Trader Talk

People come and people go. But financial advisory firms are seeing quite a bit more of the latter these days.  Last year, about 7% of FINRA-registered representatives left the industry while only 6% entered the space, according to a FINRA snapshot report. As a result, the total number of FINRA-registered representatives continued to fall for

Smaller teams. Fewer resources. Same big compliance problems.  That’s the reality for small to mid-sized financial advisory firms asked to maintain meticulous levels of compliance on par with their massive counterparts in an environment where guidance and governance are in a perpetual state of flux. Adding to the pressure is an underlying aversion to compliance,

Focus Financial Partners said revenues increased more than 36% in the first quarter compared with a year ago. But Wall Street is not impressed.   The New York-based wealth management firm reported Thursday the jump largely came from higher management fees charged to clients and from acquisitions by its partner firms. Such growth is typically regarded

After board appointments averted Blucora’s second activist investor campaign in two years, the midsize wealth manager it owns is making “strong organic progress,” its CEO says.  Blucora’s Avantax, a wealth manager focused on CPAs and other tax professionals, reeled in a record $1 billion in net new advisory assets in the first quarter, according to

The U.S. Federal Reserve just raised interest rates by the most in 22 years, prompting fears that a recession is around the corner. The goal is to tame roaring inflation, but many have expressed doubt that the Fed will manage to orchestrate a so-called “soft landing” — lowering prices without damaging the economy.  As those questions swirl, financial advisors say it’s

Financial advisors play a major role in preventing fraud and elder exploitation — but they need to defer in certain situations to their firms’ bulked-up teams and systems, according to experts. Wealth managers and advisors at firms such as Wells Fargo Advisors, Morgan Stanley, Fidelity Investments, Commonwealth Financial Network and Lincoln Investment must work in

A former Cetera Advisors financial advisor won a huge FINRA arbitration award after accusing the firm of “a premeditated scheme to defame and wrongfully terminate” him. Under a unanimous April 28 ruling by an Orlando, Florida-based panel, the Cetera Financial Group brokerage must pay Gerald Fasanella an award of more than $3.01 million in damages

For most people looking for a financial advisor in 2022, the process begins where many quests for answers, clarity and guidance germinate in the modern world.   Google. That means long before they ever get the chance to meet their prospective planner face to face —  or Zoom to Zoom — those on the hunt will

With compliance risk and expenses rising ever higher across wealth management, two of the largest firms settled cases alleging they made thousands of reporting and recordkeeping errors. Morgan Stanley and UBS Financial Services agreed to pay a combined $575,000 in fines under respective settlements on April 25 and April 27 after FINRA investigators alleged Morgan

In a rare move carrying a huge potential impact on FINRA arbitration, a state regulator is seeking to overturn the expungement of a client’s complaint from a UBS broker’s record. Harvey R. Linder’s decision last year giving approval for the erasure of five client complaints from financial advisor Kent Kirby’s record was the result of

Many investors are sweating the volatile stock market’s hit to their retirement nest eggs. But not one well-heeled family in Florida. The married couple, who own a private real estate development business, are passing on hundreds of millions in wealth to their two daughters free of gift and estate taxes. Their method: shuffling buildings, stocks

More than four years after an alternative mutual fund’s demise should have taught wealth managers a lesson, FINRA says some firms still haven’t learned it. The February 2018 equity plunge later dubbed the “Volmageddon” allegedly wiped out more than $1 billion from the holdings of clients who invested in the LJM Preservation & Growth Fund,

The channel of wealth management that has seen some of the largest financial advisor recruiting moves in recent years needs to hire many more of them in the future. That’s the main takeaway of a study released last month by Kehrer Bielan Research & Consulting offering a rare glimpse into the size and key business

A former Bank of America Merrill Lynch advisor will do a rehabilitation program and sidestep a criminal conviction after police charged him with bigotry over a smoothie shop tirade that was caught on video in January. James Iannazzo was granted entry into an accelerated rehabilitation program that places him under supervision for one year, after

Financial Planning Association, in partnership with eMoney Advisor, Kaplan’s College for Financial Planning, the Charles Schwab Foundation and Schwab Advisor Services, has opened registration for the FPA Virtual Externship in the third year of the virtual training program. The eight-week program runs from June 6 through July 29 featuring classes led by more than two

LPL Financial pushed its industry-leading advisor headcount past 20,000 and bested earnings estimates in Q1 despite lower equity markets resulting in declining client assets. Quarterly earnings statements released Thursday show rising profit, income and planners for the nation’s largest independent broker-dealer, and CEO Dan Arnold said in prepared statements that the firm plans to boost

M&A activity can sometimes make perfect, logical sense, while on other occasions a deal can raise more questions than it answers. From a calculated expansion as “a strategic acquirer” to a $1.4 billion acquisition that surprised no one but left furrowed brows, here are six M&A stories that have the industry watching.

Despite the equity volatility in the first quarter, Stifel Financial’s wealth manager generated record overall revenue and asset management fees. The St. Louis-based firm reached a new high in net interest income for good measure, with rising interest rates poised to help its bottom line along with those of Stifel’s rivals in coming months, according

After a 2021 of new records, AssetMark kicked off 2022 by surpassing Q1 earnings estimates, setting a new revenue record and adding more advisors to the platform. The Concord, California-based turnkey asset management program and outsourced investment technology firm saw year-over-year increases in client assets, net flows and total revenue as its advisor headcount climbed

A JPMorgan Chase financial advisor filed a federal workplace complaint accusing the bank of harboring a culture of “unchecked greed, avarice and misogyny” and undermining her by excluding her from client meetings and taking away her resources. Gwen Campbell, who brought $1.1 billion in assets when she moved to JPMorgan in 2020, was subjected to

Do-it-yourself investors who began working with wealth managers in the pandemic era are experiencing more account problems and lower levels of customer satisfaction, according to a new J.D. Power study. The annual J.D. Power U.S. Self-Directed Investor Satisfaction Study released this week suggests that the “honeymoon may be coming to an end” for tens of

When Mary Bach and her husband started thinking about retirement after more than three-decade careers at Westinghouse Electric Company, they suddenly got numerous meal invitations from people who claimed to be local representatives for well-known financial institutions. These people, with alphabet soups of letters following their names, would present financial product pitches including numerous charts

Americans are increasingly pessimistic about their finances as inflation takes a greater toll on households. Fewer than half of Americans rate their financial situation as “good” or “excellent,” the lowest share since 2015, according to a Gallup poll released Thursday. Some 48% say it’s worsening, similar to levels seen in April 2020 and the financial

Rising interest rates have dealt a tough blow so far this year to the returns of real estate funds — even among those with the highest yields over the past decade. The recent rate hikes in response to rising inflation and other macroeconomic pressures have opened an opportunity for financial advisors to work with clients

As technology continues to transform the financial services industry at breakneck speed, wealth managers are working to not only keep pace, but to move to the front of the pack. Future-proofing your business requires a concerted effort and a sound tech strategy crafted with an eye on what’s next. Experts say it’s about acknowledging the

There are two sides to every story, so it’s not surprising that claim and counterclaim are common features in wealth management’s biggest fraud and discrimination scandals of the year. From industry watchdogs and top-tier banks and brokerages, to individual financial advisors and veteran brokers, here are five of the most significant stories from Financial Planning.

One of the largest wealth managers paid the price for the escalating productivity of its financial advisors amid the backdrop of equity volatility, with its profits slipping by 6% in the first quarter. In contrast, revenue per advisor at UBS Wealth Management Americas climbed by 8% year over year in the first quarter as the

For one former Fidelity executive, bitcoin in workplace retirement plans evokes a very non-digital analogy: birth control. Start with the real-life context: a FOMO-fueled frenzy over the 21st century’s biggest investing trend, in which scores of people feverishly trade volatile cryptocurrencies on platforms like Coinbase. Laura Varas, a former Fidelity vice president, sees that growing

As a former private banker turned fintech entrepreneur, I’ve been on both sides of the table — on one end advising clients starting new ventures and on the other as the entrepreneur asking, “How can I get the capital to make this work?” Lacy Garcia I often speak with women startup founders and CEOs who

The FPA’s political action committee put pressure on the Kentucky legislature’s proposal to tax “personal financial planning” and “personal investment management.” A personal assistant stole from an NBA player and got jail time. UBS dropped an appeal and paid out $14.1 million to a former compliance officer. And more in this week’s wealth briefs. Scroll