Industry

Carmela Elco, an executive of National Penn Bancshares’ retirement advisory business, will join the council next month to help with initiatives in research, public relations, general public education, regulatory positions, and practice management.

National Advisors Trust has launched an upgraded version of AdvisorDesk, the firm’s proprietary multi-custodian technology platform.

Robert W. Baird & Co. has hired veteran financial advisor Baron C. Becker from Morgan Stanley Wealth Management in Portland, Maine.

Former UBS AG trader Kweku Adoboli was sentenced to seven years in jail for fraud in relation to a $2.3 billion loss, the largest from unauthorized trading in British history.

Former UBS AG trader Kweku Adoboli was found guilty of fraud in relation to a $2.3 billion loss, the largest from unauthorized trading in British history. He was cleared on four counts of false accounting.

BlackRock has named Russ Koesterich as Chief Investment Strategist, responsible for communicating the firm’s investment strategy and perspective on the markets and economy to investors and financial advisors.

J.W. Cole Financial, a Tampa, Fla., based independent broker-dealer, announced Monday that it plans to acquire Financial Advisers of America.

Bank of America Corp. Chief Executive Officer Brian T. Moynihan said his company’s business model that serves people and corporations is a proven winner based on the firm’s market share.

“I’m more optimistic by everything I’ve read,” Moynihan said today in London during a Bloomberg Television interview. Lawmakers are taking the matter “very seriously,” he said.

Wells Fargo has extended its summer hiring spree with 24 new financial advisor hires managing a total of $2.2 billion in assets.