Euro Pacific Capital recently announced it is leaving Pershing LLC's platform and will clear and custody its assets with Fidelity-owned National Financial Services, according to CEO Peter Schiff.
The high-profile Schiff, who recently lost the Republican Senate primary in Connecticut to Linda McMahon and has previously made appearances on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, says the move came as a result of cost considerations and the fact that NFS is stronger in the area of international investing, which is a firm focus.
"Pershing was simply too expensive in their fees," Schiff says. "We've been unhappy with their pricing structure for some time and they weren't willing to work with us on that. Also, they are not as good on the international investing side. The NFS platform and capabilities are much more robust in that aspect. We want to be able to offer our clients more choice in that area."
Euro Pacific Capital was originally a client of Bank of New York, Schiff explains, and was put on the Pershing platform after Pershing was acquired by BoNY from CreditSuisse First Boston in 2004.
"We didn't originally seek them out," he says. "It was a consequence of the acquisitions BoNY was making at the time."
As for his plans now that he's on the NFS platform, Schiff is focused on growth in both his broker-dealer and asset management businesses.
