Raymond James Financial

The engine of future growth for the top independent broker-dealers is likely to be fees.

"With 15,000 financial advisors, it's hard to change financial planning software. It's hard to change the day-to-day stuff," adviser Jim Denholm III says.

The broker now operates from Ameriprise's independent side, according to the company.

Help could be on the way for retirement-age clients asking prickly questions about coverage options.

The new comp plan for its employee channel advisers goes into effect in September.

Concerns about management dragged down job satisfaction ratings in J.D. Power’s annual survey.

The firm isn't the only one benefiting from a still strong breakaway movement.

His move is also something of a reunion, as Steward Partners CEO Jim Gold once served as his manager at Smith Barney.

The regional brokerage firm recruited its second wirehouse group this week.

The team includes identical twin brothers and an industry veteran of nearly 30 years.

They play a critical role in recruiting and supporting advisers. See who made the cut for this year's honoree list.

The regional firm continues to snatch multi-million dollar teams from the wirehouses.

The new recruits, who previously worked at Wells Fargo Advisors and Janney Montgomery Scott, also pointed to the firm's affiliation with Raymond James in making the move.

They left to have more freedom in how they work with their clients, one of the new hires says.

So far this year, at least 9 banks switched their investment services programs to new third-party broker dealers. One outsourced its broker-dealer operations to a TPM for the first time.

More banks are implementing second-story adviser programs as they embrace advice-based client relationships in the wake of the fiduciary rule.

Though the wirehouse notched impressive wins, Merrill wasn't the only firm to land elite recruits recently.

Although revenue fell for the FP50, most firms upped their AUM.

Wirehouses, broker-dealers and banks unveiled client-friendly policies while asking the agency for further delays.

More advisers usually means more overall revenue, but not always. See how the TPMs compare on both metrics.