Independent advisors

The standard-setting group is mulling increasing continuing education requirements and requiring that CFP aspirants have certain types of financial planning-related experiences, among other changes.

The rival firms will pay for a forensic consultant to preserve evidence of transferred confidential data while they await FINRA arbitration.

Critics of mandatory arbitration say it can go against investment advisors' fiduciary duty to always do what's best for clients.

Wealth Enhancement Group is the second large OSJ to go separate ways from LPL, following Merit Financial Advisors

Consolidation may be a prevailing industry trend. But the founders of a Chicago-based RIA see no reason to join a large aggregator.

The regulators' organization is also seeking to let state regulators enforce the same Reg BI conduct standard that federal watchdogs now apply to broker-dealers.

The sale could see up to 50 advisors move to Stifel but doesn't involve B. Riley's 190 independent wealth managers.

Despite most clients expecting holistic planning services, many advisors still don't provide them. And those who do are far from agreeing on how to best charge for them.

CEO Paul Reilly said that even if the firm is recruiting fewer advisors, the books of business it is bringing on are growing only larger.

The Chicago-based RIA giant is taking majority ownership in NEPC, a firm offering institutional research and new investing opportunities.

The industry watchdog continues its recently adopted practice of giving firms monthslong advance warning of its examination priorities before the start of the new year.

Jim Cahn of WEG says there will always be room for small RIAs. But firms intent on growth will increasingly have to turn to larger partners for help with estate and tax planning, back-office support, and marketing and client referrals.

The private equity-backed firm's acquisition of Levy Wealth, with its more than $1 billion under management, falls in line with the trends driving industry consolidation.

Industry groups see the new AML requirements as unnecessarily redundant and burdensome on small firms.

One of the most successful recruiting firms in recent years, LPL again finds happy hunting grounds at its rival giant in the independent brokerage channel.

The new rule comes after advisors had expressed concerns about personal safety and data privacy.

Regulators have been working their way steadily down from the biggest players in the industry to regional firms in their quest to stamp out abuses of "off-channel" communications.

Recent years have taken the shine off of fixed income, both as a portfolio diversifier and a way to boost total returns. The prospect of falling rates next month promises to reverse that.

The wealth management giant questions if there has ever been so large a civil sanction handed down in response to "negligent mistakes" made in an attempt to comply with "unwritten rules."

Financial planners have had to field plenty of questions about why they weren't more aggressively chasing returns. With the market correction, they now have a chance to show the benefits of a diversified strategy.