations.
“The contempt wasn’t even particularly aimed at the Biden administration, just this one guy,” he told The Daily Upside. “He had a lot of indecision toward the sector, which can oftentimes be the biggest killer.”
Hold On a Second. It’s not just the crypto industry that is welcoming Atkins’ nomination. Advisors and wealth managers can also benefit from an era of deregulation and less enforcement, Fornaris said. Any pending SEC rules are likely to be paused when the next administration takes over, he added, citing how the Treasury Department and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network similarly froze all rulemaking efforts on Day One of Trump’s first term.
“The whole approach was to make the government more efficient and reduce regulation, and that will be an even greater emphasis under Trump 2.0,” he said.
Oh Wait, Nevermind. Atkins is also likely to curtail rules set by Gensler’s SEC that would require companies to disclose climate-related risks that could impact their bottom lines, said Vijay Raghavan, Forrester senior analyst. Walking back those rules would “diminish interest in ESG considerations and the movement to expand awareness of responsible investing,” he told The Daily Upside.