Finance

Bill Hamm's Independent Financial Partners took a rare step in 2019 when the firm left LPL to launch its own brokerage. Now it's offering an interesting recruiting pitch to financial advisors.

Merrill, BMO and Schwab are among many firms helping clients take out security-backed loans against market gains to avoid capital gains tax hits.

Financial planners who joined the Transparent Advisor Movement's first "Flat Fridays" meetup touched on the difficulty of explaining the industry to consumers.

Join us next month for a discussion on whether more clients should be in private markets, how advisors can explain the pros and cons of alternative investments, and just where crypto and digital assets belong.

Evaluating private equity performance is notoriously difficult due to lack of transparency. Asking these 3 questions makes it easier for financial advisors.

Despite the war in Iran and uncertainty over interest rates, the latest Financial Advisor Confidence Outlook shows that advisor sentiment has turned positive for the first time since January.

A GAO report suggests that blanket rules on spousal consent for 401(k) withdrawals could solve "financial infidelity problems — and exacerbate them.

The proposal is part of what SEC Chairman Paul Atkins calls his "Make IPOs Great Again" agenda.

In an unusual development, LPL saw its advisor total decline slightly in the first quarter. And client assets brought in through advisor recruiting were down 55% year over year.

The new money will be used primarily to pay off investors who provided capital when Reverence first bought a majority stake in the former Advisor Group in 2019.

After experiencing $14 billion in assets outflows in the last quarter of 2025, UBS brought in more than $5 billion in the first quarter of this year.

In a Q1 earnings call, CEO Jim Cracchiolo emphasized the firm's recruiting approach that seeks a "built, not bought" advisor workforce.

Raymond James spent more than $100 million to recruit and retain advisors in its latest quarter. CEO Paul Shoukry says he'd rather do that than buy another firm.

Proceeds from the sale of Stifel Independent Advisors, aligned with declining litigation costs, helped drive firm-wide revenue to its second-highest level on record.

Ron Kruszewski led Stifel through a year that saw record revenue and strong advisor recruiting, but also a string of legal setbacks.

While the megabank had previously announced an executive shakeup, it revealed that Pershing is part of a newly combined business line moving forward.

CEO Brian Moynihan said the firm recruited twice the number of advisors it did a year ago and is making progress fighting advisor attrition.

Behavioral finance expert Tim Maurer shares how planners can adjust their language and approach to help clients move toward their goals.

Chief Financial Officer Sharon Yeshaya says financial advisors have $400 billion in assets since 2020 from clients who first came to Morgan Stanley either through its workplace or E-Trade businesses.

In the first quarter, the firm's FiNet channel for advisors working as independent contractors recruited advisors with $9 billion in client assets.