Advisors archive
Every Advisors story, newest first. 858 stories
10 stories
- Tax & estate planning
IRAHelp: IRA loans are barred, but a 60-day rollover can bridge a cash crunch
Miss the 60-day window and the distribution may be taxable and penalized; the once-a-year rollover rule counts traditional and Roth IRAs together.
- Tax & estate planning
Envestnet column says ultra-high-net-worth clients now expect family-office coordination
The WealthManagement.com column defines high-net-worth as $1 million to $5 million in investable assets and ultra-high-net-worth as anything above $30 million in investable assets, then argues those clients want coordinated family-office service without paying to build one.
- Practice management
Marie Swift, Ashten Legg and Matt Ackermann on RIA podcast launch prerequisites
The Wealth Solutions Report panel's four prerequisites for a launch: a fitting host, a repeatable production process, compelling guests and a way to tell whether the show creates value.
- Practice management
What RIA consolidation means for G2 advisors' windfalls and succession paths
A column notes the second quarter of 2026 was reported as the most active ever for RIA M&A, and that more recent data suggests third-quarter activity slowed.
- Practice management
SEC settles Zoe Financial referral-algorithm case with a $450,000 penalty
The order says salespeople often recommended advisers beyond the algorithm's list, and that a conflict created by an affiliated service went undisclosed until December 2024.
- Practice management
FINRA bars ex-Wedbush broker William Sandeman over $3.5 million in complex ETP losses
The Seattle broker recommended volatility-linked and non-traditional products to 81 clients, 59 of them seniors and most moderate or conservative, between December 2020 and January 2025.
- Practice management
Advisers rank growing wealth eighth among women's priorities; women rank it first
In a new BlackRock survey, advisers most often traced women's wealth to inheritance or marriage, while 79% of the women credited their own salary or career earnings.
- Practice management
87% of firms use or pilot AI; 6% run agentic tools inside workflows
F2 Strategy's Q2 2026 Trend Report surveyed 40 leading RIAs, wealth management firms and broker-dealers representing $8.6 trillion in assets and found a very weak correlation between AI technology spending and measurable business value.
- The Advisor's Note
Merrill's Form ADV prices manager access at up to $860,000 plus 0.1% of revenue
The Bank of America wirehouse says it will have a financial incentive to recommend managers that pay for data analytics, effective Jan. 1, 2027.
- Products & portfolios
Brown Advisory files $5.4M DCVC-linked fund in Form D batch from $80K to $227M
The October 6 notices give offering sizes and first-sale dates, and none of the fees, marks or liquidity terms an advisor needs before a client allocation.
30 stories
- Practice management
SEC sets Nov. 19 virtual compliance seminar for advisers and funds
Enforcement's asset management unit is among the sponsors, and panel questions can be submitted in advance through the agenda.
- Recruiting & transitions
Small RIAs weigh joining a network to clear Fidelity's $100 million minimum
Advisory Services Network, which already clears Fidelity's bar, says firms have asked to join; an analyst warns the scale benefit depends on how an aggregator files.
- Practice management
SEC exam division replaces its brochure with a stage-by-stage handbook
The guide runs from the division's risk assessment to the disposition letter, and the SEC says the aim is a more consistent and predictable exam.
- Products & portfolios
SEC proposes crypto custody framework for advisers and regulated funds
The proposal would permit self-custody under circumstances the release does not describe and would let state trust companies serve as custodians.
- Practice management
Altruist prices Hazel planning agent at $3,600 per advisor annually
The custodian is selling the planning tool to advisors regardless of where they custody, and RIABiz reports buyers may need to supply PDFs if rival planning vendors refuse API access.
- Practice management
Pontera floats itself as AI's trust layer for 401(k) access
The 401(k) software firm says agent-to-agent finance needs a validating intermediary, while Schwab says it is preparing Charley agents for its millions of clients.
- Practice management
Aquiline buys control of Flourish from MassMutual as Phase II lending rollout nears
MassMutual retains a stake described as significant in the cash platform used by 1,300 RIAs; no purchase price is disclosed.
- Practice management
Envestnet's Vestmark deal promises advisors no forced platform migrations
The purchase, estimated by analysts at $500 million to $1 billion, arrives six days after Envestnet pledged $1 billion to rebuild the platform advisors already use.
- Practice management
Fidelity backs Savvy Wealth's RIA custody platform, expected in mid-2027
Savvy says multi-billion-AUM RIA prospects pulled the launch forward; Fidelity will collect client revenue and share a portion back.
- Tax & estate planning
Wealth coach: a child who looks unmotivated may simply be unpracticed
In a WealthManagement.com column, a coach with 15 years among ultra-high-net-worth families argues that well-intentioned rescues protect a child from succeeding or failing on their own.
- Practice management
Pontera launches non-discretionary 401(k) service as password sharing stays blocked
Advisors can advise, bill and report on held-away plan accounts while clients log in and place trades themselves.
- Products & portfolios
Nareit researchers flag a 127-basis-point cap rate gap between private real estate and REITs
The spread, open since late 2021, leaves appraised private real estate priced below the risk-free rate, Nareit researchers told WealthManagement.com.
- Practice management
WealthManagement.com report catalogs obstacles to advising 401(k) participants
The report cites record-keeper data feeds most broker-dealers and RIAs do not get frequently, 1990s-era record-keeper technology, and advisors who would rather not meet with participants.
- Practice management
FiComm survey finds 45% of investors chose an advisor without a referral
The New Growth Equation report puts the share at 50% among investors with $5 million or more.
- Practice management
Dynasty tells RIA founders to set share classes and buyback rights on day one
The firm says it began with several share classes 15 years ago and has since simplified them as the business changed.
- Products & portfolios
Merrill adds third-party manager data fees up to $860,000 and a 0.1% revenue share
The Bank of America subsidiary's Form ADV updates say it will have a financial incentive to recommend third-party managers that pay for data analytics, with the schedule effective Jan. 1, 2027.
- Recruiting & transitions
Rise Private Wealth Management is Schwab's fourth large Ameriprise breakaway of 2026
The Bedford, N.H., firm's ADV filing surfaced a near-$8 billion move Ameriprise has confirmed; neither Schwab nor Dynasty announced it.
- Practice management
Schwab Advisor Services becomes first RIA custodian to use Anthropic's Claude
Schwab says it is the only RIA custodian in Anthropic's early release, though Vanguard is on the charter list and says it will not use Claude for custody.
- Tax & estate planning
J.P. Morgan survey finds millennial and Gen Z respondents report more emotional friction
A 2026 J.P. Morgan survey reported by Wealth Solutions Report found a majority of millennial and Gen Z respondents calling emotional factors a significant challenge in family wealth discussions, against 38% of Gen X and 29% of baby boomers.
- Tax & estate planning
Emory & Henry halves tuition as at least five colleges plan fall 2027 cuts
The University of Tulsa plans to cut tuition and fees to $25,000 from $54,000 next year, and a survey of more than 250 private nonprofits puts the average aid discount at 57%.
- Practice management
Mariner CEO Marty Bicknell budgets $175M for 700 AI bots over five years
RIABiz reports Bicknell co-owns Humanity Labs, whose agentic AI will handle back-office work in a plan aimed at absorbing acquired RIAs faster.
- Tax & estate planning
Vanguard data shows fewer high earners maxing out 401(k) deferrals
The max-out rate among $150,000-plus earners in Vanguard plans fell to 51% from 60% since 2018, and projections built on the old number need re-running.
- Succession & selling a firm
Wealth Solutions Report outlines post-LOI pitfalls that can erode RIA sale value
Closing-date pressure, consent timing and equity terms can still change what a founder collects after a letter of intent is signed, according to the October 5 piece.
- Tax & estate planning
WealthManagement.com argues the $124 trillion wealth transfer needs a risk review
Inherited assets carry exposures that get less attention than the tax and estate work, the coverage says.
- Succession & selling a firm
Private Advisor Group CFO Adam Schorr on why buyers and sellers price the same practice differently
Schorr tells Wealth Solutions Report that transferability can be improved in the final year, while founder dependency takes years to unwind.
- Succession & selling a firm
Bahnsen Group agrees to add $1.1 billion Hightower Naples practice under its brand
The Bahnsen Group's first deal to put another Hightower team under its brand is expected to close at year-end.
- Tax & estate planning
Chip Wilson's divorce has no reported prenup, and the planning gap advisors can fill
A 2026 Harris poll found 53% of engaged or married respondents under 45 had signed a prenup, a share that complicates the assumption the document is for people in certain brackets.
- Practice management
SEC and five other regulators warn on impersonation and relationship investment scams
The joint bulletin, issued for World Investor Week’s tenth edition, names two scam categories and directs investors to registration checks and Investor.gov.
- Practice management
Cerulli and Morningstar: 63% of surveyed advisers see DC plans as a prospecting priority
A separate Crisil Coalition Greenwich study, also published this morning, finds affluent investors combining adviser-led and self-directed accounts, a mix that may complicate the rollover handoff.
- Products & portfolios
An op-ed in Financial Planning lays out 90/10 at $1 million and a private-markets carve-out at $10 million
The column drops bonds from the defensive slot and keeps 10% cash in place from $1 million to $10 million