Economy

Banks are trying to catch up with the amenity-rich offices of tech firms.

Especially for couples in which one spouse retires early, savvy planning can translate into thousands of dollars in Social Security benefits.

After a reboot in its tech strategy, the RIA custodian is “redesigning every aspect of the advisor experience,” it says.

The largest increases came from the only firms in the sector reporting jumps of at least 20% or more in 2018.

The recruits include a 37-year industry veteran who co-managed $240 million in client assets.

The firm agreed to “remove language that formed the basis of the alleged misrepresentations."

The regional BD has maintained a steady influx of wirehouse advisors.

Listening to a customer service call produced a big surprise. It also showed how firms can take one position to fight complaints in private, but another in public.

Judging by day one on social media, you’d think the new Truist brand was a flop. But marketing and branding experts say the name has a lot going for it. What matters most will be how the two banks advocate for the name.

The firm hopes to follow advisors' lead on what's best for their business in its outsourced advisory models, says CIO Burt White.

The firm said this is the first of several new teams it plans to add this summer.

The combined company will be known as Truist, which plays off “trust,” a word the banks’ original names had in common.

“When we think about these offerings, there are no hard lines that are drawn here,” said Merrill Lynch boss Andy Sieg.

Bonds were sold to build a development with a water park and Venice-style bridges. Now a Florida community is going bankrupt.

Brokers “have become accustomed to this kind of deal structure,” COO Ed Swenson says.

The private equity-backed parent now spans four independent broker-dealers with nearly 2,000 advisors and $65 billion in client assets.

"The more objective you can make things, the better it will be," an expert says.

The firm is “looking to aggressively compete” by lowering and simplifying the fees on its advisory platforms, a top executive says.

Mainstays of the sector like Commonwealth, Cambridge and Northwestern Mutual are contributing to it, but smaller firms are also driving change.

The rule can create significant tax savings, but in unskilled hands it can just shift the burden elsewhere.