Independent BDs

The damage from Massachusetts’ latest action against sales of non-traded REITS by independent broker-dealers may not be fatal, but it should cause firms to reconsider their sales strategies, say industry observers.

The firm completed a round of financing and added two new directors to focus on recruitment.

The Securities America move underscored the intensity with which advisory firms are competing for talent, executive search experts said.

Independent broker-dealers and RIAs have the edge over wirehouses when it comes to adding mutual fund assets under management, according to Access Data and Strategic Insight.

LPL Financial added Ingham Retirement Group to its broker-dealer and RIA custodial platforms.

Dynasty Financial Partners is crossing the border and headed north.

The practices, in Mercer Island, Wash., and Lynnwood, Wash., have a combined $549 million in assets under management.

For the first time in the fast-growing company’s history, LPL has posted nearly $1 billion dollars in net quarterly revenue.

Revenue and assets increased year-over-year as the firm began to streamline operations after the Morgan Keegan integration in February.

In 2011, 44% of brokers who left wirehouses landed at independent firms, but every broker has an array of options when it comes to independence.

Previewing an address Thursday that he's set to deliver to the 1,600 advisors attending the firm's annual conference, CEO Paul Reilly said that Raymond James Financial will continue to have “a big focus” on technology and training going forward. He also discusses how acquisition may (or may not) factor into the company's agenda.

Succession planning, regulatory and technological issues will be the main focus for Raymond James Financial Services over the next year, according to Scott Curtis, the firm's president.

Hundreds of employees of the country’s fourth-largest independent broker-dealer were directed to head to the firm’s emergency backup office outside of Boston Friday morning as law enforcement officials announced a citywide lockdown.

IronGate, the largest independent wealth advisory firms in Wilmington N.C., opened its doors in 2005, and has a team of 14 advisors managing $200 million in assets.

An enforcement action from the Securities & Exchange Commission is a timely reminder to advisors to disclose any financial benefits their firm may receive from the broker-dealer it recommends to clients.

The new AIG Advisor Group system will allow its advisors’ clients to select a trusted family member or friend to help them make smarter financial decisions, explains Larry Roth, president and CEO of AIG’s Advisor Group, one of the largest networks of independent broker-dealers in the country.

Envestnet announced Friday it has entered into a definitive agreement to buy the wealth management solutions arm of Prudential Investments in an effort to increase scale.

Licensed branch employees represent a significant opportunity that many banks have not tapped to its full potential, according to LPL's Rob Comfort.

Royal Alliance is adding wealth management firm JLTD Advisors of Chicago and Integrated Financial Group of Salt Lake City to its hybrid platform.

Company employees will head into the field next week to woo about 850 advisors from two broker-dealers that Cetera intends to acquire from insurer MetLife, says Cetera Financial Group CEO Valerie Brown.