The company unveiled a new tool, called My Financial Plan, that is certainly akin to the work done by financial advisers, but is stressing publicly that it is not eying an avenue back into the wealth management business.

The company sees no letdown in the future for M&A activity and estimates there are close to 1,000 firms in the U.S. that could become targets.

Revenue per Avantax adviser for 2020 totaled $111,000, at the low end of the independent brokerage and RIA business for large enterprises.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. said at the start of the year it was looking into registered representatives who applied for coronavirus-relief loans for possible violations.

The largest independent brokerage was firing on all fronts for the three months that ended in June, including recruiting advisers, bringing in net new assets and completing previously announced deals to purchase advisers.

Times have changed as the giant money manager for professors puts a $97 million penalty behind it.

The company's success in 2021 in recruiting advisers comes at a delicate time as the financial advice industry tries to figure out the best way to return to the office amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

'As we went through the quarter, we didn’t expect it to slow down as much,' CEO James Cracchiolo said in an earnings call. The company reported 10,047 financial advisers across its platform at the end of June, compared to 9,894 a year earlier.

Sales of such alternative investments are so strong, they have already surpassed last year's total of close to $27 billion, and are tracking to nearly double that amount by year end.

The mention of GPB auditors in a court filing highlights earlier allegations of executives using clients' money for their own personal benefit. Focused on independent broker-dealers, GPB was a leading seller of high-risk private placements in the past decade.