Feb 14, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
Deborah McWhinney, who led a controversial restructuring among Citigroup’s (NYSE:C) bank brokers, is moving into a non-advisor role at the global financial giant. McWhinney, president of personal banking and wealth management, will take over a newly-created position as head of global digital merchant acquiring. ...
Feb 8, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
LPL Financial, independent broker/dealer powerhouse, has not been recruiting as many financial advisors as it would like. So said Chief Executive Mark Casady on a conference call with analysts Tuesday to discuss the firm’s earnings report, LPL’s first since it went public last November. But Casady was optimistic about future recruiting. He also left the door open to new acquisitions....
Feb 8, 2011
By John Aidan Byrne
UBS Wealth Management Americas added client assets and (a handful of) advisors in the fourth quarter, cushioning the blow from steep legal costs that resulted in a pre-tax loss of $34.6 million. That is a slight improvement from a loss of $49 million in the third quarter though down from a profit of $186 million a year ago....
Feb 7, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
LPL reported higher revenue and adjusted profit numbers for the fourth quarter Monday, as the acquisition of an advisor network boosted assets and advisors at the firm. LPL is the parent company for LPL Financial, the country’s largest independent broker/dealer network. ...
Feb 4, 2011
By Timothy Welsh
Storms blew across America. But in the balmy climes of San Diego, FAs were upbeat and partied down (ahem, studied and worked) at the TD Ameritrade annual conference. ...
Feb 3, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
Investors will refer their family and friends to their advisor if they’re satisfied with the service. For financial practices that seek to recruit advisors, the game plays by much the same rules. ...
Feb 1, 2011
Diana Britton
Feb 1, 2011
By Diana Britton
Fee-only planners under 33 have a new place to network....
Feb 1, 2011
By Jodie Papike
If you prepare properly, independence can be incredibly liberating. If you don't, it can turn into a disaster....
Feb 1, 2011
By Mindy Diamond
The number of years over which recruiting deals vest is growing with every year. But if you're careful with that loan money, it shouldn't make a difference....
Feb 1, 2011
By Anne Field
How to rebuild your book of business in a new place....
Feb 1, 2011
By Diana Britton
Mitchell Eichen, founder and CEO, The MDE Group, Morristown, N.J....
Feb 1, 2011
By Charles Paikert
Local wealth management executives say the Los Angeles market isn't saturated--yet....
Jan 28, 2011
By Susan Konig
Last Thursday, Morgan Stanley announced that employees on the banking and brokerage sides of the firm who get a substantial bonus—everyone from bankers to traders to branch office managers—will now be seeing 35 to 50 percent of that bonus compensation deferred. That's significant for branch office managers, for whom bonuses can represent up to 75 percent of annual compensation. ...
Jan 28, 2011
By Diana Britton
While the number of advisors shifting to independent business models slowed somewhat last year from 2009, the size of those breakaways making the move is growing, says Fidelity Investments. It’s not a new trend for the No. 2 RIA custodian. Fidelity has been seeing larger teams joining for many months now. ...
Jan 21, 2011
By Diana Britton
Bank of America’s Global Wealth & Investment Management unit, which includes Merrill Lynch, posted increased revenue and advisor productivity in the fourth quarter, signs investors may be shifting assets into longer-term, higher-margin products, the company said Friday morning. ...
Jan 20, 2011
By Diana Britton
NAPFA officially launched a new networking group geared toward younger people looking to get into the fee-only space....
Jan 20, 2011
By Kristen French
Morgan Stanley’s wealth management division reported $3.4 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter, up 7 percent versus the year ago quarter, as higher commission revenues, asset management fees and net interest income offset lower trading revenue. Pre-tax income for the quarter was $390 million, up 69 percent over the previous year. ...
Jan 19, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
Wells Fargo’s Wealth, Brokerage and Retirement business reported growth in assets, revenue and profits in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, on a conference call with analysts, Chairman and Chief Executive John Stumpf voiced guarded interest in possible acquisitions in the unit. ...
Jan 14, 2011
By Kristen French
Some legacy Smith Barney FAs are bummed at news of Charlie Johnston's imminent retirement. Johnston was seen as an advisor advocate by Smith Barney FAs, who feel squeezed by new fees and pay cuts. ...
Jan 13, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
United Capital Financial Partners (UCFP) today said it has closed on three new RIA acquisitions with combined assets under management of about $2.2 billion: Zirkin-Cutler Investments, MarketSpace Financial and Sovereign Wealth Management. ...
Jan 13, 2011
By Charles Paikert
“Everybody is feeling better,” said Scott Welch, senior managing director for Fortigent, the Rockville, Md.-based outsourced wealth management platform provider whose 90 client firms have about $45 billion in assets under management. “Wealth managers are looking to make capital decisions to grow their businesses as opposed to preserving capital to save their business. And everybody says they’re seeing organic growth.”...
Jan 12, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
Of all the categories of conduct that will land a certified financial planner before the CFP Board of Standards’ Disciplinary and Ethics Commission, bankruptcy currently ranks number one. And the number of bankrupt CFPs who come before the commission is increasing. ...
Jan 7, 2011
By Kristen French
Initial signs suggest few changes to broker pay in 2011, but that could all change on Jan. 21....
Jan 5, 2011
By Mindy Diamond
So you're unhappy at your current firm. But how unhappy? Quantifying the pain can be difficult, but it’s essential if you're actually considering doing something about it. That’s because leaving can be painful, too. Here’s a starting point. The following is a list of some of the pain points advisors who want to leave their firm often describe to me. Do any of these sound familiar? ...
Jan 1, 2011
By Diana Britton
...
Jan 1, 2011
By Philip Palaveev
For FAs in 2011, the cost of switching firms may rise....
Jan 1, 2011
By Lauren Barack
Mobile devices will catch on in the New Year, but financial advisors will need to use caution when accessing client data....
Jan 1, 2011
By Lynn O’Shaughnessy
Here are some strategies for navigating the system. ...
Dec 31, 2010
By Diana Britton
LPL Investment Holdings stands to take advantage of growth in the independent retail brokerage sector in the next three to five years, as the only publicly-traded company in this sphere, wrote Brad Hintz, senior analyst at BernsteinResearch, in a Dec. 28 research report. Still, he believes the company faces some hurdles on the road to long-term double-digit earnings growth. ...
Dec 21, 2010
By Lauren Barack
Concerns about using mobile devices in financial planning are heard throughout the field. Nonetheless, reps have taken to handhelds and tablets as quickly as they’ve appeared on the market, particularly the iPad, whose adoption by reps is sure to increase in 2011. ...
Dec 17, 2010
By Philip Palaveev
Focusing on clients and growth is the natural instinct of our industry. Still, before we turn the page to a new year, we all have to make sure that we have brought to conclusion all the open items from this one. ...
Dec 16, 2010
By Charles Paikert
New York City will be the cornerstone of U.S. Bank’s east coast wealth management build-up, according to Heidi Steiger, who was appointed Atlantic region president of the bank’s Private Client Reserve unit earlier this month....
Dec 15, 2010
By Jerry Gleeson
Mike Ross, a portfolio manager at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney who oversees $500 million with a partner, now has a new role: wirehouse blogger. In recent weeks, Ross has been writing short items on Advisor Insight, MSSB’s new in-house web network....
Dec 14, 2010
By Charles Paikert
California truly is the Golden State, at least according to the latest statistics released by Wealth-X, a New York-based research and consulting firm for private wealth managers. Quite simply: That's where the money is....
Some Bright Spots Among the Red Ink for UBS
