Law and legal issues

Whoever is named SEC chair by the president-elect is likely to take a lighter hand on crypto, AI and "regulation by enforcement."

Business goals cannot always put clients' best interests first. Here's why even the executives leading fast-expanding advisory firms say the critics have a point.

Nicholas Takahashi and his team are accused of deliberately trying to poach the clients of a former colleague managing hundreds of millions in assets and producing more than $1 million a year in revenue.

Former financial advisors accused the firm of filing false disclosures about a template invoice their onetime employer claimed they sent to clients.

The firm's new policy of keeping discrimination complaints out of court isn't sitting well with at least two financial advisors.

In October's roundup of pressing issues in the wealth management space, learn about the CFP Board's problematic advertising campaign, LPL Financial's ongoing recruitment court battles against rival Ameriprise and more.

Cinda Collins alleged before a FINRA arbitration panel that RBC fired her in late 2019 in an attempt to "steal much of her book of business without compensating her for it."

Regulators accused the firm of misleading customers about fees and of not being upfront about conflicts of interest with its recommendations of mutual funds, private equity and other investments.

Its backers should file a lawsuit based on the "very flimsy" exemption for prohibited transactions enabling annuity sales under current rules, an expert says.

Before the injunction, Gary Carruthers is believed to have poached $24.3 million in client assets in breach of a nonsolicitation agreement.

The case is the latest example of what Ameriprise paints as LPL's systematic overstepping of bounds in its advisor recruitment.

An LPL vice president testified that 30 former Ameriprise advisors imported client information for accounts with more than $1 billion under management and $16 million in yearly revenue generation.

A suit filed in federal court marks the third time in recent months that Charles Schwab and its affiliates have been accused of failing to prevent elderly clients from being swindled out of their life savings.

In court response, LPL warns victory for Ameriprise would "chill" advisors' ability to move from one independent broker-dealer to another.

In a recurring pattern, Ameriprise again accuses its industry rival of encouraging a recently recruited advisor to "harvest" and bring over confidential client information.

September's roundup of pressing issues in the wealth management space include an elder scam lawsuit embroiling Charles Schwab, accusations against Raymond James for failures in customer complaint reporting and more.

The advisor at the center of the case, Chuck Roberts, has been the subject of at least 19 customer complaints since late 2022.

The case is one of the latest to question if firms can be held liable for costly investment decisions made by clients showing signs of mental decline.

Industry experts and analysts take comfort in the firm's choice of Rich Steinmeier as interim CEO and say they see little reason to expect serious disruption.

The former Wells employee says he was basically forced to quit after a series of fumbles by the firm cost him his book of business and brought his pay down to "minimum wage level."