Nick Beim

Thoughts on the Economics of Innovation

Can Altruist Lure Financial Advisers Away From Schwab With Help From Vanguard’s Ex?

What is the ex-CEO of the world’s second-largest asset manager doing on the board of directors of a fintech startup that launched in 2018?
That’s how most people might react to the news this January that Bill McNabb, who ran the now $7 trillion in assets Vanguard Group from 2008 through 2017, joined the board of Altruist, a custodian and digital investing platform for financial advisers. But Altruist is no ordinary app maker. Founder and CEO Jason Wenk calls it the Shopify of registered investment advisers, or RIAs. The service allows those advisers to set up their entire business on its cloud-based platform like Shopify’s customers can set up online stores.