Mason Braswell

With an eye toward boosting a lagging profit margin at its U.S. wealth unit, UBS is trimming a popular incentive for teams and nicking rates on its core pay grid for brokers next year, according to sources familiar with the changes.

Three years after his abrupt exit from Merrill Lynch, one of its former top brokers in Kentucky has cleared his public record of allegations that he said were making it hard to attract customers to his new independent practice.

Nan J. Ginger, who took her six-person team to Rockefeller on November 29.

Fired LPL CEO Dan Arnold was granted around a third of his outstanding stock options.

Brian J. Mora, who has taken over as head of broker recruiting at Ameriprise Financial.

Morgan Stanley agreed to a censure and $15 million fine to settle allegations that it failed to detect red flags that at least four brokers were stealing millions from customer accounts, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management will keep its advisor compensation plan unchanged for 2025, after introducing advisor-friendly adjustments in 2024. Co-head Eric Schimpf announced to advisors that core payout structures, bonuses, and deferral rates would remain the same, supporting consistent growth and stability. Tim Shook, head of Advisor Strategic Programs, highlighted that the decision aligns with Merrill’s goals of transparency and simplicity, adding that the current plan successfully drove growth by attracting new households, and deepening relationships with existing clients.

One of Merrill Lynch’s largest brokers in Tennessee has split to join regional brokerage Stifel Nicholaus & Co. in Brentwood.

Raymond James & Associates and three Virginia brokers have been ordered to pay $4.8 million in a raiding claim brought by smaller regional rival Robert W. Baird.

UBS Wealth Management USA’s broker-dealer has agreed to pay $3.5 million over allegations that it failed to supervise brokers’ short-term trading in syndicate preferred stock, according to a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority settlement finalized on Wednesday.