Wealth management

Raymond James Financial Inc. continued to attract financial advisers to its private-client group at the end of last year and into January.

Charles Schwab Corp. is attracting a slew of new assets, and daily average trades are rising. New and established clients brought the company $6 billion of net new assets in January, according to its monthly market activity report.

The business model for independent brokerage firms is under threat, calling into question the livelihood of more than 178,000 registered representatives.

Horizon Bank in Austin said Tuesday that it has hired Kelli Click to run the Waco, Texas, office of a Horizon unit that helps investors roll over retirement assets into individual retirement accounts.

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Proposed European Union regulations have U.S. private-equity players buzzing. Most private-equity players acknowledge that if the rules to restrict the use of leverage are enacted, their own activities abroad will be crimped. They also fear that U.S. regulators may follow suit — raising a host of other concerns.

Credit Suisse Group, which emerged from the financial crisis among the world's strongest banks, swung to a fourth-quarter net profit despite a slowdown in investment banking activity late last year that undercut the solid performance of its private bank.

Charles-Henry Courtois, a specialist in tax and estate planning, has been named head of the international trust and wealth structuring business at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

In the largest deal in its 17-year history, Affiliated Managers Group Inc. is buying Pantheon Ventures from Russell Investments, a unit of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.

Bank of America Corp. said it expects significant growth in 401(k) assets this year, but where and how it will generate new business is unclear.

A Goldman Sachs Group Inc. official tried Wednesday to put to rest continued speculation that Goldman might abandon its status as a financial holding company.

Couples may be on the same life path, but this does not mean they agree on what to do with their money. In fact, they often do not — which can pose dilemmas for a wealth adviser.

MetLife Inc. may use stock to pay for more than half of the planned $15 billion purchase of an American International Group Inc. life insurance unit, said three people with knowledge of the matter.

For more information on this data, visit Novantas LLC and Market Rates Insight.

After announcing plans to shutter 10 of its exchange-traded funds last month, WisdomTree Investments Inc. said it remains focused on adding products.

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. reported fourth-quarter net income of $557 million, or $1.19 per share, compared with a loss of $806 million, or $2.71 per share, a year earlier. For the full year, the Connecticut company posted a loss of $887 million, compared with a $2.7 billion loss in 2008.

UBS Wealth Management Americas reported net asset outflows of $11.2 billion in the fourth quarter as the division struggled to regain its footing in the competitive U.S. market.

Bruce Berkowitz, head of Fairholme Capital Management, isn't the kind of manager whose moves make headlines, but they've paid off remarkably well for his investors.

MetLife plans to use stock to pay for more than half of the planned $15 billion purchase of American International Group life insurance unit Alico, according to reports Tuesday, citing three people with knowledge of the matter.

Barnaby Grist will join the newly minted Cetera Financial Group as executive vice president, wealth management, effective Wednesday.