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
Morgan Stanley targets $10 trillion in AUM: Gorman
WIREHOUSES APR 16, 2021
Morgan Stanley targets $10 trillion in AUM: Gorman

The wirehouse reported new records for net new assets of $105 billion, up 43% from the end of December and an increase of 183% from the same period a year earlier. 'My target is $10 trillion of money under management,' said CEO James Gorman. 'I've told the team internally, they hate that.'

Merrill Lynch client balances climb 31% year over year
WIREHOUSES APR 15, 2021
Merrill Lynch client balances climb 31% year over year

While assets increased, adviser head count at the thundering herd dipped. The company is looking to expand in key markets like San Francisco, Florida and another half-dozen locales.

Wells Fargo adviser head count slips 8% year over year
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT APR 14, 2021
Wells Fargo adviser head count slips 8% year over year

The decline is expected to continue over the next six months as the bank closes its international wealth management business. The embattled bank recently revised how it tallies its adviser head count total and this year began including about 800 to 900 private bankers and portfolio managers.

UBS loses $371,000 claim linked to options strategy
ALTERNATIVES APR 08, 2021
UBS loses $371,000 claim linked to options strategy

UBS has been hit with a rash of arbitration claims over strategies investors say damaged them, and most recently it saw a wave of investor complaints over Puerto Rico bonds and bond funds.

Why the 'one bad broker' rule matters
ALTERNATIVES APR 07, 2021
Why the 'one bad broker' rule matters

One bad broker making big bets or selling lousy or misunderstood products can damage or even ruin a firm. Are firms doing enough to keep those brokers and high-risk behaviors in check?

Ex-GPB executive gets 9-month sentence
ALTERNATIVES APR 07, 2021
Ex-GPB executive gets 9-month sentence

Former chief compliance officer Michael Cohn was also fined $50,000. A former Securities and Exchange Commission examiner, he was charged in October 2019 with obstruction of justice relating to an SEC investigation of GPB.

Yankees great Derek Jeter joins board of Rockefeller Capital Management
WIREHOUSES APR 07, 2021
Yankees great Derek Jeter joins board of Rockefeller Capital Management

Jeter, whose teams won five World Series, retired from baseball after the 2014 season and is currently the CEO of the Miami Marlins.

Purshe Kaplan racks up $1.6 million settlement
ALTERNATIVES APR 05, 2021
Purshe Kaplan racks up $1.6 million settlement

Since 2017, the firm has been on the hook for $16 million in legal settlements and restitution to clients, with the lion's share stemming from one broker's sale of alternative investments to a Native American tribe in Michigan.

Edward Jones settles $34 million racial discrimination claim
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT MAR 26, 2021
Edward Jones settles $34 million racial discrimination claim

As part of the settlement, Edward Jones will create a new financial adviser council to address diversity issues and senior management will be kept informed of those initiatives.

IBD boosts reserves more than $500,000 for inverse-ETF legal costs
ALTERNATIVES MAR 24, 2021
IBD boosts reserves more than $500,000 for inverse-ETF legal costs

Calton & Associates, with 400 reps and advisers, is looking at paying restitution of close to half a million to clients who bought leveraged exchange-traded funds.