Economy

Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith turns 100 today. At least, she would have, if she was a standalone entity, and not a government-rescued Too Big to Fail entity, forced into a shotgun wedding with Bank of America.

The Family Office Exchange's newly published Guide to the Professional Family Office offers time-tested recommendations to help wealthy families maintain their fortunes.

The pair, who managed more than $146 million in client assets, joined Raymond James with a practice named Stonegate Financial.

A 25-year-old divorce workshop founded and run by two planners in San Diego has received funding from a former attendee to enhance its website, with an eye to going national.

Banks that want to expand via M&A will face a special challenge in 2014. The failed-bank market has quieted, but regulatory costs and other factors that are expected to drive open-bank M&A haven't coalesced quite yet, says bank M&A advisor Randy Dennis.

Investors paid the most in a year this month to hedge against swings in U.S. financial shares amid speculation that increased regulation and a reduction in Federal Reserve stimulus will hurt revenue.

Deutsche Bank AG will pay $1.9 billion to settle claims that it didn’t provide adequate disclosure about mortgage-backed securities sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Lawmakers this week called on FINRA to explain its policies for expunging investor complaints about brokers from the public record, suggesting that the industry regulator should revisit the extent to which information is removed from the BrokerCheck database.

The portfolio management tool has been a key selling point as the rapidly growing tax-focused independent broker-dealer continues to attract tax specialists to its network of nearly 5,000 advisors.

LPL Financial is promoting one of its own. Bill Chetney is slated to become president of LPL Retirement Partners, where he currently serves as executive vice president.

The New York-based platform outsourcer and service provider for large wealth management firms is beefing up its business development team, vowing to become much more aggressive in going after new clients.

UBS AG, the world’s largest wealth manager, said clients are shifting money to be managed directly by the bank or pay for advice in a reversal of previous outflows after it revamped services to boost profitability.

Puerto Rico came under increased pressure to issue bonds in coming months to prove it can still access capital, as Moody's Investors Service put $52 billion of the island's debt under review for a downgrade to junk status.

Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch agreed to pay about $131 million to settle U.S. regulatory claims it failed to tell investors that hedge fund Magnetar Capital had a role in selecting assets for two 2006 mortgage-backed securities.

Former U.S. Senator Judd Gregg is stepping down as the head of Wall Street’s biggest lobbying group, according to people briefed on the discussions.

The enhanced site allows advisors to alter certain components of their profiles at will -- though not their disciplinary history.

A big LPL practice with $3.7 billion in assets under management is picking up a $300 million Chicago-area firm.

Even as the SEC is contemplating an expansion of fiduciary rules to include broker-dealers who operate in the retail space, some advocates argue that the regulatory interpretation of the responsibilities under a fiduciary standard has strayed from common-law precedent and become dangerously diluted.

Advisors who add corporate services such as deferred compensation, executive benefit programs and defined contribution or benefit plans to their menu of services, serve business owners and executives better. They also differentiate themselves and boost revenue.

Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch brokerage won final court approval of a $160 million settlement of a lawsuit in which it was accused of denying black financial advisers the same opportunities as their white counterparts.