Bruce Kelly

1 week ago | investmentnews.com | Bruce Kelly

A federal judge in Houston last week approved $91.3 million in settlement cash to be paid by four groups of executives and professional firms in the bankruptcy case of GWG Holdings Inc. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez on June 13 approved $30 million settlement with GWG’s law firm Mayer Brown, an $8.5 million settlement with Texas accounting firm Whitley Penn and a $2.3 million settlement with brothers Jon R. and Steven F. Sabes, the original founders of GWG, according to published reports.

1 week ago | investmentnews.com | Bruce Kelly

BNY Pershing, the giant clearing and custody firm, is gingerly introducing new fees based on assets to its registered investment advisor clients, including a charge on customers’ cash held in accounts of RIAs, according to industry sources. Executives stressed that Pershing is being selective and does not have a one-sized fits all fee schedule for clients, and that the firm is making the fee increases to RIAs on a case-by-case basis.

1 week ago | investmentnews.com | Bruce Kelly

Bank of America, which includes Merrill Lynch, Osaic and UBS have all seen the largest net loss or attrition of financial advisors this year through the first week of June, according to a new report from Wolfe Research. Based on Wolfe Research analysis, Bank of America and Osaic, formerly Advisor Group, are seeing the greatest attrition, down 293 and 186 net departures, respectively. They are followed by UBS, which is down 110 financial advisors.

2 weeks ago | investmentnews.com | Bruce Kelly

The Maryland Securities Commissioner last month barred a small-firm financial advisor who the state regulator claimed overcharged clients $65,000 in excessive fees, as well as misinforming clients about how much they were contracted to pay annually for services.

2 weeks ago | investmentnews.com | Bruce Kelly

UBS Group is continuing its focus on expenses in its United States wealth management franchise, including advisor pay, as the Swiss banking giant look to boost profitability over the next couple years. While some of its competitors operate with much higher margins in the upper twenties, UBS wealth management is shooting for a pre-tax margin in the middle teens over the next two to three years.