Merrill Integration Ahead of Schedule, Says LewisNov 10, 2009,By David A. Geracioti, VonAldo.com Yesterday, The New York Post reported that Merrill Lynch advisors are annoyed by Bank of America’s efforts to get them to offer their clients BoA checking accounts, mortgages and other retail-banking products. Today, the Wall Street Journal reports that Ken Lewis says everything is fine, that the integration of Merrill into BoA is “ahead of schedule.” ... BofA Pressures Merrill FAs To Sell Bank ProductsNov 9, 2009,By Kristen French It was inevitable. Some of Merrill Lynch’s 15,000 financial advisors are feeling pressure to sell parent company Bank of America’s checking and savings account products—and they’re not happy about it, say sources. ... Mutual Funds to Sell or AvoidNov 6, 2009,By Stan Luxenberg, Registered Rep. mutual funds columnist While the markets may be buoyant, this is a time for caution. Some funds now seem richly valued as suggested by dividend yields and price-earnings ratios. Investors should be wary, underweighting the pricey funds described below—or staying away altogether. Here are five funds (and sectors) to avoid.... Rep. Bachus Slips One In (Not Everyone Is Cheering)Nov 4, 2009,By Bill Singer By now, we are all used to some of the backdoor deals and unprincipled compromises that too often masquerade as politics—so, to that extent, we have become a bit numb to the nonsense. However, I think that Capitol Hill took its legislative legerdemain to new depths, when Representative Spence Bachus (R. Ala) inserted an amendment to the draft Act that gave the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) the power to oversee any adviser associated with a registered broker-dealer, including about 500 dually registered FINRA members.... ING Broker-Dealers Sold to Private Equity FirmNov 3, 2009,By Halah Touryalai The anticipated sale of the ING broker/dealer network was made official early this morning as the struggling Dutch parent company shed the three independent firms to a private equity firm for an undisclosed amount.... RJFS Raises RIA minimums, LPL Pulls Past RJ in RIA AssetsOct 29, 2009,By Kristen French Raymond James is raising minimums for new RIAs who want to custody assets on its RJFS-IAD platform from $30 million to $50 million. The firm said the move will both help it cut the cost of serving RIAs and also act as a draw for bigger RIAs, who tend to want to work with other RIAs of similar size. Advisors who do not meet the new asset minimums will be referred to existing Raymond James RIAs and encouraged to partner with them.... NAIBD Works To Prevent Audit Cost Hikes For IBDsOct 28, 2009,By Christina Mucciolo The National Association of Independent Broker/Dealers (NAIBD) is working to prevent proposed legislation in Congress from increasing the auditing costs of small independent broker/dealers. These could rise to $100,000, the group says, and might even drive many of these firms out of business. ... McCann Vows to Return UBS Wealth Management To ProfitabilityOct 27, 2009,By John Aidan Byrne In an interview with Registered Rep., McCann said the wealth management division would not be put on the block, despite rumors that UBS is dressing it up for sale to boost its capital position. He also vowed to cut costs for the unit, and raise pre-tax profit margins to 15 percent over the course of “the economic cycle.”... Schapiro: Don't Expect Respite From ReformOct 27, 2009,By Halah Touryalai If anyone was hoping to catch a break on the regulatory front now that the market environment has eased, they’re in for a surprise. Speaking at this morning in New York at SIFMA’s annual meeting, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro layed out a number of regulatory issue the SEC will be paying close attention to in the coming months.... UBS Hires McCannOct 27, 2009,By Kristen French UBS announced Tuesday that it has hired Bob McCann as the CEO of its UBS Wealth Management Americas unit. Speculation about his appointment to the position had been mounting. As recently as two weeks ago, McCann declined to comment on specific job appointments in an exclusive interview with Registered Rep. despite the growing rumors.... Ed Jones To Sell Brokerage Unit in U.K.Oct 23, 2009,By Christina Mucciolo Edward Jones today announced the sale of its U.K. business operations to Towry Law, an independent wealth management firm based in the U.K., for an undisclosed sum. The operation was simply too expensive to operate, and only accounted for about 1 percent of the firm’s global business. ... MSSB Plans to Double Size of U.S. Division For Ultra WealthyOct 22, 2009,By Christina Mucciolo Today Morgan Stanley Smith Barney announced the integration of Smith Barney’s Citi Family Office into its own ultra-high-net-worth division, which will now be called Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management. Unlike the old family office, the newly combined unit will exclusively serve clients with a minimum of $20 million in assets. Morgan said it plans to add more advisors to PWM through a combination of “organic growth and selective acquisitions.” ... Fidelity Expands International, Forex Investment OptionsOct 22, 2009,By John Churchill Fidelity announced a new and improved online trading platform today, significantly expanding its international and foreign currency investment capabilities for financial advisors, broker-dealers and retail investors. With U.S. long-term growth forecasts looking slim compared to other developed markets and some emerging economies, the timing of the release is certainly no coincidence.... Bank of America Sells First Republic BankOct 21, 2009,By Halah Touryalai In its effort to raise capital and shed some of its non-core business units, Bank of America is selling First Republic Bank just two years after Merrill Lynch purchased the San Francisco-based private banking and wealth-management firm. ... Morgan Posts First Profit In YearOct 21, 2009,By Kristen French Morgan Stanley reported its first profit in a year on Wednesday, with third-quarter earnings of $757 million, or $0.38 per diluted share, beating analyst estimates for earnings per share of $0.30. The company’ results were boosted by higher underwriting fees and trading revenue, as well as the firm’s acquisition of Smith Barney. Morgan Stanley ranked #1 in both global M&A and IPOs.... Protect Yourself, Says Einhorn, the U.S. Is Headed Toward a Fiscal CrisisOct 20, 2009,By David A. Geracioti, VonAldo.com We’ve always been impressed by David Einhorn, the young manager of Greenlight Capital. Einhorn made our Ten To Watch list this past August for his prescient shorting and outspokenness about the shenanigans going on at Lehman. (His fund had been up by more than 20 percent in the first half of this year, fueled by his bearish bets; he had almost no long positions. Wonder how he is faring these days.)... Schwab Q3 Earning Down, But the Race For RIA Assets Is HotOct 15, 2009,By Christina Mucciolo Charles Schwab reported a 34 percent drop in its third quarter earnings today, the firm’s third consecutive quarter of slowing earnings this year. On a good note, Schwab continues to gather new registered investment advisor firms and assets to its platform.... Playing Asia After The RunupOct 14, 2009,By Christina Mucciolo Asian stocks hit a 14-month high Tuesday, with the MSCI index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan up almost 55 percent year-to-date. But that doesn’t mean it’s too late to invest in the sector, as long as you have a long-term investing horizon and proceed with caution.... UBS Hires Bob McCannOct 8, 2009,By Staff CNBC reported Thursday that UBS has hired former Merrill Lynch executive Bob McCann to run its wealth management division in the Americas. His appointment will be announced at the end of October. CNBC also said that McCann plans to lure Merrill brokers over to UBS. ... Exclusive: McCann Back To Work In OctoberOct 7, 2009,By John Aidan Byrne Over a leisurely breakfast in an upscale hotel in Short Hills, New Jersey, Robert J. McCann, former president of Merrill Lynch’s mighty thundering herd, sat down with Registered Rep. contributor John Aidan Byrne for this exclusive interview. Just last week, McCann settled a bitter lawsuit with Merrill parent company Bank of America over a non-compete agreement. The settlement frees McCann to return to work this month. ... FSI Urges Alternatives To Proposed Investor Protection ActOct 6, 2009,By Kristen French The Financial Services Institute, a trade group for small independent b/ds, attacked current government proposals to make the fiduciary standard of care a universal one for all financial advisors—not just RIA investment advisors, but b/d financial advisors as well. ... Citi Bank Brokerage Converts To All FeesOct 5, 2009,By Kristen French Citigroup on Monday announced that it would convert its small North American bank brokerage business completely to a fee-on-assets-based fiduciary advice system, and would stop collecting commissions on stock and fund sales. Citi says it will also begin courting outside RIAs and breakaway brokers with the help of Deborah McWhinney, the former Charles Schwab executive who the firm hired earlier this year. ... Merrill Launches Branding Campaign; Recruiting Net PositiveOct 5, 2009,By Kristen French Merrill Lynch launched a new marketing campaign Monday called help2, which includes the iconic Merrill bull logo. It will cost the firm $20 million in the fourth quarter, the most Merrill has ever spent on marketing, according to Sallie Krawcheck, the new head of global wealth and investment management. ... FINRA's Dubious Report (Madoff, Stanford, et al.)Oct 2, 2009,By Bill Singer The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued an 80 page report on Friday that includes a review of its failings in the Madoff and Stanford scandals. A release about the report reads as follows:... Former ML Chief Free to Take JobOct 1, 2009,By John Aidan Byrne Robert J. McCann, the former Merrill Lynch & Co. brokerage chief is free to take the reins at a major Merrill rival—even if it be the U.S. wealth management unit of UBS that has been rumored for months—after he settled a lawsuit today with Bank of America....
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Blogs & OpinionGet the latest from Registered Rep. Editor-in-Chief David A. Geracioti on his blog Von Aldo.
Get the latest from Registered Rep. Managing Editor Kristen French on her blog The Reformation.
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