Industry

Branch closings draw big headlines, but several large banks are entering new markets — or bulking up in underrepresented cities — by adding branches and hiring lenders. Bank of America, for instance, is planning a retail push in Denver and Minneapolis.

At Halbert Hargrove, Russ Hill has brought the firm through one transition after another. Now he's creating his own exit strategy.

Advisor Billy Belcher joined the firm's independent broker-dealer.

This past week, the industry saw Pimco suffer more redemptions despite the climbing performance of its Total Return Fund, a BlackRock bond ETF receiving a record $2 billion deposit, Virtus Investment Partners announced an agreement to acquire a majority interest in ETF Issuer Solutions, and a report from Cerulli Associates noting that socially responsible investing has become a frequent request of asset managers from institutional clients.

Ellsworth Private Wealth Management hooks up with Stratos Wealth Partners, citing the use of LPL's RIA and broker-dealer platform.

Salient Partners, a $21.5 billion investment firm, plans to buy Forward Management to expand its liquid alternatives business, a fast-growing product that offers hedge fund-like strategies to individual investors.

Advisors generating $5.8 million in annual revenue left Morgan Stanley for Merrill. The team is led by the No. 7 advisor on On Wall Street's Top 40 Under 40 ranking.

The SEC barred an RIA from the industry after the firm was charged with misleading investors -- including falsely claiming that its fund was "SEC approved."

The firm has made lending and deposits a greater part of its strategy as it seeks to generate more revenue from brokerage clients.

Seeking to bolster its team after co-founder Bill Gross left last year, Pimco announced it hired Joachim Fels as global economic adviser.