Wealth management

Press an "easy button" for an internal succession or go the harder, often more lucrative route of leaving an employee brokerage to sell an independent practice? A new report from one recruiting firm shows which lane most advisors choose.

Rick Simonetti knows it's not easy recruiting private bankers and then moving their clients and assets. That hasn't stopped him from building Fidelis Capital into a $3 billion firm built largely on bankers pulled from Wells Fargo and Bank of America.

Getting a foot in the door to the high net worth market can be a challenge, but there are any number of ways in. Six advisors shared how they landed their first high net worth client, from golfing to finding the right CPA.

Financial Planning's August 2026 continuing education quiz is now open to subscribers. By successfully completing the quiz, advisors can earn one hour of CE credit to maintain professional certifications.

A survey found Medicare Advantage customer satisfaction dropped for the second year in a row. Financial advisors can guide clients as they weigh coverage choices.

A new guide from the CFP Board is meant to help advisors through offering 401(k) rollover recommendations, which can be a tricky area for compliance.

Two experts in mergers and M&A sales explained how and why RIA owners need to clean up their data, get a formal valuation and figure out other technical questions before they make a succession deal.

With its Estimated Value Index, the valuation expert FP Transitions seeks to give RIA owners a leg-up in knowing just what their firms can most likely fetch in a sale.

As Vestmark marks 25 years, CEO Karl Roessner explains how the RIA-focused platform grew to $50 billion by leaning into AI while keeping client data in-house.

Industry consultants recommend steps RIAs in Schwab's referral network can take if they're worried about competition for clients.

Over the past decade, the annual revenue gap between LPL and any other independent brokerage has soared to more than 100% from less than 1%. But that doesn't mean that the No. 1 firm can rest on those laurels.

As analysts raise concerns that AI could undermine the economics of generous transition deals, executives at Ameriprise, Stifel and Raymond James wonder if firms are paying too much to recruit advisors.

The case for active bond management is compelling, given increased market volatility and persistent economic uncertainty, argues the president of Toews Asset Management.

With recent changes to tax law, non-grantor trusts have become attractive vehicles for gaining tax efficiencies, such as when making charitable contributions.

Executives from some of the largest firms in the channel — Ameriprise, Kestra Financial, Cetera, LPL Financial and Osaic — discuss how clearing and custody fits into their approaches to recruiting and retaining financial advisors.

View the exclusive research from Financial Planning's latest annual study of brokerages whose financial advisors aren't employees of the firms — and sort and compare data across the past 15 years.

The printable PDF includes rankings based on the firms' 2025 revenue as well as the number of financial advisors, compensation, total client account assets and more.

In a constantly changing industry, clearing and custody fees defy generalizations. The largest independent broker-dealers present financial advisors with the choice of working with a "self-clearing" firm or one that outsources those essential services.

As the best-selling memoir "Strangers" shines a spotlight on financial disengagement, advisors share how they pull the less-engaged spouse into the conversation before it's too late.