Industry

Oppenheimer Holdings will pay $20 million to settle U.S. regulatory claims that it improperly sold billions of shares of penny stocks on behalf of an offshore brokerage.

Raymond James & Associates recruited advisors from Oppenheimer & Co. and Wells Fargo Advisors, each with close to $1 million in revenue.

One of the San Francisco Bay Area’s most prominent independent wealth management firms is selling a majority equity interest.

The claim represents more than half the awards handed out by the regulator against advisors so far this month.

Two wirehouse advisors generating $1.3 million in annual revenues joined RBC Wealth Management.

"The prospects for organic growth for RIAs and IBDs have never been greater. We expect to see more lift-out and advisors turning independent activity in 2015," says Liz Nesvold, managing partner of New York-based investment banker Silver Lane.

The regional broker-dealer lands three new recruits for its employee channel, including one who managed more than $100 million AUM.

The asset management firm made the new hires during a recruiting push in the last quarter.

Two Merrill Lynch advisors left the wirehouse for independent firm Snowden Lane Partners.

To create this ranking, we took our RIA Leaders list of the top fee-only independent RIAs, then calculated the average client account size. The results were illuminating.