Sponsored By: Schwab Institutional

• Fidelity Has Misgivings Over Buying Back ARS

  Raymond James, Oppenheimer & Co. & Stifel Nicolaus also balking.

• LPL Prepping for an IPO

  Independent broker-dealer behemoth plans to go public within two to three years, CEO says.

• Profits Rise at RIA Firms, But Struggles Remain

  New study shows an increase in alternative investments and ETFs among advisors, but a lack of future planning.

• N.Y. Task Force Looking at Strategic Partnerships

  New York's task force on minority and women-owned underwriting and financial services firms is looking at strategic partnerships as one way to increase those firms' participation.

• Approved for Portfolio Margining, Pershing Aims at High-Net-Worth Clients

  Newly permitted to offer portfolio margin accounts, Pershing says it will target high-net-worth customers with the higher-leverage accounts.

• Fidelity Equips RIAs with e-Signature Software

  Fidelity Investments is hoping to make it far easier for independent registered investment advisers to open new accounts, by equipping them with the ability to capture e-signatures on all necessary documents from new clients.

• Securities America Acquires Brecek and Young

  Securities America, Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Brecek and Young Advisors, an independent broker-dealer based in Folsom, Calif.

• The Main Attraction: Affiliated vs. Independent

  When there's no decisive knockout, just how do the investors make their decisions on who wins this battle?

• The Transition to Transparency

  The mobility of advisors in the industry is just one part of the overall trend of transparency, which will only increase.

• LPL Names New CFO

  Robert Moore comes to LPL from LaSalle Bank.

• The Big Regulatory Fix

  Proposed rules would punish planners instead of focusing on companies with a history of market misdeeds.

• B-D of the Future

  B-Ds must improve their operating efficiency, technology and training in order to retain advisors as the planning industry changes.

• The Vanishing Regionals

  Changing demographics and key missteps by regional firms have put them between a rock and a hard place. They still have their fans, but some industry observers say a new model is needed.

• Thriving Despite the Downturn

  Richard G. Averitt III on the ability of Raymond James Financial Services to navigate the choppy waters of today's market, along with some advice for rookies.

• Joining the Fray

  Three marquee consultants have left Moss Adams. Will they practice what they once preached?

• First Tennessee Moves Advisers to Fee Platform

  First Tennessee Bank's wealth management business has been slowed by the slumping stock market but should be reinvigorated by a new fee-based platform.

• Labels Under Fire

  As designations aimed at seniors bring regulatory heat, some firms stay out of the kitchen.

• Joining the Family

  Growing up, Andrew Crowell remembers family vacations with his dad reading prospectuses on the beach. So it seemed inevitable that he would join the brokerage business his grandfather co-founded. Now managing partner and chief executive of Crowell, Weedon & Co., he discusses how he plans to make his firm standout from the crowd.

• RIA M&A Activity Increasing

  Mergers and acquisitions among RIA firms have been increasing in recent years and, if they continue at the same rate for the second half of this year as the first, will increase again in 2008.

• FundQuest: 68 Using Unified Services

  FundQuest Inc. said 68 advisory firms have made its unified managed account services available to their advisers.

• Dealers in GIC Probe Subpoenaed

  At least 38 broker-dealers, investment advisory companies, and other firms have received subpoenas or document requests from state attorneys general.

• Texas Could Suspend UBS Over ARS

  The Texas State Securities Board scheduled a Sept. 22 hearing to decide whether to suspend the license of UBS AG's broker-dealer and financial services divisions.

• Fidelity Brokerage Assets Up 2% to $1.92 Trillion

  Jitters over market turmoil appears to be good business for financial advisers and brokers or individuals placing individual trades.

• Platform Upgrades Help Fee-Based Advice Surge

  The growing popularity of fee-based advice is prompting investment platform providers to upgrade the capabilities they offer advisers at banks and elsewhere.

• Hackers Steal Passwords of 18 LPL Advisors, Assistants

  LPL Financial notified authorities that the security of 18 employees in nine of its branches around the world had been compromised.

• Viewpoint: Federal Receiver for Broker-Dealers Is a Bad Idea

  Bair, Paulson, and others want to enshrine a taxpayer-subsidized federal receivership mechanism for future Bear Stearns-type failures.

• Petrozzo New CIO at Fidelity

  Daniel Petrozzo, formerly of Morgan Stanley, was named the new chief information officer at Fidelity Investments.

• Auld Named New CEO AIG Financial Advisors

  Jeffrey Auld replaces James R. Cannon; until May, Auld had led Berthel Fisher.

• New Head of RIA Channel at JPMorgan

  Steve Landquist will head up JPMorgan's business strategy of the institutional advisor group.

• AIG Advisor Nabs Mark Schlafly from LPL

  Mark J. Schlafly has been named the president and CEO of two broker-dealer subsidiaries of AIG Advisor Group.

• Schwab Launches New Performance Reporting Program

  PortfolioService will be available to all independent investment advisors regardless of whether or not they custody assets with Schwab Institutional.

• Death Knell for Dominance in 401(k)s, Edelman Says

  The Supreme Court's recent decision in LaRue v DeWolff to permit workers in 401(k) plans to sue administrators for high fees will inevitably lead to lower fees—and the end of the retail mutual fund industry's dominance of the market.

• Schwab Feels Advisors' Ire

  With several proposed class action lawsuits connected to its "YieldPlus" fund, the Charles Schwab Corp. is facing a season of advisor discontent.

• Why Everyone Should Know the 'Uniformed Trade Secrets Act'

  As brokers play musical chairs, are former clients off limits?

• Ruling in NEXT case

  SEC fines NEXT for violating privacy laws.

• Help Wanted ... For Job Seekers

  The credit crisis and its offshoots have dramatically slowed hiring, separated thousands of financial professionals from their jobs and cut guarantees in compensation packages almost completely--and the cycle is not expected to end soon.

• Six-Month Grace Period Says CFP

  Enforcement of the revised professional conduct code will begin January 1, 2009.

• Albright to Speak at Schwab Impact Conference

  Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will deliver the closing keynote address at the 2008 Schwab Impact conference, it was announced this week.

• Set Me Free

  LPL Financial expands its offerings for independent advisors.

• Millionaires Ahoy!

  Independent advisors who are looking to snag more millionaire clients should focus their efforts on prospects who do not already have a registered investment advisor (RIA).