Linda Ding, the director of strategic marketing for document management system Laserfiche and a well-known presence among RIA technology vendors, was recently named a “Rising Fintech Star” by PR News at its annual “Finnies” awards, which recognizes the financial service industry’s top creative strategists, campaigns and individuals. Laserfiche is an enterprise document management firm, where Ding helped build out its wealth management offering that is now used by some 2,000 advisors and broker/dealers, and offered by some 100 resellers in the space. Ding was earlier named one of Wealthmanagement.com’s Ten to Watch in 2017.
Kaplan to Buy College for Financial Planning
Kaplan Professional Education plans to acquire the College for Financial Planning from Apollo Education Group, which has owned the group since 1997. The CFFP is one of several schools that provides the curriculum for those pursuing the Certified Financial Planner designation. The school is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and authorized by the Colorado Department of Higher Education to offer a master of science in personal financial planning and a master’s in finance. “The College is an excellent complement to Kaplan’s existing Certified Financial Planner education offerings and brings with it additional programs, in areas such as retirement planning, that includes the Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor SM 2 or CRPC designation, which will permit us to build on our strong position in this sector,” said Dr. Andrew Temte, president of Kaplan Professional. Terms of the deal, expected to close this summer, were not disclosed.
Seattle’s “Mini Madoff” Escapes Prison
Darren Berg
Police in California are frantically searching for Darren Berg, dubbed “Seattle’s mini Madoff,” after he escaped a federal prison last week. Berg was serving an 18-year sentence for defrauding investors, including many senior citizens, of more than $100 million. From 2001 to 2009, Berg bilked 800 investors through investment funds from his company, Meridian Group. He used the money from the investors to finance a high-flying lifestyle, purchasing two Lear jets, several yachts, Porsches and million-dollar homes in Washington state and California. He apparently “walked away” from a minimum security work camp next to the penitentiary in Atwater, Calif., Fox News is reporting. As of this writing, Berg has yet to be apprehended.
