RIAs

Advisors will be expected to keep records about the content they post on social sites just as they do with other materials on traditional channels, according to a senior commission attorney.

The once fast-growing firm leaves LPL after a year and a half, hoping NFP's deep pockets will help it attract other advisors.

Financial advisors who use active management may have a lower-cost option when considering actively managed ETFs – but some advisors express doubts on the real value for clients.

SEC examiners frequently cite firms for insufficient disclosures, an SEC official says. Here are some of the most common conflicts that advisors fail to disclose adequately to their clients.

Cybersecurity is an area of growing SEC concern and examiners will increasingly be expecting RIAs of all sizes to have in place more robust policies and procedures to deal with the growing threats to their information systems.

Advisors and clients are gravitating toward the RIA model -- a trend that experts expect to continue.

The commission is committed to moving forward on a uniform fiduciary standard for advisors and broker-dealers and also expects to finalize money market reforms by the end of the year.

LPL Financial says the pace of new advisors affiliating with the firm has slowed from the levels of late 2013 "in part due to disruptive weather."

In particular, the commission is looking for cases when advisors trade on behalf of clients without written disclosure and consent, or fail to process a trade on the most favorable terms for their clients, says an enforcement division co-chief.

The advisor groups advocating for SEC vs. FINRA oversight of the RIA sector are turning their lobbying efforts away from the House.