The Biden Fiduciary Rule Is Officially Dead. What Comes Next?
The Labor Department’s Retirement Security Rule, which would have extended fiduciary duties to one‑time advice for participants with roughly $14 trillion in 401(k) and similar plans, was vacated after the Biden administration declined to defend it and federal courts nullified the regulation. Opponents hail a return to the pre‑rule status quo, while advocates warn that the decision creates a regulatory gap and may require congressional action to restore uniform standards. Existing frameworks such as the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest and state‑level fiduciary rules remain intact. Labor has signaled possible future rulemaking but no immediate plans.
With Trillions Set to Change Hands, Just 44% of Advisors Feel Prepared
A new Empathy study of 555 advisors in the U.S., U.K. and Canada finds that while 97% are aware of the looming $124 trillion great wealth transfer, only 44% feel prepared to guide clients through it. Advisors report low concern—72% are...
654 Departures: A Look at the LPL-Commonwealth Deal One Year Later
One year after LPL Financial’s $2.7 billion acquisition of Commonwealth Financial Network, 654 advisors—about 22% of the original 3,000—have departed for rival firms. Raymond James emerged as the primary destination, adding 145 former Commonwealth advisors, while independent broker‑dealers Kestra and Cambridge Investment...
What to Know About the New IRS Digital Asset Rules
Digital assets, now a $3.2 trillion market, are moving into the mainstream as the IRS revamps its reporting framework. Starting in 2025, brokers must file Form 1099‑DA to disclose gross proceeds from crypto transactions, and from 2026 they will also report cost...
AI for Advisor Marketing — without Alienating Clients
Advisors are increasingly integrating AI tools such as Microsoft Copilot, Claude, and OpusClip into their marketing workflows, but recent surveys show consumers still favor human‑crafted messaging. A Canva‑Harris Poll found 87% of consumers prefer ads with a human touch, while a...
How Clients Can Ensure Their 'Fur Babies' Are Cared for Long After They're Gone
Estate planners are increasingly using pet trusts to guarantee long‑term care for clients’ animals. A pet trust designates a human trustee, caregiver, and protector, and funds the pet’s needs, often ranging from $5,000 to $50,000. Without a trust, guardians can...
Bank of America Gives Merrill Lynch an AI Makeover
Bank of America is deploying AI‑driven tools integrated with Salesforce and Zoom to all 25,000 Merrill Lynch advisors and 4,800 private bankers. The suite automates meeting preparation, real‑time summarization, follow‑up tasks and daily planning, shrinking prep time from roughly 45 minutes...
ACA Subsidy Cliffs Are Back and Costing Clients Thousands
For the first time in five years, the ACA’s enhanced premium tax credits expire at the end of 2025, restoring the pre‑pandemic subsidy structure. Households earning just above 400% of the federal poverty level—about $62,600 for an individual or $84,600...
More RIAs Are Outsourcing Their Compliance. Is that a Problem?
Outsourced chief compliance officers (CCOs) are gaining traction, now covering roughly 8% of SEC‑registered RIAs according to 2024 Form ADV data. The practice has expanded for three consecutive years, with more than 2,500 OCCOs handling multiple firms, and a handful overseeing...
Ally to Pay $500,000 After SEC Finds Robo-Advisor Infractions
Ally Financial will pay a $500,000 civil penalty after the SEC found its robo‑advisor cash‑enhanced accounts concealed a conflict of interest. The accounts allocated 30% of client assets to cash, generating interest rebates that offset the loss of advisory fees,...
Long-Term Care Costs Outpacing Retirement Income: AARP
New AARP research shows long‑term care (LTC) expenses surged nearly 50% between 2019 and 2024, far outpacing the 22% rise in median income for households 65 and older. A typical $60,000 senior income now barely covers part‑time home care and...
After Notable Victories, Anti-DEI Shareholders Turn Sights on Trump's SEC
Conservative investors who have recently forced firms such as Goldman Sachs and Johnson & Johnson to drop DEI criteria are now targeting the Securities and Exchange Commission. They argue the SEC’s new guidance on proxy filings and shareholder disclosures curtails...
Flourish Launches Mortgage Platform to Help RIAs Retain Assets
Flourish, an advisor‑tech provider, has launched Flourish Lending, a residential mortgage platform that lets registered investment advisors originate loans up to $10 million. The service, now available to more than 1,100 RIA firms, covers refinancing, cash‑out and new‑home purchases for primary...
Unhappy with FINRA Arbitration? Now's the Time to Recommend Fixes
FINRA has launched a broad request for comment, issuing 61 questions aimed at overhauling its arbitration system under the FINRA Forward initiative. The regulator is examining everything from arbitrator qualifications—now requiring a four‑year degree—to the role of punitive damages and...
Jump, Zocks Top Category as AI Note-Taker Adoption Soars
AI note‑takers have become a distinct category in wealth‑management software, with the T3/Inside Information Survey reporting 42.86% adoption across advisory practices. Jump surged to a 22.68% market share, up from 8.36% a year earlier, while Zocks leapt to 10.22% from...
The Cautionary Tale of an Advisor M&A Deal Gone Wrong
The Virginia Supreme Court affirmed a $2.07 million FINRA arbitration award to wealth advisor Jayne Di Vincenzo, rejecting Devin Garofalo’s bid to vacate the decision. The award stems from a 2020 $3.6 million acquisition of Di Vincenzo’s practice by Colonial River Wealth that unraveled...
Key ERISA Advisory Panel Goes Dormant Amid DOL Inaction
The Department of Labor’s ERISA Advisory Council has been inactive, holding no meetings in 2025 and showing no plans for 2026. The 15‑member statutory panel, which must meet quarterly, lost five members at the end of 2025, leaving several vacancies...
Firms Make Billions From 'Cash Sweeps.' Could AI Take that Away?
Broker‑dealers earn billions by sweeping uninvested client cash into bank loans, a practice that generated $3.17 billion for Charles Schwab in Q4 alone. The launch of Altruist’s AI‑driven tax manager has sparked concerns that similar AI tools could automatically move idle cash...
CFP Board Launches New 'Dive' Ad in $27M Awareness Campaign
The CFP Board unveiled a new "Dive" television spot as part of its "It’s Gotta Be a CFP" campaign, allocating a $27.1 million media budget for 2026. The spring phase, worth $14.6 million, runs March 9‑May 17 and leans heavily on broadcast, cable, streaming...
How Vibe Coding Is Filling the White Spaces in Advisor Tech Stacks
Vibe coding lets financial advisors generate custom applications by prompting AI models, bypassing traditional programming. Tim Witham’s $100‑per‑month Claude subscription produced a portfolio‑analysis tool that replaces YCharts and adds thousands of dollars in value. Advisors like Shaun Melby are building...
Where OBBBA Delivers the Biggest Tax Cuts
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) is projected to deliver an average $3,813 tax cut per filer in 2026, with the bulk coming from individual deductions and business provisions. County‑level analysis by the Tax Foundation shows stark geographic variation,...
How Advisors Can Better Serve Neurodivergent Clients
Financial advisors are increasingly recognizing that neurodivergent clients—those with autism, ADHD, dyslexia and related conditions—require communication and process adaptations that differ from traditional models. Practitioners like Korinne Sugasawara, who is neurodivergent herself, have built firms around explicit affirmations and sensory‑friendly...
Raymond James Has 'Zero Cross-Selling' Requirements: CEO
Raymond James CEO Paul Shoukry announced the firm has no mandatory cross‑selling requirements for its roughly 9,000 advisors. Advisors can collaborate with other business units but face no product‑sale quotas tied to compensation. The firm also offers a “financial‑advisor bill...
IRS Posts Form for Claiming New Tax Deductions
The IRS has issued a new Schedule 1‑A and updated instructions to implement the One Big Beautiful Bill Act tax breaks for 2025, covering tips, overtime, car‑loan interest, and senior‑citizen deductions. The tip deduction allows up to $25,000 per taxpayer, with a phase‑out beginning at...
DOL Moves to Undo Stricter Independence Test for Brokers
The Department of Labor has issued a proposal that would replace the Biden‑era “totality of the circumstances” test with a simpler “economic reality” test for determining independent‑contractor status. The change is aimed at easing the classification process for brokerage advisors,...
Private Markets in 401(k)s Face Major Liquidity Challenges: Morningstar
Morningstar’s new research shows that liquidity, not performance, is the primary obstacle for private‑equity and credit products in 401(k) plans. Simulations using real participant data reveal that even modest redemption flows can exhaust liquidity buffers, forcing managers to allocate up...
RBC's U.S. Wealth Unit Defies Inflow Slump with Asset Surge
Royal Bank of Canada’s U.S. wealth management unit posted a 12% year‑over‑year asset increase to $777.2 billion in its fiscal Q1 2026, despite net new inflows dropping more than half to $4.9 billion. The division added roughly $180 billion in assets over the...
To Jumpstart Centers of Influence Referrals, Think Outside the CPA
Financial advisors are urged to broaden referral networks beyond traditional CPAs and lawyers, embracing strategic alliances with diverse centers of influence. Mike Byrnes suggests using happy clients for warm introductions and targeting non‑traditional partners such as yacht dealers, realtors, clergy,...
6 Ways Family Offices Can Keep Cybercriminals at Bay
Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting high‑net‑worth individuals, exploiting the wealth of personal and financial data stored online. The FBI reports $16.6 billion lost to internet‑enabled crimes in 2024, highlighting the scale of the threat. Family offices, positioned as trusted advisors, can extend...
New Project Aims to Translate Client Reviews Into 'Relationship Alpha'
The University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School launched a graduate capstone that applies natural language processing and machine learning to thousands of Wealthtender client reviews, creating a new metric called “relationship alpha.” The project, led by a half‑dozen analytics...
Inside the Programs Reshaping Financial Planning's Talent Pipeline
The Certified Financial Planner (CFP) Board is expanding its influence in higher education, with more than 360 registered programs and a 16% growth in offerings since 2020. Universities from Michigan State to Wisconsin‑Madison are launching minors, certificates, and even doctoral...
Games and Graphics Boost Client Engagement, Understanding
Financial advisors often struggle to convey intricate retirement rules. A recent working paper compared infographic‑style visual explanations with a gamified, scenario‑based tool, finding both improve client understanding, with infographics excelling at technical knowledge and games driving behavioral awareness. Participants receiving...
What AI Stock Selloffs May Be Getting Wrong in Wealth Management
Wealth‑management firms such as Ameriprise, LPL, Raymond James, Charles Schwab and Stifel posted record client‑asset levels while boosting net revenue 17% and pretax earnings 21% in 2025, according to Fitch. Despite recent AI‑related sell‑offs and broader macro volatility, the sector’s fundamentals remain...
Ask an Advisor: What Mistake Made You a Better Advisor?
The "Ask an Advisor" column gathers six seasoned financial planners who each recount a pivotal mistake that reshaped their practice—from undervaluing fees and missing non‑verbal client signals to dominating conversations, overpromising service, scrambling for quick answers, and trying to handle...
