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The private equity-backed parent now spans four independent broker-dealers with nearly 2,000 advisors and $65 billion in client assets.

The legislation nullifies a strategy that previously allowed heirs to stretch an inherited account's tax-deferred growth based on their life expectancy.

Funding a 401(k), 403(b) or company-sponsored retirement savings vehicle should come first, an expert says.

The fast-growing firm now has more than 100 brokers.

"The more objective you can make things, the better it will be," an expert says.

The firm is “looking to aggressively compete” by lowering and simplifying the fees on its advisory platforms, a top executive says.

The firm expects shareholders will save an estimated $3.2 million, annually.

The firm plans to focus on raising money for products that lock up capital for several years, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

“The amount of capital available to this industry is small relative to the size of the need,” says one new lender.

Mainstays of the sector like Commonwealth, Cambridge and Northwestern Mutual are contributing to it, but smaller firms are also driving change.