Trader Talk

Two companies founded by the CEO of a startup custodian are being sued by 11 former clients. The RIA and investment management company started by Altruist CEO Jason Wenk are being accused of failing to properly supervise a barred advisor who put their funds in unregistered securities issued by another company that has been charged

It’s not every day that a tenured financial advisor starts from scratch mid-career, but that’s exactly what Melissa Brennan did. Brennan, 52, left her firm at the end of January to rebuild a book of business. Her client count? Six. “It’s terrifying,” she says. Nothing ended up as she originally planned — particularly because of

Funds with human managers calling the shots can still outperform. It’s just a matter of positioning. That’s been the case for the industry’s 20 top-performing actively managed funds of the past decade. Those with managers making the decisions, and at least $500 million in assets under management, recorded an average 10-year gain of 18%, according

First, Plaid built a platform of application programming interfaces to make it easy for fintech developers to access client account data held at financial institutions. The venture was so successful, Visa snapped up Plaid for $5.3 billion in January. Now the company has a new initiative to bring those APIs directly to wealth management firms

Don’t let anyone tell you regulators haven’t punished Wells Fargo — or at least its shareholders. The scandal-ridden bank has lost $220 billion in stock-market value since the Federal Reserve imposed an unprecedented cap on the firm’s assets in early 2018, crimping its ability to add customers and loans. The constraints are biting harder this

Wealth managers have boosted spending on new technology more than other professionals. But they’re still facing headwinds connecting with some clients amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new survey by Arizent. More than a third of respondents who work in wealth management said they have increased their tech budget — outpacing financial services, professional

I’m the founder and CEO of a small wealth management firm in Houston, with just eight employees and $850 million in client assets. When the Paycheck Protection Program was first announced, I was practically giddy because I had never qualified for any type of government program before. The PPP program almost seemed too good to

The New York Stock Exchange floor is reopening — sort of. The decision to partially reopen the floor on May 26, which has been closed since March 23, involved a complicated stew of business, legal and medical issues that many larger businesses throughout the United States will be facing —particularly those where people are required

A deal that reshaped the independent broker-dealer sector is realigning thousands of financial advisors in its wake. After two credit downgrades and a pledge by its CEO to fold Ladenburg Thalmann into its structure, Advisor Group is merging three of the IBDs it acquired earlier this year for $1.3 billion into the largest one of

Alternative investing platform iCapital Network, flush from a recent multimillion-dollar capital raise, is acquiring one of its biggest rivals: Artivest. The deal gives iCapital a competing technology startup focused on connecting financial advisors with alternative investments. It includes Artivest’s technology and operating platform, 28 proprietary alternative investment funds, several large enterprise relationships and Open Network,

On Wall Street continues its annual analysis of base pay for advisors by looking at payout rates for those with $2 million in production. For our analysis of other categories, please see below. Data was collected by Arizent and analysis conducted by Tasnady & Associates. Assumptions for basic pay (prior to special policies/contingent bonuses): 25%

Where can advisors generating $1 million in annual production earn the most? It’s a straightforward question, but with bonus, penalties and other factors weighing in, one with a frustratingly elusive answer: It depends. To help advisors sort through and fill in the X-factors, On Wall Street presents the third installment of its annual analysis of

Advisor pay can be a complicated matter. With our annual compensation report, On Wall Street aims to help advisors break it down. This year’s analysis focuses on compensation plans at the wirehouses and major broker-dealers. Please note: Some planned changes at firms such as Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo have been postponed in light of

For many advisors with affluent retiree clients, the CARES Act provision that may have the biggest impact is its suspension of RMDs during 2020. The move will have clear implications for tax planning strategies, so it’s incumbent on advisors to get ahead of their clients’ questions with sound strategic recommendations. RMDs WAIVED Section 2203of the

Which firms pay advisors the most? It’s a hot topic at any time — but even more so today following recent changes in compensation policies at some brokerages. To help advisors find the plan that best suits them, On Wall Street conducts an annual analysis of compensation at wirehouses, national and regional broker-dealers. While a

When I started covering the wealth management beat six years ago as a cub reporter, my first assignment was a doozy: write the annual compensation report for wirehouse and regional BD advisors. It was a complex topic for a newbie, akin to taking down a grizzly bear with a BB gun on your first hunting

Since Orion Advisor Services launched its direct indexing tool two years ago, more than half of the 70 RIA clients using it have asked Chris Romano, the firm’s quantitative portfolio risk manager, the same question: Can we offer this to our smaller clients? Until now, Romano’s answer has been no. As long as clients have

Edward Jones is suing an advisor who left to join rival LPL Financial, accusing him of breaching non-solicitation agreements by enticing the “majority” of his clients to move to his new employer. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Missouri May 1, marks the latest effort of a big brokerage firm to enforce former employees’

Waves of tech-enabled disruption over the last decade still couldn’t have prepared financial planning for the level of change that’s been compressed into the last few months. The impact of the coronavirus has been so swift and broad across the global economy, it’s hard to say what lasting changes will come to planning and financial

The CFP Board is postponing exams for the industry’s most popular professional credentials, citing the risks posed by the coronavirus pandemic. The move, which follows similar actions taken in March, could crimp growth in the rising number of CFP professionals. “[The] CFP Board did not make this decision lightly,” the board’s CEO Kevin Keller said

The retirement provisions in the CARES Act may seem straightforward at first, but dig deeper into the legislation, and questions start accumulating. The points I’ve been asked most about seem to center on waivers of RMDs for 2020 and the availability to clients of penalty-free withdrawals of up to $100,000 from retirement accounts for coronavirus-related

A cyclist passes a boarded up store during the coronavirus pandemic on April 28, 2020 in New York City. John Lamparski | Getty Images April’s 12% rally in the S&P 500 has been based largely on hopes for a reopening of the U.S. economy, but if you want to know how fragile the reopening may

A United Parcel Service worker delivers packages on April 29, 2020 in New York City. Stephanie Keith | Getty Images Half of the S&P 500 companies have reported earnings for the first quarter and this has been the strangest earnings season imaginable.   Consider: Global activity has ground to a halt in some sectors, but

A woman walks in the rain outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in the financial district of lower Manhattan during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York, April 13, 2020. Andrew Kelly | Reuters I know this sounds strange, but this was a good day for the stock market, even with

Long-time professional traders watching the near implosion of the United States Oil Fund could only watch in wonder.  “It tells me people always want to make a quick buck,” said John Davi, chief investment officer and founder of Astoria Portfolio Advisors. He was referring to retail investors who lost a boatload of money investing in

The crude oil tanker, Chemtrans Cancale, is seen anchored off shore as it waits to dock at Port Everglades on April 20, 2020 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Joe Raedle | Getty Images “Know what you own” is an old adage when investing, but it is especially important when owning investments that hold futures contracts.  Just

The number of companies withdrawing or declining to provide earnings guidance continues to grow, with Abbott, ConocoPhillips, Jack in the Box, GoPro, and Bed Bath & Beyond in just the last couple days.    JPMorgan, in a note to clients, said that so far 86 S&P 500 companies have suspended earnings guidance. Not surprisingly, some in

Alex Gorsky, Chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson, rings the opening bell to celebrate the 75th anniversary of his company’s listing at the New York Stock Exchange, September 17, 2019. Brendan McDermid | Reuters Johnson & Johnson surprised investors with a modest dividend increase of 6.3%, followed by Procter & Gamble, which raised its

Charging Bull Statue is seen at the Financial District in New York City, United States on March 29, 2020. Tayfun Coskun | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images The week started with a roar. At the open Tuesday, the S&P 500 was up almost 10% for the week. Investors were positively giddy about three events: 1)

Art Cashin David A. Grogan | CNBC Art Cashin, head of floor trading for UBS, has been a beloved market commentator for many decades and a regular commentator on CNBC for more than 20 years. Cashin was in a car accident in early February (he was not driving) and has been recuperating. We spoke to