Industry

To give its 3,000-plus independent advisors an edge, Fidelity Investments introduced the Business Development and Marketing Planning Toolkit, an interactive PDF that advisors, firms and advisor teams can use to better define themselves, identify exactly the type of clients they want to attract and retain and, perhaps most important, ensure their customers know enough about them and their services to provide a meaningful referral to potential new clients.

When Lyle LaMothe said on March 3 that he would step down from his post as head Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s U.S. wealth management business, industry speculation immediately set into motion regarding his replacement. And then the wait began.

BNY Mellon announced Thursday it has agreed to buy Chicago-based Talon Asset Management' s wealth management operations, which have more than $800 million in assets under management.

Horizon Asset Management and Kinetics Asset Management announced Thursday that they will merge on May 1 to form Horizon Kinetics, an investment advisor with $9.8 billion in assets under management.

An uptick in mergers and acquisition among investment advisory firms at the end of last year suggests that the pace will increase, according to a study by Pershing Advisor Solutions, a unit of BNY Mellon. However, there were fewer deals, and they took longer to complete in last year, compared to the peak in 2007.

Ken Abady, Brad Benter and Steve DeMatteo will join UBS’ San Diego office.

“Clearly, a lot of the same fundamental, structural changes to the industry continue to drive M&A,” says David DeVoe, managing director of strategic business development for Schwab Advisor Services.

Wells Fargo Securities has hired three new public finance investment bankers as the firm seeks to expand its program nationally.

John Thiel will start his new position May 1, according to a company memo sent by wealth management division President Sallie Krawcheck on Wednesday.

Henry Wagner comes to UBS from Stern, Agee & Leach.