Broker-Dealers

Broker-dealers, feeling the heat from regulators, are changing how they sell alternatives. Bruce Kelly has all the details.

Securities America Inc. has signed agreements with six small financial institutions to have financial advisers offer consumer investment services to bank customers and credit union members. The six institutions, located in five different states, have a combined total of $3.75 billion in assets.

Finra claims the head of a B-D that packages and distributes illiquid equipment-leasing funds misused investor money to pay for personal expenses including remodeling her house.

With the demise of cold calling, new recruits say the first few years breaking in at a brokerage can be brutal. Many are washing out -- just at a time when a greying industry desperately needs an infusion of fresh talent.

Investor satisfaction with large investment firms continues to inch higher since plummeting in 2009, and the firms with the top scores have clients who are very happy with their financial advisers and investment performance, a new survey has found.

Just as it is preparing to go private with a sale to private-equity buyers, insurance broker and benefits roll-up firm National Financial Partners Corp. faces hurdles created by its independent broker-dealer, NFP Advisor Services Group.

With the decline in the ranks of financial advisers showing no signs of abating, large broker-dealers and individual investment advisers are faced with the stark challenge of figuring out how to bring fresh blood into the investment advice business.

Breaking away from the wirehouses has paid off handsomely for financial advisers over the past five years, according to a new study from Fidelity Investments.

Investors' approval of their advisers continues to increase after dropping sharply in the aftermath of the credit crisis. Liz Skinner tells why.

Just as it's preparing to go private with a sale to private-equity buyers, insurance broker and benefits roll-up firm National Financial Partners Corp. is facing hurdles created by its independent broker-dealer, NFP Advisor Services Group. First is the potential costly legal fallout from NFP

Financial adviser and IBD headcounts continue to shrink as training can't catch up with the drain of talent. But how's the rest of the business faring?