Portfolio

Merrill Lynch’s high account minimums could banish many BofA clients to a call center, taking their advisors’ main source of production with them.

But, even a few bankruptcies can set a bad precedent.

Royal Bank of Canada’s wealth management division reported net income of $213 million for the first quarter ended Jan. 31, up 72% from the $91 million from a year earlier, partly due to higher fee-based client assets and some accounting adjustments.

In the face of the shrinking asset management landscape and soaring distribution costs, not to mention the home-office centralization of brokerage firms’ investment choices, fund companies need highly accomplished national accounts teams, according to a new kasina report, “Excellence in Distribution: National Accounts.”

An event Wednesday asked how we can move from turbulence to transformation economically and in terms of gender equity. And the answer seems to be clear: by including women.

According to a survey, a majority of advisors say clients want financial planning advice.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is expanding its New York office staff of 360 people by 33, or nearly 9%, in an effort to better regulate hedge funds and brokerages. The SEC will hire 18 additional people in enforcement and 15 in examinations.

Wealthy investors will continue to be careful with their money, Schwab found in a survey of 1,100 independent advisers with more than $252 billion in assets under management, the latest installment in its semi-annual Independent Advisor Outlook Study.

American Beacon Advisors has launched the American Beacon Global Real Estate Fund, which aims to deliver high total return through a combination of current income and capital appreciation and which will be sub-advised by CB Richard Ellis Global Real Estate Securities.

Warburg Pincus will invest $230 million in Primerica, the mutual fund and life insurance sales unit of Citigroup, in return for a 23% stake, filings show.