Open claims against the Iowa-based broker-dealer totaled $32.1 million at the end of 2022, eight times what it reported a year earlier, according to an SEC filing.
If financial advisors don't seek the firm's approval, they risk running afoul of securities regulators, Cetera said.
The deal for Equius, an RIA based in suburban San Francisco with $1.1 billion in client assets, expands Wealth Enhancement Group's footprint in Northern California.
The San Francisco-based Marchetti Porter Wealth Partners jumped ship over the weekend.
The addition of SVB Wealth, which has close to $16 billion in client assets, will help First Citizens expand in the California market.
Vishal Bakshi, an advisor who reportedly has $1.5 billion in client assets, left to join Morgan Stanley late last week, after signing on at First Republic less than a year ago.
The rep at Hornor Townsend & Kent sold securities known as Future Income Payments; according to the Department of Justice, that was a nationwide Ponzi scheme.
Almost half the financial advisors hired by First Republic since 2010 came from Wells Fargo Advisors, J.P. Morgan Securities, UBS Financial Services and Morgan Stanley.
The UBS deal to acquire its banking rival, along with the continued drop in the share price of First Republic Bank, could mean a further shake-up in the US wealth management market.
The bank has been a significant destination for wirehouse advisors looking for a smaller firm, but its problems over the past week are likely to limit its recruiting.
