In October's roundup of pressing issues in the wealth management space, learn more about the CFP Board's problematic advertising campaign, LPL Financial's ongoing recruitment court battles against rival Ameriprise and more.
Not just AUM: Edward Jones embraces financial planning for a flat fee
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Edward Jones is becoming a pioneer among large wealth managers with a business model allowing its advisors to offer a comprehensive financial plan in return for a flat, annual fee.
The St. Louis-based firm announced last month roughly 600 of its advisors will be able to start providing certain clients with comprehensive financial plans for $3,600 a year. The services will go beyond the usual investment recommendations paid for by asset management charges and extend to estate and tax planning, wealth transfers, protections against risk and advice on general life goals.
"For the first time, Edward Jones financial advisors will be able to deliver comprehensive financial planning and will be compensated accordingly for their time and effort to build and maintain a financial plan,"
Schwab, crypto, alleged fraud and an elderly couple's $18.5M loss
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Charles Schwab may have a big elder fraud problem on its hands.
For the third time in less than two months, Schwab and its affiliates have been accused of doing virtually nothing to prevent scammers from draining its clients' accounts of their retirement savings. The latest case, filed on Oct. 23 in federal district court in Northern California, alleges Schwab stood idly by while bad actors directed an elderly Los Angeles County couple to take nearly $30 million out of their accounts and transfer much of it to a cryptocurrency exchange via
Ultimately, $18.5 million of that was converted into crypto and sent to the scammers, making it likely unrecoverable, according to the suit.
New CFP Board ads incite fierce backlash from advisors
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A series of CFP Board ads promoting the financial advisor profession to students received swift backlash from those in the industry who say it gives false expectations to those considering the career while sullying the reputations of those already in it.
"Becoming a financial advisor gives you the flexibility to manage your own time," read one such ad, which appeared on Facebook. The ads show young people alternately sleeping on a couch, enjoying a bubble bath, closing their eyes on a massage table and reading on a hammock and couch, among other leisurely poses.
CFP Board Chair Matthew Boersen said the nonprofit organization spent "in the six figures" on its
Wells Fargo puts targets on low producers in 2025
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In a memo released on Oct. 16, the San Francisco-based wirehouse also outlined plans to make it a little easier for
The one big change will be for advisors who have eight or more years of experience and are now bringing in less than $300,000 in annual revenue for the firm. Wealth managers in that category now get to keep 15% of any revenue they produce under $13,500 in a month and 30% for anything above that. But if they manage to meet or exceed that $300,000 threshold, those payout rates increase to 22% and 50%, respectively — giving advisors a strong incentive to increase their revenue production.
LPL terminates CEO over failing to maintain respectful workplace
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LPL Financial CEO Dan Arnold has lost his job over failing to maintain a respectful workplace, the firm announced last month.
Arnold, who has held the top spot at the
"LPL's Code of Conduct requires every employee, no matter their title, to foster a supportive and professional workplace and show respect to each other, our stakeholders and the broader community," James Putnam, chair of LPL's board of directors, said in a statement. "Mr. Arnold failed to meet these obligations."
More financial advisors are using non-AUM fees. Here's how.
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Securities
McClanahan and her team keep records documenting their services, which comes in handy
LPL calls Ameriprise recruiting suit 'public relations stunt'
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LPL Financial is firing back at its rival Ameriprise's wholesale legal indictment of its recruiting methods, calling an ongoing court challenge "a public relations stunt masquerading as a lawsuit."
LPL on Oct. 17 filed a motion in federal court in San Diego opposing Ameriprise's previous request for a
In its reply later that day, LPL argued that
CFP Board updates ads after backlash from advisors
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After withstanding
Many in the industry reacted poorly to the campaign, saying it gave false expectations to those considering the career while sullying the reputations of those already in it. In response to the ads, some advisors co-opted the theme of the CFP Board ads and posted their thoughts with the #quitepossiblytheperfectjob hashtag on social media.
Here are the election outcomes financial advisors are hoping for
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Two weeks prior to Election Day, financial advisors weighed in on which federal candidates and parties they hope will win.
Financial Planning polled 213 respondents for its
For the presidency, 54% picked Republican former President Donald Trump over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, who garnered 38%.
Ameriprise: LPL poached private data on 4,500 former clients
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For nearly four years, LPL helped at least 30 former Ameriprise advisors use an internal system to upload information for thousands of their ex-clients before that practice was abandoned in early 2022.
That's according to testimony from an LPL executive last month in her firm's ongoing recruiting dispute with its independent broker-dealer rival Ameriprise.
