Pick beat out two other CEO contenders: Co-President Andy Saperstein and Dan Simkowitz, who has led investment management.

“What we’re not seeing in number of advisors, we’re seeing in size of teams,” said CEO Paul Reilly.

Despite the downgrade, the ratings agencies believe the improved scale and synergies from Cetera’s Avantax acquisition will outweigh any additional leverage it will take on.

Odeon Capital analyst Dick Bove says the bank is rudderless with no one to lead it into the company’s next chapter. 

PE firms like KKR are gaining access to vast IRA wealth through Schwab and Fidelity.

For years, BlackRock inaccurately described Aviron as a “diversified financial services” company, when it was a movie production outfit.

But a new FINRA rule making it easier for state regulators to oppose expungements could solve some long-standing problems.