Bruce Kelly

InvestmentNews

Bruce Kelly

Senior Columnist

26 years experience

Bruce's specialty topics

Legal and compliance Advisor compensation Alternative investments

Bruce is Senior Columnist for InvestmentNews, a leading publication for financial advisors and the wealth management industry.

An award-winning journalist, Bruce’s career at InvestmentNews began in 2000, two years after the launch of the newspaper. He has covered the brokerage industry ever since, focusing on financial advisors’ pay, the products they sell, and the firms on and off Wall Street where they work.

His reporting in the financial crisis 2008 and thereafter shed light on the many shortcomings of the financial advice industry, from weak regulation to the collapse of many broker-dealers.

Bruce writes an award-winning column, On Advice, and his daily breaking news reports give clarity and insight into what’s happening behind closed doors at the largest brokerage firms in the country.

Before becoming a journalist, Bruce taught middle school and high school English in Manhattan and Caracas, Venezuela, for a decade. He is the co-author of a 2010 book, “Financial Serial Killers,” and has two children.

How I think about writing for this industry…

“I love covering the financial advice business. We write about financial advisors and how they care about clients' lifesavings - what is more important than that?”

Awards and recognition

  • 2 SABEW awards
  • Neal Award

Also published by

Co-author of "Financial Serial Killers"

Read the latest stories by Bruce

Bruce Kelly
Displaying 3542 results
Adviser comp at Merrill Lynch: If it ain't broke, why fix it?
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT OCT 26, 2021
Adviser comp at Merrill Lynch: If it ain't broke, why fix it?

The wirehouse is tweaking how it calculates advisers' payouts.

UBS wealth management notches another strong quarter
WIREHOUSES OCT 26, 2021
UBS wealth management notches another strong quarter

Meanwhile, the investment bank announced plans to launch a digital wealth manager in the U.S. next year targeting affluent clientele.

Diversity in financial advice: Recruiting priority or PR play?
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT OCT 25, 2021
Diversity in financial advice: Recruiting priority or PR play?

Press releases touting recent hires fall short in the effort to make the financial advice industry more diverse.

Wirehouse CEOs muse about RIAs and competition
WIREHOUSES OCT 22, 2021
Wirehouse CEOs muse about RIAs and competition

James Gorman of Morgan Stanley and Charlie Scharf of Wells Fargo both took time during their earnings conference calls to share some thoughts about their RIA competitors.

Schwab on track to begin TD account transitions
FINTECH OCT 21, 2021
Schwab on track to begin TD account transitions

The process of switching investment accounts from one firm to the another is one of the most anxiety producing events in the work life of a financial adviser.

The demise of Worden Capital signals danger for investors and harm to the industry
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT OCT 21, 2021
The demise of Worden Capital signals danger for investors and harm to the industry

Unpaid arbitration awards have been a consistent stain on the retail securities industry. Brokers have been walking away from paying investors for years.

Steps to hire diverse talent
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT OCT 20, 2021
Steps to hire diverse talent

Firm leaders and executives should aim to broaden their potential talent pool and professional networks, says Schwab's Leslie Tabor.

Edward Jones loses $30 million cyberbullying claim over fake sex ads
FINTECH OCT 18, 2021
Edward Jones loses $30 million cyberbullying claim over fake sex ads

The former broker, Dalas Gundersen, sued Edward Jones in 2015, seeking damages, after three fake gay-sex ads were posted on Craigslist earlier that year listing his business phone number.

Merrill ramps up adviser training after record revenues in Q3
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT OCT 14, 2021
Merrill ramps up adviser training after record revenues in Q3

The new adviser development program is up and running with 750 advisers. Some of the new recruits could be already licensed to sell securities, but don't have a background in financial advice, according to the company.

Head count down, Wells Fargo has 'underinvested' in independent advisers, CEO says
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT OCT 14, 2021
Head count down, Wells Fargo has 'underinvested' in independent advisers, CEO says

In July, Charlie Scharf said that indie brokers were 'underutilized.' In the latest quarter, the number of advisers declined 2.1%.