Portfolio

From the family feud that rocked Nicholas Schorsch's REIT and IBD empires to LPL's regulatory lapses and a wealth management crisis sparked by a CEO's private fund, the advisory industry had a healthy share of lowlights in 2014. Here are some of the most memorable.

The CFP Board’s first computer-based exam attracted over 2,100 applicants.

Raymond James recruited advisors with about $2 billion in combined assets, including a Merrill Lynch team with $535 million in AUM. Meanwhile, UBS hired a $2.5 million producer and Wells Fargo grabbed a team managing more than $400 million in assets.

A change in S&P Dow Jones investment classifications has the potential to change both the makeup and the perception of some dividend-focused ETFs.

"He clearly wouldn't be walking way [from American Realty Capital] if things were business as usual,” says Aite Group analyst Alois Pirker. “The optics are just not very good."

With nearly 16,000 firms managing $2.4 trillion in assets, Cerulli predicts the RIA industry will capture 28% of retail investor assets by 2018.

The $500 million firm "outgrew" Ameriprise before joining one of the country's largest aggregators, United Cap's Brinker says.

John Hancock Investments president and CEO Andrew Arnott discusses the strategic decisions the firm made as it reengineered itself following its 2004 acquisition by Canadian insurer Manulife Financial, the challenges facing asset managers in answering alternative investment demand and even potential competition from non-traditional players entering the asset management space.

Stung by poor returns and large redemptions, 889 hedge funds worldwide shut in the first 11 months of the year, above the annual average of 810 in the five years since the global financial crisis of 2008, according to figures from research firm Eurekahedge. In contrast, 56 Asia-focused funds had closed by the end of November, less than half the average 135 closures in the previous five years.

A couple who bought a business using money from their self-directed IRA faced a big tax bill as the value of the business increased; Plus, how to transition your clients before you retire.