Yext's CEO said his firm could have tried building its own in-house compliance software. Instead, it found exactly what it needed at Hearsay Systems.

The deal comes as a Raymond James executive questions if advisors who choose to go with private owners won't regret their decisions in three to five years.

The partners at Pilot Financial have been through only one acquisition in their firm's history — the recent sale of Lincoln Financial's wealth groups to Osaic — and they're not eager to repeat the experience.

Despite the apparent decline, the independent broker-dealer giant remains one of the leaders in advisor recruiting and merger and acquisition deals.

More than a third of financial advisors will retire in the next decade in a profession in which nearly 3 out of 4 rookies fail to make the grade, creating a headcount problem for the industry.

Combining the two partner firms will create an RIA with more than $50B under management.

The private equity-backed advisory aggregator plans to use a consolidation process in "coming months" to bring its various brokerages under one brand.

Citizens has been on a recruiting and acquisition tear in recent years. Tom Metzger, the recently appointed head of the bank's private wealth unit, says it's just the beginning.

The general categories represent a starting point for RIAs that may be trying to figure out how they fit into a buyer's long-term plans, a Datos Insights study says.

The merger "will fundamentally transform the RIA ecosystem," tru CEO Craig Stuvland says.