MEDIA REVIEWS - August 8-15, 2010

It IS interesting that LPL chose this rather unfavorable market environment to launch its initial public offering, although the environment IS somewhat better than the past two years. Kudos to Financial Planning magazine for at least asking the question. Joel Bruckenstein's cover article looks at the new technology platform that is under construction at Schwab Advisor Services, and then gently points out that the company executives might be making... misleading claims when they say they're the first out of the gate with an integrated solution. (To be charitable, maybe they're unaware of Fidelity's and Pershing's already-functioning platforms...) But the fact that Schwab has finally taken up the challenge is good news; a technology arms race among institutional custodians will benefit all advisors in the long run...