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In the News

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Eyes on Kestra: IBDs Are Still in High Demand

17:41 19 December in In the News by rafferty

December 18, 2018 By Diana Britton, WealthManagement   Stone Point may be looking to get out of the IBD business, but there’s still an appetite for such firms, even as the stock market suffers. Private equity firm Stone Point Capital is reportedly looking to offload Kestra Financial, the Austin-based independent broker/dealer it purchased less than three years ago. And while we may be headed for a bear market in stocks, it’s still a bull market for IBDs, industry observers say, especially for firms like Kestra. A couple years ago, there was a lot of noise around diminished demand for independent broker/dealers, especially as the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule was set to take effect. Now that there’s less regulatory uncertainty, firms are focusing more on the future, with a bullish view. “Contrary to speculation a number...

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Kestra BD Sale: Now or Never?

18:03 18 December in In the News by rafferty

December 17, 2018 By Janet Levaux, ThinkAdvisor   It’s turning out to be a nasty season for sales of equities. But how about broker-dealers? Industry watchers have varying takes on how they see the market for broker-dealers playing out for potential sellers in late 2018 and early 2019. But they agree that the private equity owner of Kestra Financial  — Stone Pointe Capital — is smart to be making a move now. “Stone Pointe … bought it, rebranded it and did great work dressing it up for another sale,” said Tim Welsh, head of the consultancy Nexus Strategy, in an interview. “It looks like the end of the bull market, so if you are gonna sell a financial company, you’ve got to do it now.” A downturn in the stock market, Welsh says, “means valuations are going...

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LPL Lowers Pricing on Small 401(k) Platform

18:40 04 December in In the News by rafferty

December 3, 2018 By Diana Britton, Wealthmanagement.com Effective in January, platform fees for advisors serving small retirement plans will be lowered from 20 to 10 basis points. In its latest move to improve pricing for advisors, LPL Financial is lowering the platform fees on its small retirement plan platform from 20 to 10 basis points, effective in January. The firm also added two new recordkeepers to the platform this year and will add more next year. In April, the firm reduced pricing on its Strategic Asset Management advisory platform. The firm also lowered the asset size required to join a hybrid advisory firm from $50 million to $25 million. The firm has also been improving its services to retirement plan advisors. In July, LPL revised the qualifications for its Retirement Plan Consulting Program, allowing more...