RIAs

To attract more independent advisors, HighTower has introduced two new options, the HighTower Network and the HighTower Alliance. Elliott Weissbluth, the company's CEO, said by adding these channels, HighTower will be able to attract advisors who prefer to continue to own their own practices rather than joining a partnership.

LearnVest, a financial management website built as an electronic financial advisor for mass market investors, will announce Tuesday morning it is now a registered investment advisor and will be hiring more advisors in the coming months.

JHS Capital Advisors, a Tampa, Fla., registered investment advisor, announced Monday that it has hired Tim Forsman as a senior vice president of fixed income investments.

Meg Green & Associates, a South Florida RIA with $650 million in client assets, is switching its custody platform to Birmingham-based Sterne, Agee & Leach.

Independent planning firm RMR Wealth Builders of Teaneck, N.J., has left its long-time independent broker-dealer, the Cetera company, for Innovation Equity Partners Financial in Tampa, Fla.

With 478 advisors in 40 states, Independent Financial Partners is LPL's largest branch, but the Tampa, Fla., based firm certainly won't rest on those laurels. Currently, less than a dozen IFP advisors are fee-only, according to William Hamm Jr., the company's CEO, but that is about to change.

The Los Angeles-based RIA has hired new managing directors for client and business development.

The Coral Gables, Fla., based wealth manager continued it expansion by adding an advisors with 20 years of experience in investments and relationship management in the United States and Latin America.

The agency's order initiating administrative proceedings alleges that Noah Myers, president of MiddleCove Capital, netted "ill-gotten gains" of about $460,000, while his clients lost more than $2 million from around October 2008 through February 2011, when an employee threatened to report the activity to the SEC.

John Cartolano and his Scottsdale, Ariz., based team at NetVest Financial have joined Ameriprise from LPL, bringing with them $200 million in assets under management.