Economy

An arbitration panel has ordered Wells Fargo to pay Stifel $800,000 in the latest dispute over alleged raiding of former A.G. Edwards advisors.

The unit added about $3 billion in fee-based assets over the past few years, with sales going up about 74%.

Wells Fargo now gets a third of its fee revenue from its relatively small investment-management and brokerage businesses. Executive David Carroll explains how Wells is getting more business from its wealthy — but not too wealthy — customers and is seeking acquisitions in this market.

Previewing an address Thursday that he's set to deliver to the 1,600 advisors attending the firm's annual conference, CEO Paul Reilly said that Raymond James Financial will continue to have “a big focus” on technology and training going forward. He also discusses how acquisition may (or may not) factor into the company's agenda.

The majority of Wells Fargo’s hires hail from Morgan Stanley, while one advisor joins from Edward Jones.

Stifel has snapped up 11 former Wells Fargo advisors with more than $1 billion in assets.

Credit Suisse Group AG will probably post higher profit than UBS AG for a fourth straight quarter when the largest Swiss banks report results over the next week.

The Goldman Sachs Multi-Manager Alternatives Fund is starting to take shape as it nears its launch.

After a strong end to 2012, the firm’s wealth management division continues to push ahead in 2013.

Succession planning, regulatory and technological issues will be the main focus for Raymond James Financial Services over the next year, according to Scott Curtis, the firm's president.

After a $210 million sale, Atlantic Trust appears to be headed into high gear.

Hundreds of employees of the country’s fourth-largest independent broker-dealer were directed to head to the firm’s emergency backup office outside of Boston Friday morning as law enforcement officials announced a citywide lockdown.

Piper Jaffray announced Wednesday that it will acquire Seattle-Northwest Securities, pending shareholder approval at Seattle-Northwest. The deal is expect to close in the second half of 2013.

Contango Capital Advisors is shooting for growth in AUM of up to 10 times within five to seven years, while also increasing profitability.

IronGate, the largest independent wealth advisory firms in Wilmington N.C., opened its doors in 2005, and has a team of 14 advisors managing $200 million in assets.

Morgan Stanley reported profit that beat analysts’ estimates as pretax earnings from its retail brokerage, the world’s largest, rose to a record.

Martim de Arantes Oliveira will be responsible for driving the growth of Ascent’s new office, which will open this summer.

Bank of America’s wealth management division achieved record post-merger revenue, net income and AUM inflows.

“The success of the wealth-management business is fundamental to where the stock goes over the next five years,” said Christopher Wheeler, a London-based analyst with Mediobanca SpA, who has a neutral recommendation on UBS shares. “It’s the core business, and a number of other businesses feed off it, not the least asset management.”

An enforcement action from the Securities & Exchange Commission is a timely reminder to advisors to disclose any financial benefits their firm may receive from the broker-dealer it recommends to clients.