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.

The firm is making another targeted purchase while rivals seek to gain ground with their own deals that reshape the sector.

I am advising some clients to ladder maturities to lock in more dependable tax-free income streams — especially for those in states with high income taxes, like California.

Even as Schwab, TD Ameritrade and E-Trade attract billions in new assets, company cash yields suffered from Fed cuts.

The firms have grabbed some three-fourths of the announced incoming advisors, as the pandemic cuts into valuations and casts uncertainty.

Private equity points to the birth of the advisor independence movement as proof they’re in it for the long haul.

Firms "pulled in many directions" in recent years can find their way with the right technology, Jemstep CEO Simon Roy says in an episode of Financial Planning's Invest Podcast.

The acquisition would give SoFi control of a technology platform that is currently used by some of its competitors in digital banking.

Since the all-stock purchase was announced, TD Ameritrade's valuation has plummeted and both firms are now operating with most, if not all, staff working remotely.