Wells Fargo sought $76,152 from a former broker, but in the end was ordered to pay the adviser more than 10 times that amountBy Mason BraswellFeb 28, 2014 @ 12:28 pm Updated 2:55 pm ESTPrintE-mailOrder Reprints4Shares Wells Fargo & Co. got more than it bargained for when it went after a former broker for not paying back his upfront bonus.A three-person Finra arbitration panel denied Wells Fargo’s claim for the remaining balance of $76,152 and instead ordered the firm to pay the adviser, Michael Hawkes, $925,000 in compensatory damages and attorneys’ fees.

via Ex-Wells Fargo adviser wins nearly $1 million in promissory note quarrel.

Robertson Stephens Asset Management is a private and independent wealth management RIA, launched in mid-2013. Once one of the most well reputed boutique wealth management firms in the world, sold to Bank of America in 1997, “Robbie Stephens” has been rebuilt by the original management team headed by Joseph Piazza. Piazza’s goal is to recreate the culture of a closely-held boutique serving clients in the $10 million to $100 million range.

via The New, New Independence | Client Relations content from WealthManagement.com.

Forget the gossip by the water cooler. Furtive phone calls are so 2013. From now on, when you’re wondering about another advisor’s recruiting deal, you’ll be able to look it up, courtesy of AdvisorHUB.“We’re bringing access and transparency to the financial advisor recruiting process,” says Andrew Parish, CEO of Columbus, Ohio-based AdvisorHUB. There are two arrows in the AdvisorHub quiver. One is a website, advisorhubinc.com, which is free to the public. For $9.99 a month, financial advisors can see additional material such as an interactive map to view the locations of available positions.

via New App, Site Provide Details on Advisor Recruiting Deals | On Wall Street.

6 Essentials to Pick the Right Buyer for Your Practice

Choosing a buyer for your advisory practice should be a piece of cake. The number of buyers vastly outnumbers that of sellers, so you should simply sell to the highest bidder, right?

In most cases, that would be a costly and irreversible blunder, because much of the value of the deal comes in back-end payments. Thus, advisors need to do the due diligence to be sure that a potential buyer can live up to his or her promises. Once an advisor sells a firm or practice, there are no “do-overs.” You have to get it right the first time, because your retirement nest egg is riding on it.

Selling an independent advisory practices typically includes earn-outs, which are based on back-end performance ranging from 50% to 70% of the total deal or sale’s price. At the wirehouse firms, the entire deal is back-end based. Earn-outs are paid via a mix of cash, equity and interest-bearing notes. Down payments are often 30% to 50% of an agreed upon value.

via 6 Essentials to Pick the Right Buyer for Your Practice.

Beirne Wealth Consulting BWC, a fast-growing, $2 billion fee-only firm, has picked up a team of financial advisors from Morgan Stanley.BWC, an independent partner firm of Focus Financial Partners, has added Allentown, Pa.-based advisors Christopher Englebert and Daniel Reitz who previously managed approximately $250 million in client assets at Morgan Stanley. The central Pennsylvania office will be the third opened by the Milford, Conn.-based BWC in two years.

via Beirne Wealth Consulting Adds Morgan Stanley Advisors | On Wall Street.

Fresh off the announcement Thursday of his intention to purchase Cetera Financial Group Inc., Nicholas Schorsch compared his new broker-dealer network, when the deals are completed, to two of the biggest names in the retail-securities industry: the old Merrill Lynch and Raymond James Financial Inc.

via Schorsch: RCS Capital is the next Merrill or Raymond James.

An advisory practice with more than half a billion in assets under management has dumped its wirehouse affiliation and hooked up with Raymond James Financial Services.The Raymond James announced Monday that it had recruited financial advisors Benjamin Weiner, Michal Hlavek, Duke Marsh and Daniel Iosue from Morgan Stanley to its independent channel. The team now operates an independent firm just outside Orlando, Fla., called Winter Park Wealth Group. While affiliated with Morgan Stanley, the group managed in excess of $550 million in client assets and generated $2.3 million in annual fees and commissions.

via Winter Park Wealth Group Joins Raymond James Financial Services | On Wall Street.