Industry

Conventional wisdom says that financial advisors choose to work in areas based on factors like the presence of wealthy families. That doesn't seem to be the case in a post-pandemic world.

In a consolidating industry, perpetual growth may seem like the only way forward, but financial advisors still have options.

Industry groups argue a new rule under consideration would give brokerage firms new oversight responsibilities over unaffiliated RIAs — a contention FINRA denies.

The Cincinnati-based bank has partnered with the fintech Trust & Will to make estate planning easy, accessible — and free.

Also this week, Hightower invests in a large RIA and Bernstein names a new head of wealth management.

Despite the notable flows and valuations, some sellers get locked into an ill-fitting parent firm without many options for getting away.

For the past three years, Leslie Norman, chief technology officer for Dynasty Financial Partners, has been working to help build infrastructure to house the data used in the firm's tech stack.

Alvin Carlos, financial planner and managing partner at District Capital Management in Washington, D.C., uses Monday.com for CRM and financial planning.

Also this week, a Dynasty Financial firm picks up a $1.5B team from Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo recruits from PNC Investments and UBS, and LPL draws from Osaic.

For many firms, looming advisor retirements and the need to retain client households through the next generations will create difficult problems.