Tag:
Independents
Latest Headlines
Latest Headlines
Krawcheck dispels some Merrill Lynch myths
Sallie Krawcheck, president of Global Wealth and Investment Management at Bank of America, would like to set the record straight when it comes to Merrill Lynch, perhaps the Big Daddy of all wirehouses. The brokerage is not hemorrhaging top producers to independents, like LPL.
In fact, she unde
More brokers flee the wirehouses
Are wirehouse brokerage firms doomed? Let's just say they are finding it hard to hang on to their top brokers. We've noted before that top producers are continuing to be recruited by independents, and despite some rules that make it hard to switch, more top producers are doing so.
This is bad
Fidelity aims at top producers at wirehouses
So who's winning the war between the independent financial advisors and the behemoth wirehouses? Fidelity Investments thinks the independents are winning big.
The custody units of Charles Schwab and Fidelity took in $80 billion in the first nine months of 2010, according to a Fidelity executiv
Breakaway brokers leave for advisory firms, not to start firms
There are still plenty of brokers at traditional wirehouses that are leaving for greener pastures. These days, they're more likely to join an existing registered investment advisory firm rather that start their own firms, notes Investment News .
This suggests the maturity of the RIA industr
Wirehouse brokerages vs. independents, war continues
The on-going war between wirehouse brokerages and independents is a recurring theme for us. Reuters offers an interesting update on the war, noting data from Discovery that shows between November 2008 and last month, roughly 1,500 brokers fled the wirehouses brokerages--as big financial instit
HFT shops to rise?
We noted recently over on FierceFinanceIT that a few high-tech incubators of high-frequency trading start-ups were aiming to launch more funds soon. The whole field might get a boost if new regulations ever restrict banks from proprietary trading in a meaningful way. The result would be th
Broker-raid arbitration, a harbinger
We've seen lot of competition for financial advisors as of late, with most of the action focusing on independents or smaller brokerages recruiting from the wirehouses. Wells Fargo ( WFC ) inherited an arbitration case brought by Wachovia's AG Edwards against tiny Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., whic
Independent research on the ropes?
The fledging independent research industry has been dealt a nasty one-two punch. The on-going financial crisis obviously took a toll, as did the expiration of the provision of the tainted research "global settlement" that required banks to buy such research for five years. The results have not bee
What's up at the big three retail brokerages
Reuters notes that the top retail brokerages are all undergoing fairly significant integrations at the moment. Bank of America ( BAC ) acquired Merrill Lynch's Thundering Herd--it has 14,800 brokers. Wells Fargo ( WFC ) acquired Wachovia, which itself had acquired a few small brokerages--t
The end of advisory firm roll ups?
The roll up of financial advisory firms seemed like such a good deal not too long ago, a way for independents to join forces to lower costs, gain some technological scale efficiencies and expand the pie for all. But Investment News notes that the promise is not being fulfilled at some roll ups
