Recruiting

For many firms, looming advisor retirements and the need to retain client households through the next generations will create difficult problems.

In an earnings call, LPL's CEO said his efforts to woo Commonwealth advisors have extended to a "rain-soaked" bike ride and wine-tasting tour.

CEO Tony Miller thinks the financial backing Janney draws from the private equity firm KKR allows it to provide a full gamut of advisor support without losing its intimate feel.

Also this week, Focus Financial ups the responsibilities for some top executives and Advisor Asset Management appoints a new CEO.

Edward Jones meanwhile reshuffles its leadership ranks amid its push to become a full-service financial planning firm, and Rockefeller picks up big teams from Merrill.

Jim Cracchiolo told analysts that the firm's retention "is quite good," even though his company, like many of its rivals, stopped providing statistics to verify such claims.

CEO Paul Shoukry also told analysts that the merger and acquisition deals coursing through the industry could open doors for firms eager to bring in advisors and net new assets.

Record revenue wasn't enough to offset costly legal charges that the firm racked up in the first quarter.

The choice of brokerage or RIA firm involves any number of factors and a range of timelines. Here's what the numbers and experts suggest are the main drivers.

In a big week for industry recruiting, Stifel lands practices managing $2.9 billion at Merrill, Merrill recruits a $1.9 billion team from Raymond James and Rockefeller pulls part of a $2.3 billion team from UBS.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon joined JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon in a tie atop the executive compensation rankings for the industry's largest publicly traded firms.

The industry rivals are back in court with fresh allegations that Ameriprise falsely warned its former clients that LPL misappropriated their account information.

The company "started off the year with a meaningful renewal from Cambridge Investment Research," BNY's chief financial officer notes.

Modern Wealth also takes on $1B in AUM through two acquisitions, and LPL hires a chief data, AI officer from JPMorgan.

The M&A flow may suggest that only the giants of wealth management will be able to navigate the business, but that dominating narrative is wrong.

The deal, expected to close in the second half of the year, will bring in $16 billion in client assets and 110 advisors.

Also this week, Raymond James recruits from Morgan Stanley, and Mercer Advisors and EP Wealth Advisors make big M&A deals.

The LPL CEO says Commonwealth advisors have almost nothing to lose and much to gain by joining a firm whose headcount is fast approaching 29,000. (Plus, experts say he'll be writing big checks.)

The Internal Revenue Service reportedly intends to reinstate thousands of probationary employees who were fired after two courts ordered it to do so.

Michael Bonevento and his team left Ameriprise in 2019 to join LPL Financial. He says too much time has elapsed for him to now be accused of misappropriating client information.