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Why People in Hong Kong Have Incomes 5x Higher Than People in China’s Richest Province

16:34 29 June in Articles Written by Jon Henschen by rafferty

June 29, 2018 By Jon Henschen, Intellectual Takeout For two decades, prosperity has followed economic freedom for the most economically free territory in the world: Hong Kong. An island lacking natural resources, Hong Kong was added to the British Empire after the Opium Wars and eventually transformed into a hub of Britain’s China trade. Britain’s 99-year lease on Hong Kong expired in 1997, at which time, Hong Kong became a Special Administration Region (SAR) and is officially a part of China. But for most intents and purposes, Hong Kong operates as an independent country independent from China. Even with the economic success China has experienced in recent years, Hong Kong residents enjoy income that is four to five times higher than residents of China's most prosperous region, Shanghai. When the United Kingdom turned over...

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LPL’s Top Ranks Are a ‘Revolving Door,’ Recruiter Says

15:49 27 June in In the News by rafferty

June 27, 2018 By Janet Levaux, ThinkAdvisor Industry watchers weigh in on what Bill Morrissey's departure says about the IBD and its challenges. Monday’s news that longtime LPL Financial executive Bill Morrissey is retiring has prompted several veteran industry watchers to express concern about management stability and other issues at the independent broker-dealers. “LPL’s executive ranks have been a revolving door since CEO Mark Casady left” in early 2017, said Tim Welsh, head of the consulting group Nexus Strategy and a former executive at Charles Schwab. Morrissey had been with the independent broker-dealer since 2004, leading its business-development efforts since 2006. According to the IBD, he is retiring “to spend more time with his young family.” Other recent exits include Michael Murray, who was LPL’s national sales manager for the West since 2002. He left the...

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How Advisor Group’s deal for Signator could reshape the IBD space

15:39 26 June in In the News by rafferty

June 25, 2018 By Tobias Salinger, Financial Planning Advisor Group’s second acquisition of the year carries the potential to make it bigger than any other independent broker-dealer network, while pushing its largest subsidiary into the top 10 firms in the space. Some major questions loom over the success of the deal, though. The private equity-backed network unveiled its plans on June 21 to buy Signator Investors from the insurance giant John Hancock and fold it into the largest Advisor Group subsidiary IBD, Royal Alliance Associates. Neither party disclosed the terms of the deal, which is a full stock-purchase agreement expected to close in the fourth quarter. “We’ve spent a great deal of time building our company internally,” Advisor Group CEO Jamie Price says. “Acquisitions come along when they come along, and we pass on more...

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LPL’s Blockchain Portfolio: Forward Thinking or Foolish?

16:19 19 June in In the News by rafferty

June 18, 2018 By Janet Levaux, ThinkAdvisor The independent broker-dealer's move is being hotly debated by industry players and observers. LPL Financial moved Friday to be the first independent broker-dealer to offer a blockchain portfolio. But is such a step the right way to go? Blockchain is a digital ledger system that can be used to record transactions in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ether. The technology has other potential uses, like records management or smart contracts. Holdings in the portfolio include SAP, IBM, Microsoft, UPS and Aetna. LPL’s separately managed account offering is a “new strategy [that] can further help our advisors differentiate their practices in the marketplace,” said Chief Investment Officer Burt White, in a statement. The IBD’s announcement came one day after a top Securities and Exchange Commission official said that the cryptocurrency Ether...