Richard Ketchum adds that the regulator needs to take a closer look at the culture of wealth management companies to see if executives are setting the right tone: "It is essential that a firm's leadership own the policies and procedures."

“The SEC is notorious for blowing through rule-making deadlines—both congressionally mandated and self-imposed, such as this,” says Micah Hauptman, financial services counsel at the Consumer Federation of America.

Commission staffers are probing how broker-dealers are handling ETFs and the extent to which investors understand the risks of the funds.

An arbitration panel ruled in UBS' favor, after the wirehouse alleged that a former adviser stole client data before moving to Wells Fargo.

The new rules were developed in consultation with the SEC, the Labor secretary adds.

Three weeks after the broker killed himself, the firm agreed to a confidential settlement with his wife for an undisclosed amount.

“The election could be disruptive to this rule,” Brian Hamburger predicted.

The Massachusetts-based planner, who allegedly told clients their money would be invested in a hedge fund, was also ordered to pay $1.89 million to victims.

In an unusual move, the two veteran advisers left the independent channel to rejoin an employee broker-dealer.

The regulator says the firm had "widespread failures" in its anti-money laundering programs for both its employee and independent channels.

There is little to fear from the final version of the Department of Labor's regulation, planners say in a new survey.

FINRA reprimanded the former rep for allegedly falsifying personal documents as accommodations for HSBC bank customers.

Vanguard founder John Bogle and the DoL's Phyllis Borzi support an investor bill of rights.

The advisers are also balking at the firm's insistence that former advisers seeking to claim comp go through its dispute resolution process instead of FINRA.

The former rep allegedly stole $1,380 from a customer's bank account by issuing and then using a debit card without the customer's knowledge.

The wirehouse terminated the broker two days after losing a $34 million arbitration case brought by the client's widow, who alleged elder abuse and other misconduct.

Now that the sharply contested rule is the law of the land, a senior agency official says the department looks to help with compliance, not find targets to sue.

Keeping up with the pace of change in the wealth management industry involves blending holistic advice and a digitally enhanced practice.

Concerns about the new fiduciary rule helped propel the move, along with a drop in LPL service, an adviser says.

The finalization of the Department of Labor’s recent fiduciary ruling has left more than one out of three retirement plan service providers uncertain of their professional status, according to a new industry survey.