Broker dealers

Dueling announcements Friday show that UBS is still struggling with advisor retention even as it brings in a new executive to oversee its recruiting efforts.

RBC pulls $1.2B and $705M teams from rivals, Merrill gets a $420M duo, and several large M&A deals close.

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.

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.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is probing broker-dealer firms involved in taking small foreign companies public, the latest effort by a regulator to crack down on pump-and-dump schemes.

A Cerulli report puts numbers to the channel's transformation. We have resources for advisors who want to better understand the space.

The up-and-coming IBD Arkadios recruits an entire Morgan Stanley team and a significant share of Merrill's headcount in Dothan, Alabama.

Chuck Roberts, whose recommendations of structured notes landed the St. Louis firm a nearly $133 million arbitration award, was kicked out of the industry after ceasing to cooperate with a regulatory investigation.

LPL says its elimination of positions at Atria Wealth Solutions was always part of its plan to acquire the firm, drawing a sharp distinction with what it's doing with Commonwealth Financial Network.

Patrick Funke & Associates' decision to join Commonwealth Financial Network suggests that despite its pending purchase by LPL, Commonwealth still appeals to advisors seeking a smaller setting.

Jamie Price of Osaic says attrition at his firm was below expectations during its recent internal consolidation of nine separate brokerages and that not having a self-clearing and self-custody business is an advantage these days.

An advisory panel has recommended changes that would bring arbitration rules for RIAs into line with those now governing FINRA proceedings for broker-dealers. The proposal still has to get through the SEC.

State regulators accused LPL Financial, Edward Jones, Stifel, RBC and TD Ameritrade of charging their clients unreasonably high and unfair commissions on 1.12 million equity trades over a five-year period.

Industry experts say there's theoretically no reason why firms can't keep getting bigger through recruiting deals. But a lack of good M&A prospects could make growth harder for LPL and other independent broker-dealers.

Investor advocates and others worry that recent changes to who can serve on FINRA panels will exclude arbitrators most likely to be sympathetic to ordinary investors.

The decision comes as a victory for FINRA in a series of legal assaults meant to undercut the authority of self-regulatory organizations.

The broker-dealer alleged that a FINRA arbitration panelist who helped hand down the landmark penalty should have recused herself after reaching a similar conclusion in a case involving the same embattled broker.

Industry groups argue a new rule under consideration would give brokerage firms new oversight responsibilities over unaffiliated RIAs — a contention FINRA denies.

In an earnings call, LPL's CEO said his efforts to woo Commonwealth advisors have extended to a "rain-soaked" bike ride and wine-tasting tour.

Industry trackers see Raymond James' proposal to buy minority stakes in its independent affiliates as a good way to reinvest while also warding off outside competition.