Charles Paikert

The heart of the initiative is helping the apprentices build up their own books of business by emphasizing prospecting skills – including cold calling.

“Why should a really good smaller firm that’s growing have a lower multiple than a big firm that’s crappy?” asks Peter Raimondi, president of Boston Private Wealth.

Proponents of advisory firms going public cited “powerful” advantages while detractors point to “hollow” promises.

The primary buyers of advisory firms are RIAs, banks and roll-up companies.

Travails of parent company RCS Capital have been "distracting" but haven't impeded expansion, says Douglas King, Cetera Advisor Networks' president and CEO.

"BlackRock is potentially a very powerful partner for advisors," says Sean McDermott, Corporate Insight analyst.

"The D.C. metro area is a hot market," says Savant Chief Executive Brent Brodeski.

Clients are understandably worried, but smart advisors can calm their nerves. Here’s how.

People are looking at social security more strategically… it's heavily nuanced [and] if you make the wrong decision it has significant implications for the future," Howard Schneider, president, Practical Perspectives.

The Bronfman-Highline deal is the 74th RIA M&A transaction this year, and is unlikely to be the last for the firm going forward. "We love this business…and we have capital," says Matthew Bronfman, chairman.

The firm will "re-focus" its business on Cetera, which will enter into a "strategic relationship" with Apollo Global Management to offer that firm's sponsored alternative investment products.

Creating a high-end brand from scratch is a daunting prospect, says Jeff Spears, chief executive of Sanctuary Wealth Services.

"We are reasonably confident that going into 2016 regulatory expenses will be down substantially," says LPL's acting chief financial officer Tom Lux.

Could talent shortages and old-school compensation plans clip the wealth management industry's wings?

"Make no doubt about it, we are not near a recession," says LPL chief investment officer Burt White.

The independent broker-dealer knows it’s in a dogfight to stay competitive in a sellers’ market.

Recruiting "is as competitive as I've seen it in the last 10 years," says LPL exec.

“The changes we announced today makes the [robo] cost issue go away,” LPL Chairman and CEO Mark Casady tells Financial Planning.

With more than $23 trillion in high-net-worth investor assets still held outside of the industry, advisors still have "a huge opportunity," says Jonathan Beatty of Schwab Advisor Services.

Eight months after Boston Private bought Banyan Partners, superstar Peter Raimondi is no longer CEO, key advisors are gone and asset growth has stalled.