Independent advisors

The Chicago-based RIA giant is taking majority ownership in NEPC, a firm offering institutional research and new investing opportunities.

The industry watchdog continues its recently adopted practice of giving firms monthslong advance warning of its examination priorities before the start of the new year.

Jim Cahn of WEG says there will always be room for small RIAs. But firms intent on growth will increasingly have to turn to larger partners for help with estate and tax planning, back-office support, and marketing and client referrals.

The private equity-backed firm's acquisition of Levy Wealth, with its more than $1 billion under management, falls in line with the trends driving industry consolidation.

Industry groups see the new AML requirements as unnecessarily redundant and burdensome on small firms.

One of the most successful recruiting firms in recent years, LPL again finds happy hunting grounds at its rival giant in the independent brokerage channel.

The new rule comes after advisors had expressed concerns about personal safety and data privacy.

Regulators have been working their way steadily down from the biggest players in the industry to regional firms in their quest to stamp out abuses of "off-channel" communications.

Recent years have taken the shine off of fixed income, both as a portfolio diversifier and a way to boost total returns. The prospect of falling rates next month promises to reverse that.

The wealth management giant questions if there has ever been so large a civil sanction handed down in response to "negligent mistakes" made in an attempt to comply with "unwritten rules."

Financial planners have had to field plenty of questions about why they weren't more aggressively chasing returns. With the market correction, they now have a chance to show the benefits of a diversified strategy.

Firms' practice of offering low returns on clients' uninvested cash is becoming the latest hot legal target.

A financial advisor in North Carolina is looking for a fee-only advisor to offer an advice-only model for his own family. Is this a good idea? If so, what are the considerations?

A look at which firms had the biggest loan balances and revenue numbers and the relationship between the two.

Firms that haven't been afraid of generous recruiting offers have shown the greatest growth in recent years.

A federal judge agrees with plaintiffs that the Federal Trade Commission lacks authority to set rules on unfair competition.

With rate cuts still on the horizon, some advisors wonder if it's time to look for returns beyond high-yield savings and money market accounts.

The Atlanta-based independent broker-dealer thinks some advisors will always feel ill at ease at big firms that keep getting bigger. That's where it sees its opportunity.

Despite the apparent decline, the independent broker-dealer giant remains one of the leaders in advisor recruiting and merger and acquisition deals.

The private equity-backed advisory aggregator plans to use a consolidation process in "coming months" to bring its various brokerages under one brand.