Independent BDs

One of the largest wealth managers aims to attract more teams out of the crop of nearly 7,000 advisors leaving employee-channel firms each year.

Arete Wealth’s niche focus on alts for HNW and UHNW clients has given it a strong foothold in a fractured sector, experts say.

SA Stone Wealth Management representative Gregory Frank Estes had already registered as a sex offender after a 2002 conviction, records show.

Firms affiliated with the broker-dealer can access the software for free through AdviceWorks.

The founding partners of the 300-advisor OSJ will remain in their current roles for three years under the same structure as before the deal.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

It’s one of the largest teams to quit a wirehouse this year.

Regulatory shifts, M&A, new technology — there’s a lot on the horizon for the industry.

The OSJ scooped up teams from Edward Jones, Wells Fargo Advisors and Wedbush Securities.

The latest deal by a wealth manager for an employee services firm enables the Raymond James Private Client Group to expand its reach.

Waddell & Reed had been working in recent years to transform its “proprietary broker-dealer into a fully competitive independent wealth manager.”

Funding is getting tighter as advisors look towards marketing automation as an engine for growth.

The Boston-based boutique oversees the assets of roughly 140 full- service clients and 800 individual households.

As part of a two-step deal involving Australian investment bank Macquarie Group, LPL will pick up 900 advisors and $63 billion in assets.