RIAs

Ex-commanders take new jobs as load-pushing 'advisors.' No wonder service members get victimized.

Among many troops who take their own lives, financial stress is a major contributing factor.

'The single most important driver of value by far is growth,' says Dan Seivert, CEO of Echelon Partners.

Merrill Lynch has scooped up two advisors with $3 billion in assets under management from rival wirehouse giants UBS and Deutsche Bank.

The value of advisory firms is now being driven by growth, cash flow and risks, says investment banker and consultant David DeVoe.

The Cypress Group, a former Morgan Stanley team that managed about $740 million in assets, has left the wirehouse to join Integrated Wealth Management.

With nearly $400 million in assets, the trio will bring their new firm's assets to roughly $1.3 billion.

In a court filing, the CFP Board says it has logged more than 2,000 hours of legal work in a lawsuit by two Florida planners.

Independent planners can not win a battle against Wall Street unless they find a way to defeat well-funded lobbyists in the industry.

'Mariner is a well-organized and well capitalized growth company,' says John Furey, principal of Advisor Growth Strategies. 'The pace of growth is best in class and I expect it to continue.'