Ameriprise and LPL Financial are both facing more lawsuits related to their money laundering programs, while a New York-based law firm is looking into the firms' money laundering practices with the help of a former SEC commissioner . Ameriprise is facing two lawsuits filed this week in Minnesota federal court. California resident Mark Frey and…

(Bloomberg) — For three decades, Ken Leech was the other Bond king, the quiet one. While investors hung on the every word of other California bond magnates like Bill Gross, Leech shied away from the spotlight to help build Western Asset Management Co. into one of the world's most formidable fixed-income shops, rivaling the likes…

With football season fast approaching and the estate tax exemption ending, I thought it would be a good time to get back to basics. I bring this up because we have less than 16 months before the generous estate tax exemption limits expire at the end of 2025. Clients who haven't started planning their estates…

Almost every advisor we host in this series shares the desire for greater independence. The good news is that there are plenty of options available in the ever-evolving industry landscape for advisors to find exactly what they're looking for—including firms with omnichannel connections. These give employee advisors an opportunity to slip into a freelance model…

Open, honest, and candid discussion about a lawsuit against BofA, Capitalize's Series B financing, Cetera's 401(k) participant programming, Fidelity's annual plan sponsor survey, and more. Source link

In recent Private Letter Ruling 202432004 (August 8, 2024), the Internal Revenue Service concluded that early termination of a charitable annuity trust (CLAT) through an accelerated distribution of remaining annuity would be in two private foundations (PFs) shall not: (1) be considered a self-dealing act under Section 4941 of the Internal Revenue Code; (2) is…

IN United States v. RundCase number 1:23-cv-00549 (August 6, 2024), the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted the government's motion for summary judgment, resulting in almost $3 million in penalties against the taxpayer for failing to file a foreign bank and financial account report (FBAR). The court stopped at the recognition…

LPL Financial has attracted two additional advisory teams from Osaic, representing more than 30 advisors and $4 billion in client assets. Lutherville, Md.-based Academy Financial and Berwyn, Pa.-based PFG Advisors. were previously with Lincoln Financial's wealth business, previously Osaic bought it earlier this year. Academy Financial was founded in 1992 by Harry Horn, a graduate…

Todd Mackay, president of Avantax, a tax-focused wealth management firm acquired by Cetera Holdings late last yearwill move to a new role at Cetera. He has been named president of Cetera Solutions, with responsibility for growth in various business lines within the firm. Andy Watts, vice president of planning and growth solutions, will take over…

Advisors, beware—index fund asset managers can change their target indexes without you noticing. A new study from Morningstar, “The Transformation of Index Funds: More Than Meets the Face,” found that about a quarter of the index funds it examined switched target indexes at least once since their inception. Depending on how significant the change is…