A wild ride: The major changes in the broker-dealer world since July 2008
July 15: LPL Financial announces that it is ending its affiliation with the Pershing LLC clearing platform used by about 1,700 advisers at three broker-dealers it acquired in 2007, and is moving those reps onto the LPL clearing platform.
July 30: Firms whose fiscal years end in December are required to make their first payment under the Securities Investor Protection Corp.'s new fee schedule — 0.25% of net operating value, up from a flat $150. One firm, Wedbush Morgan Securities Inc., estimates that its tab will be roughly $400,000.