Economy

Vishal Bakshi moved to Merrill Lynch’s Private Banking and Investment Group in New York after managing more than $1 billion in client assets at Credit Suisse.

The firm picked up a 32-year industry veteran in Rochester, N.Y.

In college, Jeff Dobyns spent four hot, humid summers selling books door-to-door in the rural southeast for Southwestern Co. After graduating, he and his colleagues dove into the financial services sector—a career with air conditioning.

As an advisor in San Diego in the early 2000s, Joseph DeFalco's business was doing well. He had built a strong client base, but the office itself was in trouble. Turnover in management had reduced headcount so that by his sixth year the branch consisted of just him and one other advisor. The office was about to be closed in 2006 when they handed DeFalco the keys. "Now we look back and laugh at it, but it definitely wasn't easy," he says.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. hired Travis Machen from Morgan Stanley to run corporate banking for hedge funds, money managers and other mid-sized financial firms.

Baird has snapped up an advisor with $200 million in AUM from William Blair, an employee-owned brokerage in Chicago.

Financial Planning unveils its annual list of the largest independent broker-dealers in June. As a sneak peek, here's a list of the 10 top IBDs including networks.

U.S. Wealth Management, an independent network of wealth managers, has added two financial advisory practices to its platform, expanding its total recruited advisory and brokerage client assets.

UBS AG’s Chief Financial Officer Tom Naratil will meet next week with Knight Vinke Asset Management LLC, an investor that called for a spinoff of the lender’s investment bank, two people familiar with the matter said.

Before Dom Starsia talks about national titles, he unfolds a two-foot-wide spreadsheet that gives University of Virginia recruits a look at life after lacrosse.

Ken deRegt, a Morgan Stanley veteran called on to revamp risk-management and the fixed-income trading business after returning in February 2008, is leaving again to join investment firm Canarsie Capital Group.

Financial Planning unveils its annual list of the largest independent broker-dealers in June. As a sneak peek, here's a list of the 10 top IBDs ranked by high-end accounts -- as measured by the percentage of accounts with more than $100,000 -- and including their overall industry position.

Wells Fargo added a former Edward Jones advisor in Hudson, Ohio.

In a deal that could almost double its total revenue, J.W. Cole Financial, a Tampa, Fla., independent broker-dealer, announced Wednesday that it completed its acquisition of Financial Advisers of America.

The damage from Massachusetts’ latest action against sales of non-traded REITS by independent broker-dealers may not be fatal, but it should cause firms to reconsider their sales strategies, say industry observers.

Boutique and hybrid models are poised for growth as larger firms cede market share, according to a new Cerulli report

RBC Wealth Management picked up a former Morgan Stanley broker with $65 million in assets.

"I think to just look at numbers on Wall Street and say, 'It looks like it's struggling' -- it's contracting in a very healthy way," said fomer Morgan Stanly Executive Bob Auer. "It's almost like a big fat guy that is losing weight. To say, 'Oh, he's just not the same guy…' No -- he's getting healthier and better."

The firm completed a round of financing and added two new directors to focus on recruitment.

Janney has picked up a former Morgan Stanley duo with over $1.5 million in production.