November 26, 2019
Louis Diamond Quoted
By Ian Wenik
Fidelity Investments isn’t taking the Charles Schwab-TD Ameritrade mega-merger lying down.
Though the $26 billion all-stock deal – officially revealed on Monday – will create a combined firm that Cerulli Associates estimates will custody 51% of RIA assets, Fidelity has already shown signs of how it will respond to its new role of the next-biggest option for advisors by default.
Fidelity may also have the ammunition to compete on scale if it so desires. The firm could potentially pursue an acquisition of a smaller RIA custodian and discount brokerage firm like E*Trade, for instance, explained Louis Diamond, an executive vice president at advisor recruiting and consulting firm Diamond Consultants.
‘Now this difference will be amplified as it will be the behemoth public company vs. the privately held scaled business.’
