Litigation

Regulators allege First Horizon Advisors violated Reg BI when it continued recommending complex investments even though it was struggling to bring over customer information from a recent acquisition.

If successful, previously banned brokers might be free to "fleece your grandma" again, an expert warned.

A FINRA settlement accuses the firm of failing to supervise a broker who recommended frequent purchases and then resales of various investment products.

The "reverse churning" case highlights the regulatory gap investors can fall into when moving between brokerage and advisory relationships.

RIAs including Abacus Planning Group, Beta Wealth Group, Integrated Advisors Network were accused of violations ranging from making unsubstantiated statements to claiming membership in nonexistent organizations.

Lawyers allege the 92-year-old victim's daughter begged Schwab to freeze her mother's account, but to no avail.

Lawyers note the kinds of grievances the firm allegedly withheld are what potential clients look at when choosing advisors.

Schwab vehemently denied allegations that it mishandled clients' uninvested cash, calling the putative class action just the latest in a series of "unsound, copycat lawsuits."

In an earnings call, an RBC executive says the firm decided to raise its account yields in response to higher Fed rates because "the right balance was to allocate some of that rising rate to our customers."

The legal action comes after executives expressed comfort with their firm's deposit rates in a recent earnings call.

The wealth management giants join their rivals Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, UBS, LPL Financial and Ameriprise in being accused of using uninvested cash in advisory accounts to boost their bottom lines rather than benefit clients.

The arbitration decision comes more than a year after SW Financial was expelled from the industry for violating Regulation Best Interest.

Analysts say that firms that are forced to start paying clients higher rates may have to raise their advisory fees and cut costs to make up for the revenue losses.

The Federal Trade Commission says it's weighing a likely appeal of the ruling.

Industry experts say they can't recall another time when an advisory firm has used a lawsuit for a wholesale indictment of a rival's recruiting practices.

An LPL independent contractor accuses the firm of not doing enough to stop salacious remarks directed at him that started after a top Bank of Springfield executive learned he was gay.

Missouri Secretary of State John Ashcroft's office said the ruling was "not just legally deficient but also morally wrong."

Cadaret Grant agreed to fines to clear up allegations that it had failed to disclose conflicts with costly mutual funds and sweeps accounts.

The wealth management giant questions if there has ever been so large a civil sanction handed down in response to "negligent mistakes" made in an attempt to comply with "unwritten rules."

Researchers wonder if similar regulatory attention could eventually hit the bottom lines of independent broker-dealers and RIAs.