LPL Financial

Aneri Jambusaria, among other LPL executives, plans to offer a bevy of support services to advisors of the soon-to-be purchased Commonwealth Financial Network while maintaining its small-firm feel.

Agreements from LPL Financial and Betterment top a host of merger and acquisition activity that has jumped since the start of this year.

The choice of brokerage or RIA firm involves any number of factors and a range of timelines. Here's what the numbers and experts suggest are the main drivers.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon joined JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon in a tie atop the executive compensation rankings for the industry's largest publicly traded firms.

The industry rivals are back in court with fresh allegations that Ameriprise falsely warned its former clients that LPL misappropriated their account information.

The deal, expected to close in the second half of the year, will bring in $16 billion in client assets and 110 advisors.

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.)

Michael Bonevento and his team left Ameriprise in 2019 to join LPL Financial. He says too much time has elapsed for him to now be accused of misappropriating client information.

A court of appeals agreed with Commonwealth's contention that a jury should decide if investors were harmed by investment disclosures allegedly withheld from them.

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.