Independent BDs

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.

LPL Financial announced Tuesday that Ryan C. Parker has joined the firm as executive vice president of investment and planning solutions.

The country’s largest RIA aggregator, Focus Financial, is hiring away an architect of one of the industry’s most successful breakaway stories.

Cetera Financial Group is growing again. The broker-dealer network has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Tower Square Securities and Walnut Street Securities from MetLife.

Baldwin Brothers, a Massachusetts-based wealth management firm and family office with $1 billion AUM, launches sustainable wealth management platform, Arjuna Capital.

Dynasty Financial Partners, the fast-growing outsourcing provider for high-end wealth managers and breakaway brokers, is expanding its reach in the Midwest.

What do former president George W. Bush, country songwriter Pat Green, four days of advisor-focused panels, and a dance party have in common? They are all aspects of Raymond James' 2013 national conference.

Aquiline Capital Partners and Genstar Capital, two private equity firms, are set to Acquire Genworth Wealth Management for $412.5 million.

Barnaby Grist, Cetera’s executive vice president of wealth management and a high-profile hire from Charles Schwab in 2010, is stepping down to care for his parents in England and his wife’s parents on the East Coast, says a spokeswoman for the broker-dealer network.

Dallas should be a dream market for independent advisors. But unlike the San Francisco, it has not been as hospitable to independent wealth management firms.

Waddell & Reed has hired five new advisors, adding about 1,000 new household clients to the firm.