Larry Barrett

Bank of America has hired more than 80 financial advisors for its Merrill Edge unit in the Northwest region which includes San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento and Las Vegas.

Advisor Software this week launched goalgamiPro, a web-based financial planning tool that lets advisors create and maintain multiple household balance sheets to help prioritize and access their clients’ long-term financial goals.

ING Financial Partners, ING U.S.’s broker-dealer, has named Andre Robinson as its head of advisory business development and appointed Rich Taylor head of brokerage operations for its advisory business unit.

ING knows people of all ages are now virtually tethered to their smartphones and tablet PCs, so it’s rolling out a new program to help employees instantly enroll in their employers’ retirement plans.

Independent investment and wealth management firm Carson Wealth Management has hired Kevin Zemann as its director of compliance.

Burns Advisory Group and Executive Financial Group announced they will join forces to create a wealth management firm with more than $600 million in client assets.

A Long Island-based investment advisor repeatedly lied to investors to conceal the fact that his PIPE investment and trading strategy was failing during the financial crisis and stole more than $1 million in client assets to buy personal luxury items including a Lexus, a Mercedes and a Rolex watch, according to the SEC.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged a San Francisco-area investment advisor with fraud for allegedly lying to clients about how brokerage commission rebates were being used and then providing phony documents to cover up the so-called “soft-dollars” scam during an SEC examination.

Wells Fargo Insurance Services expanded its insurance brokerage footprint this week with the acquisition of ISU Stetson-Beemer Insurance, a commercial property, casualty and employees’ benefits insurance brokerage and consulting firm based in Reno, Nevada.

Advisor Software, a provider of wealth management applications for financial advisors, announced that its goalGetter financial planning application for the iPad is now available for free download from Apple’s App Store.

Cantor Fitzgerald named Jeffrey Lumby as its head of equity capital markets where he’ll be continue to oversee the firm’s Controlled Equity Offering product as well as a variety of equity linked origination and execution responsibilities on behalf of the firm’s clients.

Northern Trust named Marie Dzanis senior vice president and head of ETF sales and servicing where she’ll oversee the firm’s FlexShares exchange-traded funds unit.

Retirement Benefits Group on Monday announced that three retirement specialists from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney’s The Fraser Group have joined the San Diego-based retirement-focused branch of LPL Financial.

Financial Advisers of America on Monday announced that Honolulu-based CKW Financial Group has joined its family of investment advisors, bringing more than $900 million more in assets under management to the San Diego-based broker-dealer.

Orion Advisor Services unveiled the latest release for it Advisor Desktop portfolio management suite for RIAs on Monday with new features designed to make it easier for advisors using the primary database management tool to rebalance their clients’ portfolios and create tax efficient strategies at the household level.

Insuritas, a leading provider of outsourced insurance agencies, said it has reached an agreement with BancorpSouth to provide agency-integration insurance capabilities for the bank-owned insurance agency.

First Republic Bank this week named 19-year industry veteran Gregg Palmer as managing director and wealth advisor for its San Diego office.

While 52% of registered investment advisors say a double-dip recession in the next six month is unlikely, their clients are nonetheless looking to reduce expense, cut back on discretionary spending and making more conservative investment choices, according to Charles Schwab’s 10th semi-annual Independent Outlook Study released Wednesday.

The Hartford this week named Michael Gregg as head of strategic markets for its wealth management unit where he’ll oversee the firm’s strategic relationships, advanced markets and merger and acquisitions activities.

Morgan Stanley this week said Vincent Reinhart will join the firm as its chief U.S. economist next month and lead a team that includes U.S. fixed income economist and managing director David Greenlaw.