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Then-LPL Financial advisor Dain F. Stokes sent his client a text message saying that Taylor Swift needed funds for her charity. “We need $30k this week to finish the project in Africa so we all get paid big,” Stokes said in the December 2018 text, according to investigators. “I can come up with $20k, but

Is your firm’s technology up to date? If not, it may explain discontent in the brokerage ranks. The degree that advisors perceive their broker-dealer’s tech as improving is the most significant indicator of their satisfaction, according to J.D. Power’s 2020 advisor survey. The dynamic leaves wealth managers “in a challenging position,” according to Mike Foy,

Index funds with the biggest net flows of the decade reported losses this year as the coronavirus left no segment of the industry unscathed. With nearly $2.8 trillion in combined assets, the 20 U.S. index funds with the biggest net inflows over 10 years through July 1 raked in a combined $949 billion during that

Sanctuary Wealth Management continues to add to its roster of ex-wirehouse advisors, most recently signing on an all-woman team that managed $500 million in client assets at its former employer, Morgan Stanley. Bowersock Capital Partners (known at Morgan Stanley as the Hill Group), worked with a consultant to help decide the best model for them

Despite years of stated diversity goals and programs, wealth management’s stark racial and gender disparities remain evident in every available measure of representation. In the independent broker-dealer sector, the firms reporting the highest percentages of producing representatives who are women still fall far below reflecting their 51% share of the U.S. population. IBDs where women

More than a month after Ritholtz Wealth Management took a barrage of criticism for taking federal aid aimed at small businesses, new data shows more than a thousand advisory firms took advantage of the government program. Among them: Carson Group, Dynasty Financial Partners and Steward Partners. The information on Paycheck Protection Program loans of $150,000

The IRS has $1.5 billion in unclaimed refunds for people who never filed a tax return for 2016 — and they have only two weeks to claim the money. “The IRS wants to help taxpayers who are owed refunds but haven’t filed their 2016 tax returns yet,” IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said in a statement

At this time last year, Ladenburg Thalmann stood out as one of the most prominent independent broker-dealer networks and firms in a thriving sector. Fast-forward to summer 2020: Ladenburg’s new parent, private equity-backed Advisor Group, is consolidating Ladenburg’s five firms into two. Now the combined giant IBD network, with some 11,500 advisors, looks set to

After fielding our IBD Elite ranking for the 35th year, it may seem a bit odd to ask now: What is an IBD? But independent broker-dealers are facing new pressures and challenges that pose existential threats to their business model. Competition from the RIA channel is undercutting margins and slowing firm growth. Consolidation is dramatically

The Senate has passed an extension of the popular Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses, which was set to close down Tuesday night with $130 billion in funding left over. The extension to Aug. 8 was offered by Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., and cleared the chamber by unanimous consent. The House has yet to take

The Fed became one of the top holders in some of the world’s largest credit ETFs less than two months after stepping into the market. The central bank owns more than 13 million shares of the $54 billion iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD) as of June 16, making it the third-largest

David Einhorn’s hedge funds fell 5% in June as value stocks lagged growth shares in the month. The drop extends Greenlight Capital’s loss for the year to 20.7%, according to an investor update on Tuesday viewed by Bloomberg. The S&P 500 gained 1.8% in June, helping to make the quarter the best since 1998 as

After months of speculation and daily talks with interested buyers, Orion Advisor Services isn’t being sold after all. TA Associates, Orion’s private equity owner since 2015, is instead partnering with Genstar Capital to reinvest in Orion and merge it with Brinker Capital, an investment management company serving advisors at insurance firms and independent broker-dealers. With

To get CE credits, advisor Mark Wilson typically attends several conferences per year and relies on education offerings from his local FPA chapter. In the age of coronavirus, such in-person events are off the table. Yet finding CE credits has rarely been a problem, Wilson says in an email. “After COVID, there have been twice

After keeping member fees unchanged since 2012, FINRA says it plans to raise them, though it’s not saying which ones. The regulator will file a proposal for fee increases with the SEC, according to its 2019 annual report. That proposal will be filed “in the coming months,” says FINRA spokeswoman Michelle Ong. She declined to

One of Wall Street’s hottest innovations is being hailed as the potential key to luring trillions of actively managed dollars to the booming market for ETFs. Yet two of the industry’s biggest players want no part of it for now. Vanguard and State Street say they’re in wait-and-see mode as active, non-transparent funds take their

Clients who make withdrawals from their defined contribution plans under the CARES Act to cover coronavirus-related expenses may experience long-term financial strain. Those who do not pay back that money back, as permitted by the act, could find a median of 20% less in their retirement accounts when they turn 65, according to research by

Two established mutual fund managers are entering the competitive ETF market. Their foray into a market largely synonymous with index investing is a sign of how exchange-traded funds are shifting. Following new SEC regulation, T. Rowe Price and Dimensional Fund Advisors, asset managers with more than $1 trillion of assets in their U.S. open-ended mutual

The unprecedented fallout from the coronavirus pandemic has meant unprecedented concessions by the U.S. government in a number of respects. The CARES Act’s $2 trillion stimulus package represents perhaps the largest investment in this regard, but a number of U.S. government agencies have enacted other significant rule changes to help the citizenry get through these

Raymond James & Associates added two teams to its rolls in as many weeks — nine advisors who collectively managed $825 million in client assets at their old firms, according to their new employer. This continues Raymond James recruiting streak in recent months, despite the strictures imposed by the coronavirus pandemic. Most recently, the firm

Credit Suisse has frozen plans for a wealth management hub in Miami to attract billions in new money from the rich in Latin America, two people familiar with the matter said. The early-stage discussions have cooled because legal considerations and investment costs outweighed expected returns, the people said, asking not to be identified because the

Refinitiv is continuing its march into the wealth management industry, combining its market data with recent acquisitions to offer what it calls the “Holy Grail” of advisor technology. The firm has launched a suite of digital tools for wealth management firms to develop new technology using its data, news and analytics capabilities. Though Refinitiv is

Like many things during the pandemic, continuing education credits have gone virtual. Advisors looking to maintain their CIMA, CFA or CPA certification will find an increasing number of online options as certifying organizations move in-person events into the digital domain. One organization has taken a Netflix-like approach to continuing education. Another is leaning into webinars.

A man in a surgical mask walks by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) after more cases of coronavirus were confirmed in New York City, New York, U.S., March 10, 2020. Andrew Kelly | Reuters Next week brings an end, mercifully, to the first half of 2020. That’s the good news. The bad news: Wall

A book idea can come from anywhere. For financial wellness specialist Eugenie George, reading tables of contents in the personal finance section of a Barnes & Noble store provided inspiration. “I kept saying, ‘Well, what’s missing from this?’” George says. “There was no discussion about race or class. And then the folks that did write

The rich are still getting richer, but the coronavirus crisis may slow the breakneck pace of wealth accumulation for years to come. Volatile markets and the economic fallout from the virus could wipe out as much as $16 trillion of global wealth this year and hinder growth for the next five years, according to a

When it comes to retirement plans, private equity’s in and ESG is out. At least, that’s where the Department of Labor’s latest regulatory guidance is trending. The agency recently expanded the availability of private equity in 401(k)s and then proposed this week to tighten regulation on ESG funds in retirement plans. In the more recent

Trying to buy a home on a teacher’s salary can be difficult, but there are national, state, local and lender-specific programs that can provide some relief. Doing your homework — sorry, we couldn’t resist — could help you save thousands of dollars through home loans for teachers, as well as closing cost and down payment

Good news for investors: Your broker-dealer is going to have to disclose a lot more about what he or she is advising you to buy or sell.   Regulation Best Interest, or Reg BI, is coming into effect June 30 after more than two years of controversy and discussion. It requires broker-dealers — those who