Practice

Following news that Merrill Lynch Wealth Management lost several advisor teams to rivals this week, the firm is pushing back with three advisor hires of its own from competing wirehouse firms.

Loomis Sayles is making a hasty name change to one of its funds after losing out on a federal lawsuit.

The SEC has obtained a $1.1 million settlement from Portland, Ore., based planner Christopher Keil Hicks and two of his companies on charges they failed to disclose a revenue-sharing agreement and other conflicts with his clients.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has settled an administrative proceeding against two Portland, Oregon-based investment advisory firms regarding their failure to disclose a revenue-sharing agreement and other potential conflicts of interest to clients.

The SEC filed a cease-and-desist order against noted investment advisor and radio personality Ray Lucia, alleging a series of misleading statements in retirement-strategy seminars plugging Lucia's "buckets of money" strategy.

Indexed annuity sales increased 8.3% and income annuities were up 6.1% in the second quarter, according to Beacon Research. It was the second-best quarter ever for those product types, Beacon said in a press release. Total fixed annuity sales were also up, but with a more muted 1% gain in the quarter. And they declined 17.2% from the year-ago period. …

Robert Ceccarelli and John Hursh collectively manage more than $148 million in assets and produce nearly $1 million in revenue. They will join Ameriprise's employee advisor channel and be located in the New Haven, Conn.

Stephen Luparello, vice chairman at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, is leaving after more than 16 years to take a job at a Washington law firm, the brokerage industry's self-regulator said in a statement.

The Robinson Reuter Group brings $250 million in assets under management to RBC's La Jolla, Calif., office.

Barclays Plc recruited a team for its wealth and investment management division from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney that includes former New York Jets wide receiver Wayne Chrebet.