Discount broker TD Ameritrade Inc. has teamed up with parent Toronto-Dominion Bank to make a joint bid for coveted rival Scottrade Financial Services Inc., which is exploring a sale that's expected to fetch $4-billion (U.S.)
Privately-owned Scottrade is the among the five largest U.S. discount brokers and in late September, Bloomberg reported the company was on the auction block.
Sources familiar with the sale told The Globe and Mail that Omaha-based TD Ameritrade and 42% owner TD Bank recently made a joint, non-binding offer for St. Louis-based Scottrade. Rival offers are expected from rivals such as E*Trade, Charles Schwab and U.S. banks, and there is no assurance that the joint TD bid will be successful, or that Scottrade will be sold. Spokespersons for TD and Scottrade declined comment. Story
Investors crave low-fee funds. Maybe they shouldn't
Money managers are facing a revolution. Their business was built on fat margins, yet suddenly it's found a new religion. The new gospel: low fees, by any means necessary.
Signs of the shift are everywhere. Low-cost exchange-traded funds are in favour, and everyone from AGF Management to Mackenzie Financial is launching its own suite; Royal Bank of Canada, Canada's largest money manager by assets, is now advertising its bare-bones mutual fund fees in order to lure clients; and pension funds around the world keep slashing their exposure to expensive hedge funds. Story
DAILY DEALS
Chinese firms look at fortifying nutrition holdings with GNC
Chinese consumers' rising penchant for popping vitamins and supplements is leading companies there to look abroad for brands to buy, including U.S. company, GNC Holdings Inc. Story
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jeffrey Jones: Laurentian Bank's 'measured approach' to wading into the oil patch. Story
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