Independent advisors

Also this week, Raymond James recruits from Morgan Stanley, and Mercer Advisors and EP Wealth Advisors make big M&A deals.

The LPL CEO says Commonwealth advisors have almost nothing to lose and much to gain by joining a firm whose headcount is fast approaching 29,000. (Plus, experts say he'll be writing big checks.)

Industry experts think LPL will have to work hard to retain Commonwealth advisors who were sold on the idea that they'd be working for a "boutique" firm.

The acquisition will bring LPL as much as $285 billion in AUM and 2,900 advisors when it closes in the second half of the year.

Last year set a record for mergers and acquisitions among advisory firms. Industry experts expect more of the same in 2025, driven by a desire for client and asset growth.

Kevin Keller prides himself on the growing public awareness of the CFP mark while warning that his successor is likely to face increased competition from other groups.

In a legal response, LPL contends it has been sued at least seven times in the past year after recruiting advisors from industry rival Ameriprise.

Financial Planning announces its 2025 class of the top 40 most productive employee brokers under age 40 at regional U.S. firms.

The addition of Prudential Financial and Atria Wealth Solutions helped boost LPL's advisor headcount to a record of nearly 29,000 by the end of last year.

Like other wealth managers that have ceased reporting advisor numbers every quarter, Raymond James says the figures have lost meaning.

Stifel chief executive Ron Kruszewski said surging markets have forced firms to be particularly choosy about which advisors they try to poach from rivals. That may change this year.

Jeffrey Dobyns, the president of SageSpring Wealth Partners, says he and his colleagues were looking for greater freedom to make use of technology their clients wanted and needed.

Lack of freedom and limited investment choices may be driving advisors at broker-dealers to leave their firms this year.

Failing to have a solid succession plan is one of many risk factors that can tank an advisory practice's selling price, industry pros warn.

Michael Nathanson, CEO of the RIA aggregator, envisions a day in the not-distant future when firms like his will sit on $1 trillion or more in client assets.

Michael and David Sztrom, who settled fraud allegations with the SEC in 2022, contend the regulators' "follow on" attempt to boot them from the industry violates their constitutional rights.

The fast-moving RIA aggregator has been undergoing an internal reorganization since 2023 in a bid to consolidate the many firms it has scooped up over the years.

The "model rule" for state regulators is meant to help clients distinguish between advisors who earn management fees and brokers who collect transaction-based commissions.

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors President Eric Housman thinks his bank's $2 billion advisory practice still occupies a distinct position in the industry. But it's not likely to stay that way.

Michael Bernier oversaw roughly $165 million in client assets at Canter Strategic Wealth Management, a firm with $300 million under management. Then he left to join LPL.