Economy

The new AIG Advisor Group system will allow its advisors’ clients to select a trusted family member or friend to help them make smarter financial decisions, explains Larry Roth, president and CEO of AIG’s Advisor Group, one of the largest networks of independent broker-dealers in the country.

FINRA fined Merrill $1.05 million and ordered the firm to pay more than $323,000 in restitution for over 12,000 trades executed on its ML BondMarket platform.

Goldman Sachs reported earnings that topped analysts’ estimates on a 63% gain in revenue from underwriting stocks and bonds.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. set aside $4.34 billion to pay employees in the first quarter, about 1 percent less than a year earlier, as the firm employed 400 fewer people.

Small businesses are more likely to comply with the tax laws if they are in certain communities in the country and if they have more trust in their tax preparer, according to a report by the Taxpayer Advocate Service.

In the first quarter of 2013, wealth and investment services generated $7.8 million in revenue, up 7% from a year ago.

Complexity and inconsistency within the tax code continue to be a major problem for small businesses, with one out of four small businesses reporting that they need to spend 120 hours or more per year on the administration of federal taxes, or three full work weeks, according to a new survey.

Edward Jones uses “questionable telemarketing” tactics to recruit customers, according to New Hampshire regulators.

RBC Wealth Management added a branch manager with three decades of experience to its Denver Tech office.

Envestnet announced Friday it has entered into a definitive agreement to buy the wealth management solutions arm of Prudential Investments in an effort to increase scale.

After the successful completion of the Morgan Keegan technology integration, the firm is eliminating 160 positions due to overlap in the information technology segment.

The appointment should help enhance equities research offerings for the Private Client Group, the firm said.

The burgeoning influence of financial advisors in the United States was a repeated observation at this year's Tiburon CEO Summit at New York City's Ritz Carlton in Battery Park. Here are 11 themes we heard at the two-day event encompassing 200-plus executives and advisors.

Licensed branch employees represent a significant opportunity that many banks have not tapped to its full potential, according to LPL's Rob Comfort.

Royal Alliance is adding wealth management firm JLTD Advisors of Chicago and Integrated Financial Group of Salt Lake City to its hybrid platform.

Advisors rule the financial services industry for now -- but keep an eye on direct-channel “self-serve” distribution, Chip Roame said Tuesday at his firm's semiannual CEO Summit.

Company employees will head into the field next week to woo about 850 advisors from two broker-dealers that Cetera intends to acquire from insurer MetLife, says Cetera Financial Group CEO Valerie Brown.

In its continued push for another year of growth, JHS Capital advisors has expanded its Pacific Northwest presence.

LPL Financial announced Tuesday that Ryan C. Parker has joined the firm as executive vice president of investment and planning solutions.

The country’s largest RIA aggregator, Focus Financial, is hiring away an architect of one of the industry’s most successful breakaway stories.