Andrew Welsch

William “Bill” Bruen Jr. and his son Andrew join an existing LPL practice after spending more than a decade at UBS.

The top-ranked RIA is adding four offices and dozens of employees with its acquisition of Carlson Capital Management.

LPL Financial handily beat Wall Street expectations with its fourth quarter report Thursday evening. The financial services firm reported fourth-quarter earnings per share of $4.25 on revenue of $3.5 billion, beating consensus analyst estimates of $3.96 per share on revenue of $3.34 billion, according to FactSet. Adjusted EPS was up 21% year-over-year and revenue was up 33%, according to LPL’s earnings report issued Thursday afternoon.

BEST PRACTICES A former Merrill Lynch financial advisor team that oversaw $700 million left the company to join Morgan Stanley The Zelin Group joined Morgan Stanley in New York on Jan. 24. The team includes advisors Jonathan Zelin, James Mengouchian, Jamie Goldgrub, Colin Obsitnik, and Shivam Jhingen as well as business development associate Joseph Marino and client relationship analyst Christopher Oliveira.

LPL Financial handily beat Wall Street expectations with its fourth quarter report Thursday evening. The financial services firm reported fourth-quarter earnings per share of $4.25 on revenue of $3.5 billion, beating consensus analyst estimates of $3.96 per share on revenue of $3.34 billion, according to FactSet. CEO Rich Steinmeier said the quarter’s results were “a capstone on another outstanding year,” and that LPL was focused on delivering better operating leverage in 2025.

Raymond James Financial handily beat Wall Street’s expectations with its latest quarterly results, which benefited from a surge in investment banking revenue. Raymond James shares fell 0.7% Thursday morning compared with 0.3% gain for the S&P 500. “Despite some seasonal headwinds, we are optimistic entering the fiscal second quarter with strong client asset levels, solid loan growth and healthy activity levels for both financial advisor recruiting and investment banking,” CEO Paul Reilly said in a statement.

The company details plans to improve the profitability of its wealth management unit, with a focus on the U.S. market.

Robinhood reversed course just a day after introducing events contracts that would have allowed investors to trade based on the outcome of the Super Bowl.

For more than a decade, Robinhood has been a disruptive force in the brokerage industry, helping to bring trading commissions to zero. New documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicate Robinhood’s digital advice offering will boast an investment minimum of just $50 and charge an annual fee of just 0.25% on the net portfolio value of a client’s account. The documents, which are drafts and subject to change, were filed by Robinhood Asset Management (RAM), a subsidiary of Robinhood Markets.

Thanks to smartphones, easy-to-use brokerage accounts, and zero-commission trades, everyone is just a swipe away from buying stocks or other financial instruments. As a result, Americans are starting their investing journeys at far younger ages than previous generations. For Gen Z, typically defined as those born in the U.S. from 1997 through 2012, the average age for their first investment is 19, according to a 2024 Charles Schwab survey.