by
Ray Fazzi
Fidelity, firing a new salvo in a price war with Schwab, is offering its RIA clients commission-free online trades on 25
iShare ETFs and the Fidelity Nasdaq Composite Index Tracking Fund.
The foot soldiers of Wall Street, including thousands of financial
advisors, seem deeply ambivalent about
how closely lawmakers should listen to their industry's leaders.
by
Evan Simonoff
What's the real story behind RIA mergers? Some are successful, but in general the picture isn't pretty.
Branch Managers Break Away To Independence
(Dow Jones) The move to trim middle management at wirehouses is driving a growing number of branch managers toward...
The top federal futures regulator wants to implement the so-called "Eddie Murphy" rule as part of new ethical standards for commodities trading.
Independent advisory firms are winning new employees from Wall Street wirehouses: experienced brokers who like the RIA model but don't want to run a business.
by
Dorothy Hinchcliff
Securities America is denying charges in a complaint filed by the
Massachusetts Securities Division that says it misled investors when it
sold millions in private placement securities.
by
Eric Rasmussen, Dorothy Hinchcliff
The Massachusetts Securities Division filed a complaint today against
Securities America, charging the broker-dealer misled investors when it sold approximately $697 million in promissory notes.
Independent broker-dealer LPL Financial has given Derek Bruton
oversight of its hybrid brokerage-registered investment advisor platform.
New media is spurring new guidelines for brokerage firms and their employees.
Advisors at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney offered retention packages to 6,500 brokers, and those who were eligible are now getting paid.
by
Jeff Schlegel
Regulators can seem like scary people, but financial advisors who take
time to reach out to their state regulators could have an ally down the
road in times of need.
Wells Fargo & Co. is throwing its legacy Wachovia Securities
advisors for a loop, with payroll changes that went into effect this
month.
by
Dorothy Hinchcliff
Schwab announced today that it helped a record number of brokers go independent in 2009.
Five senior enforcement officials at the Financial Industry Regulatory
Authority will be leaving as the regulator streamlines management.
by
Ray Fazzi
Apparently benefiting from Wall Street's troubles, Fidelity Investments
said today it helped a record number of brokers go independent in 2009.
Estimates suggest the burden the tax would place on mutual
fund investors would, while real, be smaller than other controversial
fees investors have paid for years.
Goldman Sachs' CEO tells Congress he supports a fiduciary standard for brokers who provide advice to retail investors.
HighTower Advisors, a hybrid investment advisory and broker-dealer that
launched late in 2008, says it got a $100 million cash infusion from a
consortium of incumbent and new investors.
The markets may have bounced back, but the outlook for many financial advisors remains decidedly bleak.
