Portfolio

AllianceBernstein L.P and W.P. Stewart & Co., Ltd. announced yesterday that the two firms have entered into a definitive agreement under which AllianceBernstein, a global investment management firm with $444 billion in assets under management, will acquire W.P. Stewart, an equity investment manager that currently manages $2 billion in U.S., Global and EAFE concentrated growth equity strategies for institutional and retail clients, primarily in the U.S. and Europe.

Proceed with care. That’s what bankers, accountants and wealth managers are telling same-sex couples considering financial changes because of the Supreme Court’s rejection of a federal law denying them benefits.

More than two-thirds of all students who graduate from a higher-education program that grants a degree or certificate in financial planning do not sit for the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards exam, according to new research from the CFP Board.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has fined Oppenheimer and Co. $1,425,000 for the sale of unregistered penny stock shares and for failure to provide an adequate anti-money laundering (AML) compliance program, which would detect and report suspicious penny stock transactions.

Will LPL Financial be getting into the banking business? While the nation's largest independent broker-dealer says it has no “imminent” plans to own a bank, it now can if it wants to -- thanks to the announcement of a stock distribution by two of the firm’s original private-equity investors.

Clients who inherit an annuity may now have a few more options thanks to a recent private letter ruling from the IRS.

While the nation's largest independent broker-dealer says it has no “imminent” plans to own a bank, it now can if it wants to -- thanks to the announcement of a stock distribution by two of the firm’s original private-equity investors.

With the recent increase in interest rates, the de minimis risk grows for municipal bond investors.

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the largest U.S. pension fund, reported the value of its commodity holdings climbed 1 percent in June from the previous month.

Bloomberg -- Aides to President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid discussed the process of choosing the next U.S. Federal Reserve chairman in the wake of a letter from some chamber Democrats touting one contender, according to a person familiar with the conversations.