Zeke Faux

"My expectation is that a lot of firms are going to continue installing a best-interest standard, regardless," said Brian Graff, CEO of the American Retirement Association.

Black employees at the firm say lucrative client accounts were often steered toward financial advisers who weren’t black.

William Heinzerling, who has led Stifel’s fixed-income business since 2009, is leaving the firm, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Deutsche Bank plans to sell its U.S. private-client brokerage unit, according to people briefed on the matter.

“Small investors will be forced to leave the brokerage firms,” Ron Kruszewski says, adding that the plan will “increase costs and reduce choices for the smallest investors."

Barclays may fetch $150 million to $250 million for its U.S. wealth unit, according to analysts at Credit Suisse Group.

A Stifel-Sterne Agee merger would dwarf other moves made last year.

Money managers and brokers shunned Barclays Plc’s dark pool, and Chief Executive Officer Antony Jenkins pledged an urgent inquiry, after the bank was accused of lying to clients about high-frequency trading on the venue.

Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. were fined by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority over sales of loan funds.

Royal Bank of Canada was ordered to pay more than $800,000 to a U.S. couple over their losses on investments including Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. preferred stock.