Economy

Whitnell & Co. changed hands in a deal with a regional bank that also struck a strategic partnership with the wealth manager.

The firm credited keeping its offices open during COVID-19 as a major selling point as FAs industrywide kept making moves and repapering their clients.

The IBD completed a stellar recruiting year by adding a team led by a 30-year veteran advisor.

“The expectation of sustained volatility in the medium term has re-invigorated hedge fund appeal,” BlackRock and Juniper Place said in their report.

The firm’s use of third-party compliance vendors came under scrutiny after an ex-rep pleaded guilty to bilking clients out of $5 million.

The private equity-backed RIA agreed to purchase its first firm of the year after being one of the most active acquirers in 2020.

In the first wave of cases under the regulator’s self-reporting initiative, it garnered more than $2.7 million in payments of restitution plus interest.

SEC cases that go beyond faulting firms for their failure to disclose conflicts of interest have drawn pushback from the industry.

The biggest losses this year came from sectors that suffered the most in lockdown.

The wealth manager whose parent firm also owns an insurer and asset manager settled its third case involving the same time period.

The allegations involving 12b-1 fees, cash sweeps and commissions also include violations of best execution rules.

Despite pledges, the IBD network didn’t collect enough data for suitability reviews of the outside transaction for more than five years, according to the regulator.

Join Jim McKelvey, co-founder of Square as he offers his insights into where the Fintech industry is headed next year. Will a Biden administration insist on greater regulation? What will happen in the cryptocurrency markets? What will be the big IPOs in the sector? Will GooglePlex make a big splash? What new technologies or applications should we be expecting?

The new additions join a set of big hires at the wirehouse.

The UHNW unit signed advisors managing a combined $3.7 billion this year and committed to maintaining a physical presence in its New York headquarters.

LPL Financial and indie rivals like Raymond James, Wells Fargo FiNet and Kestra Financial completed at least 17 recruiting grabs of $800 million or more this year.

Like its largest rivals, the wirehouse kept grids at par after a tumultuous 2020.

They're among a handful of companies willing to hold clients' digital assets for safekeeping. Many of their peers balk at the reputational and financial risks.

With 350 firms on its client roster, the acquisition of Flourish gives the insurer a springboard into the independent advisor market.

It’s the second-biggest hire of the year for the wirehouse.