Charles Paikert

"LPL's supervisory breakdowns resulted from a sustained failure to devote sufficient resources to compliance programs integral to numerous aspects of its business," said Brad Bennett, FINRA's executive vice president and enforcement chief.

IBDs are being "purposefully indecisive," when it comes to robo advice, says Celent senior analyst Will Trout. "They are playing a watch and wait game."

"We're betting on financial advisors and personalized financial advice delivered by people," says RJFS President Scott Curtis.

The giant IBD's lingering compliance issues should be "all done in 2015," says chairman and CEO Mark Casady.

The giant IBD is focused on recruiting more than acquisitions, says new president Dan Arnold.

Fidelity's custody unit is backing a deal in which a Mariner Holdings unit will pay 35 basis points for referrals of mass affluent customers.

Convincing advisors "why they should stay" and continue to grow with Cetera will be a priority for Ballard.

Advisors face a shifting landscape on both competitive and economic fronts. Many argue that it's time to scrap the AUM fee altogether.

"We're monitoring the situation in Indiana pretty closely, and will consider a range of options," says NAPFA chief executive Geoff Brown.

Revenue grew faster than assets for advisors, a PriceMetrix report finds -- but average client age is now nearly 62, and increasing at a rate of roughly 6-7 months per year.

More acquisitions are expected in the digital wealth management space as firms look to quickly add tech platforms and services.

Fraud can occur in a myriad ways, from email scams to ID theft to manipulation of investment valuations. See a dozen common frauds -- and ways advisors can help prevent them.

Affiliated Advisors Group, which manages approximately $600 million in assets, will operate as an OSJ branch within Royal Alliance, part of the AIG Advisor Group network.

“We were worried [advisors] would be at a competitive disadvantage," says Bernie Clark, Schwab Advisor Services' executive vice president.

LPL's "lagging earning results" led the company's compensation committee to cut Mark Casady's bonus by 40%. But Casady also got $6 million in stock options.

Behind the scenes, tension was building in the executive suite, according to insiders. And Moore's departure appears to have been the result of an internal rivalry with the man who replaced him as president.

It's 'not what I would consider to be planning,' said RCS Capital CEO Michael Weil during a Citi Asset Management Investors Conference in New York.

After stepping down as LPL president, Moore takes an executive board role with Ron Carson, who heads an LPL branch office.

Getting to intimately know the business and culture of CapGroup Advisors was key to this week's merger, says Michael Nathanson, chairman and chief executive of Colony Group.

Advisors who can bring in and work with clients, wealth strategists with tax and accounting expertise and successor CEOs are in greatest demand.