Trader Talk

A midsize Advisor Group firm tapped its head recruiting executive to be CEO, as the private-equity-backed firm seeks a leg up in the highly competitive advisor talent race. SagePoint Financial picked Desireé Sii to replace retiring CEO Jeff Auld after his 13-year tenure, the independent broker-dealer said Feb. 8. Only five other firms out of

House Democrats sparred with the leaders of Robinhood Markets and Citadel Thursday, with lawmakers pressing the firms on whether they’re profiting at the expense of retail investors and complaining that they got few satisfying answers. At a closely watched hearing before the Financial Services Committee, Robinhood’s Vlad Tenev and Citadel’s Ken Griffin took fire on

With attention focused on Robinhood, GameStop and retail traders at Thursday’s congressional hearings, trading volumes are very much in focus, as is the practice of “payment for order flow.” Talk about a comeback story. A year ago, retail traders were a declining part of the trading world. Then Covid hit. Millions stayed home and got stimulus

Webull, the Chinese-owned brokerage that runs one of the fastest-growing retail trading platforms in the U.S., raised $150 million in a new financing round that gives the startup more firepower to compete with Robinhood Markets. The fundraising valued Webull’s parent company at more than $1 billion, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to

Holders of donor-advised funds increased their disbursements last year in response to urgent demands for greater charitable contributions to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of DAF grants in eight charitable subsectors increased in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, according to a report from the National Philanthropic

The drastic work-from-home measures put in place to combat the spread of COVID-19 infection will reach their one-year mark in March, a milestone quickly followed by the April 15 deadline for filing 2020 tax returns. Some newly ensconced work-from-home Americans may merit tax benefits from this change of scene. Other taxpayers, however — including a

Investors chasing the next tech wave are driving a divergence in fortunes for two of Invesco’s ETFs. The Invesco NASDAQ Next Gen 100 ETF (QQQJ) crossed the $1 billion-in-assets milestone last week, just four months after launching, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It’s absorbed roughly $343 million in inflows so far this year, while

Financial advisors choose that career path because they want to help people. I can say that’s the case for most. I’ve seen it reflected in the tens of thousands of advisors I’ve trained in my 30 years in the industry. I saw it in myself and in my daughter, who works as one now.But as

Goldman Sachs has officially entered the robo advice arena. Marcus, Goldman’s consumer digital banking brand, went live with an investing service Tuesday, offering automated portfolio management for a 0.35% advisory fee and minimum $1,000 deposit. According to the Marcus Invest website, Goldman is offering three different investment strategies and will put clients into one of

For some business owners, sidestepping the $10,000 cap on the state and local tax deduction can trigger more tax bills. Bypasses to the curb in states including Connecticut and New Jersey provide legal ways for business owners to preserve their full deduction, which includes those often-steep property levies. But some shocked taxpayers can wind up

In a new episode of the Financial Planning Podcast, the chief of a major wealth manager and an influential industry advocacy group discussed key regulatory questions facing the industry. Kestra Financial CEO James Poer leads the Austin, Texas-based firm that has about $120 billion in client assets and is backed by private equity firm Warburg

Investors have minimized the love for BlackRock’s minimum volatility ETF. The firm’s $30 billion iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF (USMV) is steadily bleeding cash, totaling $3.5 billion in losses so far this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s on top of $4.6 billion pulled in 2020. Funds similar to BlackRock’s iShares

PayPal is weighing a foray into stock trading and high-yield savings accounts as the firm pushes beyond its iconic checkout button. The payments giant expects the number of active users on its sprawling platform to climb to 750 million by the end of 2025 — roughly double the current level — as it expands into

Quantitative investment firm Dimensional Fund Advisors is already making waves in the $5.9 trillion ETF market. The $601 billion manager founded by David Booth has amassed over $700 million among its three debut ETFs, which launched in November and December, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The trio has absorbed roughly $337 million so far

Northern Star Investment Corp. II surged Friday after people familiar with the matter said Apex Clearing, the custodian and clearing firm, is in talks to go public through a merger with the blank-check company. A merger would value Apex and Northern Star Investment Corp. II at as much as $5 billion, said one of the

In my 35 years as an executive recruiter, I’ve seen many advisors make solid career decisions that set them up for future success. But then there were advisors who made some astounding mistakes. Here are a few that stand out. The BoasterOnce, the head of a team boasted to the branch manager at a prospective

The Department of Labor confirmed that a replacement for the Obama-era fiduciary rule will go into effect Feb. 16 — but the agency left the door open for new regulatory changes. The rule change permits investment fiduciaries to receive compensation as a result of advice to roll over assets from a retirement plan to an

Reegan Rae is joining a small group of women executives in the financial services industry as the new leader of one of the industry’s leading registered independent advisors. Arnerich Massena, a Portland, Oregon-based RIA with more than $7 billion in assets under management according to its most recently filed form ADV, has named Rae as

The walls of Garry Bridgeman’s office are lined with memorabilia documenting 40 years of success and industry firsts in wealth management. While he may now be retired, the former Merrill Lynch advisor and Morgan Stanley executive isn’t finished. Bridgeman was recently named co-chair of the Investment and Wealth Institute’s center for diversity and inclusion, a

Three is enough for JPMorgan. That’s how many clients advisor Michael Bale allegedly persuaded to transfer accounts from the bank to Merrill Lynch where he now works, according to a JPMorgan lawsuit filed earlier this month. JPMorgan claimed Bale, who serviced 352 clients before leaving the bank in January, violated non-solicitation agreements. This week the

After a year of tumbling sales due to the impact of low interest rates, annuity issuers are focusing on relatively new product lines and making massive M&A deals. Although structured or buffered variable products — also known as registered-index linked annuities — represent less than 11% of the market, RILAs have emerged as the fastest

Top performance from a leading active manager typically comes at a price. For the funds in this ranking, however, it may be hard to justify not paying the premium. Sector weighting played a big role in the outsized gains produced by the 20 active ETFs with the biggest three-year annualized returns, Morningstar Direct data show.

There is still a significant gap between the services investors want from a financial advisor and the services they actually receive. Clients expect financial planning, help with wealth transfers, trust services and estate planning, says Gavin Spitzner, the president of Wealth Consulting Partners. But most advisors still only offer traditional investment management. So how do

Despite the massive upheaval of the coronavirus pandemic, Americans’ assessment of their future financial security has held steady over the past year, according to Financial Planning’s most recent Financial Wellness Report. However, many of the 438 respondents in the most recent survey describe various economic hardships they have endured throughout the past year, including job

Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Source: The New York Stock Exchange Stocks are hitting new highs on the back of a magical phrase being sprinkled like pixie dust among the conference calls this earnings season: “operating leverage.” “The market is set to see a substantial acceleration in earnings growth on

When my father began making questionable financial decisions many years ago, we thought he was just acting erratically. What we didn’t know at the time was that my father, though physically in great shape, was suffering from cognitive decline, and no longer possessed the inhibitions that once regulated his decision-making. My father was diagnosed with

With a billion-dollar fund manager facing a barrage of regulatory cases, the wealth managers that sold its pricey alternative products could be left holding the bag. Hundreds of clients have already filed FINRA arbitration cases involving sales of $1.8 billion worth of GPB Capital’s limited partnerships, according to plaintiff attorneys. After fraud cases last week

Four months after its acquisition of TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab is laying off another round of employees, according to the company. Schwab notified approximately 200 employees on Feb. 8 that their roles were being eliminated, according to a company spokeswoman. “These job reductions are part of our continuing efforts to reduce overlapping or redundant roles

Jonathan M. Elliott’s text messages to Merrill Lynch colleagues took a foreboding turn in July 2019. In the months prior, Elliott, then the resident director of Merrill’s Peoria, Arizona, office, had been texting tips to a trainee on how to land her first client, and messaging a colleague about a gala. A more pressing matter

A week after Robinhood Markets tried to clear the air by explaining why it slapped controversial limits on trading hot stocks, Wall Street’s risk professionals are still perplexed: How was the firm so ill-prepared for an obvious surge in collateral calls? To the financial industry, anticipating collateral demands from hubs such as the Depository Trust