Independent BDs

Brad Bueermann of FP Transitions says you should go with the right fit when buying or selling an advisory business.

"One thing we can tell you is our opposition was there before us," says FPA's director of advocacy. "We heard over and over again the argument that if a fiduciary standard were extended to broker-dealers the middle market would be hurt."

The broker-dealer giant has acquired a 51% interest in electronic services firm Docupace Technologies.

"Any effort to put broker-dealers and advisors into the same box is probably not going to work," says a former deputy director of the SEC's Division of Investment Management.

Sales and advice should be separated by law, because there’s a clear difference between true "fiduciary" practices and those of the brokerage industry, Fiduciary Institute says.

These independent broker-dealers have the highest percentages of female representatives. What are they doing differently?

These firms have the highest percentage of female reps. What are they doing differently?

FINRA has promoted one of its own to head the regulator's disciplinary unit, but still has no replacement for Linda Fienberg's other role as head of arbitrations.

The financial services sector as a whole is chasing short-term gains and in the process saddling investors with the costs of higher trading volumes and often not acting in their best interests, says Vanguard founder John Bogle.

Regulators have been clamping down on auditors of broker-dealers in recent years in response to the lack of meaningful audits of Bernard Madoff’s investment firm and other scandals uncovered during the financial crisis.

A new research paper identifies several elements tied to the most satisfied dealmakers. See the takeaways for advisors.

Wirehouse advisors managing more than $1.1 billion in assets have moved over to Wells Fargo.

In a two-week period, Ameriprise has recruited five advisors managing more than $600 million.

For advisors looking to break out of wirehouses, legacy firms or banks, going independent doesn’t necessarily mean they have to go it alone.

HighTower recruited a Merrill Lynch advisor team managing $440 million in assets.

If you're not focusing your time and attention on the people who add the most value to your firm, you're getting it wrong.

Firm switches to LPL to help it attract "overlooked" wirehouse advisors with $250,000 or more in revenues.

The St. Petersburg, Fla.-based firm's independent broker/dealer has recruited veteran advisors James L. Switzer and Eric M. Cobb from Morgan Stanley.

A set of mid-1990s recommendations aimed to reform Wall Street's culture. They didn't, however -- and the real losers were investors.

Several factors are pressuring margins for everyone in planning, says LPL Financial's Bill Morrissey.