Bank consolidation has been stagnant since the pandemic hit, and the outlook for the rest of the year is bleak.

The deal would pair plan sponsors on Empower’s platform with the hybrid robo advisor’s technology and advice capabilities.

LPL has reeled in about half of the reps changing their BDs so far this year, but the full RIA channel is also reaping big gains. Plus, other news in the indie space.

The firm, which has nearly tripled in size in the last year, says it continues to seek out acquisition targets.

The deals come as millions of baby boomers enter retirement.

While small deals are likely, CEO James Gorman said he’d be reluctant to take on a large-scale acquisition

The Labor Department issued guidance Wednesday effectively allowing retirement plans to invest in buyout firms.

The acquisition, set to close later this year, will create a behemoth among custodians.

The pandemic is prompting financial advisors to use video messages, webinars and even board games to connect with clients and prospects, Hightower Chief Marketing Officer Abby Salameh says in an episode of Financial Planning’s Podcast.

More than 300 reps have switched BDs so far this year, with LPL and Cambridge Investment Research completing the two largest grabs.

While CEO Jamie Price says tech capabilities rather than cost savings prompted the decision, he acknowledges the need to win over the reps who are now set to change firms.

The alternative investing platform will service a total of $55 billion in client assets across 650 funds once the deal for its rival fintech closes.

Approximately 450 RIAs custody with Folio, which has $11 billion in assets.

Charles Schwab and other firms have swooped in to absorb the thematic investing company’s remains, even as the reasons for its demise are murky.

The purchase comes as active asset managers feel intensifying pressure to bulk up as they face stiff competition from passive and index-tracking funds.

Financial advisors’ choices about capital infusions into their practices show “how this industry needs to evolve and mature,” Merchant Credit Partners Managing Partner Rick D'Amico says in an episode of Financial Planning’s Invest Podcast.

The No. 1 IBD added Securities America’s largest enterprise, whose founder says the firm’s new private equity-backed owner made him uncertain about the future.

With marketing, reporting and the Junxure CRM, the acquisition brings much more than a robo advisor to the asset manager.

CEO Dan Arnold says the pandemic “will create some structural change across the market and the industry.”

Phased succession plans that stagger the amount of equity changing hands can help usher in the next generation of financial advisors, PPC Loan Managing Partner Dustin Mangone says in an episode of Financial Planning’s Invest Podcast.