RIAs

Minority transactions are increasingly appealing to sellers who are wary of giving up the full control of their firms. But experts say the deals do come with strings.

The Couch Group's return to Morgan Stanley is the latest evidence that UBS hasn't been able to stop the recent wave of advisor departures.

The Ensemble Practice's annual RIA compensation survey suggests that firms are paying a pretty penny for financial advisors but reaping healthy profits.

Also, an Ex-Truist/Balentine duo start an RIA, Raymond James grabs a team from Wells Fargo and Janney names a new head of advisor recruiting.

Merrill wealth co-head Eric Schimpf says the firm does about as good a job as its rivals in drawing in net new assets. But given Merrill's relationship with Bank of America, "We can do better."

Deal structure, transition plans and dog and pony shows represent only a few of the thorny difficulties involved with branching into an acquisition strategy, experts say.

Big aggregators could feel the heat if private equity continues to fund $500M to $1B-AUM firms.

Scott Posner, who's in charge of advisor and institutional recruitment as LPL's business development head, on why LPL leads in advisor "capture" at a time when fewer teams are switching firms.

In an ever-expanding and constantly shifting profession marked by messy but important debates, can one of the field's most important organizations keep up with the times?

LPL CEO Rich Steinmeier said the firm is nearing its goals for retaining Commonwealth Financial Network's assets and advisors, freeing up internal recruiters to bring in advisors from other firms.

Wells Fargo pulls $722M in AUM from Merrill while Osaic adds a $540M team from Primerica (but gets sued); Stifel sells independent unit, and First Clearing names new head.

Unpopular compensation changes at UBS continue to drive advisor attrition, costing the firm billions in client assets. But despite the outflows, executives say the new policy is helping improve UBS' profits.

Resources and personal connections offer significant advantages. But financial advisors and other experts say they only get new RIAs part of the way.

Larry Sprung wasn't looking for love (authors), but he wound up finding a great set of clients.

The choice of buyer and the price get the most attention, but a possible merger of equals and the technology side of the transition could loom large in the strategy.

The Swiss wealth management giant says many of its U.S. clients now "largely rely on other banks for their everyday banking needs."

Wells Fargo also pulls from Merrill and Raymond James again from Commonwealth, while AlphaCore buys up a big RIA and the FPA gets a new CEO.

Industry compliance experts say there are few more complicated decisions than knowing when to leave a firm and start your own advisory practice. The government shutdown is making it worse.

Much like deciding the right client headcount, choosing whether to fire a customer or turn away new business represents an important step in a firm's development.

Dynasty Financial Partners' investment bank joins Diamond Consultants to help departing teams vet transition options, whether that's joining another wirehouse, selling to an RIA aggregator or starting their own business.