Independent advisors

Many advisors have clients who took out the forgivable loans. Some wealth management firms did the same. Three years after the government doled out more than $800 billion in mostly-free cash, here's what's happening.

The regulator's latest staff bulletin also calls on planners at hybrid firms to always be clear about if they're wearing their broker or advisor hat.

In letters to the FTC, financial planners contend that noncompetition and nonsolicitation provisions can leave them 'handcuffed' to bad firms.

The sale of $15 billion Grove Point Financial comes as smaller broker-dealers confront market headwinds.

Investor advocates argue that Massachusetts was within its right to hold broker-dealers to a higher standard.

Researchers find that performance expectations are highest among people who invest in environmental, social and governance causes for moral reasons.

The revisions come two weeks after the broker-dealer regulator made changes to a rule to loosen in-house inspection requirements for residential offices.

In setting up a breakaway firm, a group of advisors tried not to step over lines when recruiting colleagues and clients. But a lawsuit argues they still went too far.

The line between independent firms and wirehouses is beginning to blur, causing advisors to rethink their options, writes recruiter Louis Diamond.

Giving serious thought to plan benefits and costs early on will attract top talent and establish a workplace where employees know their personal well-being is valued.