RIAs

Berger Financial Group plans to more than double its footprint and staff, and Investcorp is looking at more opportunities beyond supporting Berger in the "untapped" wealth space.

Although many advisors choose to leave Wall Street mainstays in favor of firms offering greater independence, some find they're still most at home at another wirehouse. Just ask Todd Hatfield.

RIA owners may feel a "moral dilemma" when considering selling their firms to private equity-backed acquirers. But that didn't prevent PE involvement from reaching a record high in M&A deals in the second quarter.

SEC data compiled by Paithos Research suggests that the massive growth of RIAs looks much different when compared to their small net new clients.

The Swiss banking giant sees its net new assets fall off again, largely owing to tax withdrawals, CEO Sergio Ermotti said. But ongoing advisor departures are also a culprit.

Research from Cerulli Associates indicates that marketing and referrals are the best ways to bring in new clients. Yet few firms devote much time or money to either.

At Diversified Trust, the former CEOs aren't a problem. They're part of a strategic leadership change.

SEI may not be the first firm that comes to mind when thinking about the industry's custodians, but the firm has built a substantial client base of financial advisors over more than 30 years.

Schwab directly or indirectly manages only 2% of the $37 trillion in U.S. wealth that could be in the hands of advisors, according to CEO Rick Wurster. The size of the opportunity means there is no need to compete with the firm's RIA clients.