Economy

Custodians try different strategies for growth as advisors break away to join RIA firms.

Bank and broker-dealer affiliations help RIAs bear the technology and compliance costs of growth, but can chip away at objectivity.

With fiduciary advisors taking market share from the brokerage firms, will FINRA exact payback? Here's a glimpse of what may come.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said lawmakers in Congress are “very, very close” to a deal to avert $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts set to start at midnight.

Advisors naively believe that only 17% of their clients hold a direct account when in fact 74% do, according to a new report from Boston-based research firm Cerulli Associates.

As the calendar turns the page to another year, 2013 offers the four largest U.S. wealth management businesses the opportunity to recapture some of the assets and talent they have been ceding to other firms.

Allen Saunders went from pet food distributor to UBS financial advisor to number 36 on On Wall Street’s 2012 list.

This year was a “slower year than many expected,” in terms of financial advisors departing major firms for other pastures, according to Chip Roame, the managing partner at Tiburon Strategic Advisors. “I believe 2013 may be slower, too,” he says.

If there is one sentiment that fiscal policy debates in Washington have taught investors not to expect over the years, it’s optimism, according to the chief market strategist at LPL. Time and again, we have seen our politicians respond to serious questions on the future of our nation’s economy by kicking the can down the road, or worse. Could it be different this time around for 2013?

Small and mid-sized firms look to maintain momentum from 2012 by offering more services and leveraging social media.

Wells Fargo financial advisor John Handley, number 37 on On Wall Street’s list, remembers getting that very first client and the cadre of business relationships he’s had for years.

“My number one objective is to grow revenues from the private bank and help to make it an even greater contributor to the growth of Webster Bank,” said Daniel FitzPatrick, the new head of the business.

For Pedro Marti, who nabs the number 38 slot on On Wall Street’s 2012 list, serving as a financial advisor at Wells Fargo is the perfect blend of financial analysis and personal interaction.

Celebrating its two-year anniversary with an announcement of its 11-figure status, New York-based Dynasty Financial Partners aims to separate itself from the myriad of firms offering services to registered investment advisors.

Wells Fargo financial advisor Matthew Fryar, who ranks number 39 on On Wall Street’s 2012 list, says providing personalized services has meant a heavy emphasis on looming tax changes.

With over 1,000 broker-dealers to choose from, how does an advisor navigate the choices, know where to go, and know where to be looking in the first place?

For employees at the biggest Wall Street banks, 2012 brought a humbling post-crisis reality of job cuts, lower pay and tarnished reputations. For investors, it was a happier story.

Barclays has brought on directors in New York and San Francisco.

In a round of fall hiring, the firm added eight advisors with a total of $6.4 million in production.

Three industry veterans with 80 years combined experience have joined Raymond James in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.