By Kenneth Corbin

Homeowners across the country are feeling the squeeze from rising home insurance rates, which have posted double-digit increases each of the last two years. The increases are because of an array of factors that include rising construction costs and home prices, consumers increasingly bearing the burden of reinsurance, and, especially, climate risk. Some large insurers have abandoned high-risk regions, leaving homeowners with fewer, and more expensive, choices that many are struggling to afford.

Among our other recent most-read wealth management articles:

RBC rising . Royal Bank of Canada reported stronger-than-expected earnings for the second quarter, causing an immediate pop in the company's share price. RBC's quarterly results were buoyed by its capital markets business, and while CEO Dave McKay said each of the bank's divisions had a strong quarter, he cautioned that flagging consumer confidence because of trade concerns could negatively affect the U.S. and Canadian economies.

Ex-Commonwealth advisors bolt from LPL . Three advisor practices that together managed $780 million in assets and had been affiliated with Commonwealth have jumped to Raymond James rather than stick with LPL, which acquired Commonwealth earlier this year. Other wealth firms have been aggressively recruiting Commonwealth teams since the acquisition was announced, but LPL leaders have said the firm is on track to retain 90% of Commonwealth advisors as it looks ahead to migrating them to its own platform next year.

Time to move on from big tech ? Whether it's the Magnificent Seven or some other grouping, investors seem stuck on megacap technology companies. But many on the Street are wondering how much more milk that cow has to give, so we asked a handful of top advisors what other investments look attractive to them in this week's Big Q feature. Some advisors point to opportunities in small-cap equities, gold, and in Chinese equities, which have been emerging from a grinding bear market and could be poised for a sustained run.

      Northern Trust sues over "blatant fraud."   Northern Trust is accusing a former advisor of breaching his fiduciary duty, alleging that Christopher Walters stole from a client and ducked the firm's security protocols to avoid getting caught. Northern Trust alleges in a lawsuit that Walters, a relationship manager based in Florida, orchestrated a series of disbursements from the client's account. Many of those transactions were legitimate, Northern Trust says, but it alleges that with other transactions Walters fraudulently directed the funds to himself. 

JPMorgan Chase's recruiting win . The wealth management division at the nation's largest bank has lured two financial advisory teams that together managed about $1.3 billion in assets away from rival UBS. The move continues a push to build out J.P. Morgan Advisors, the bank's brokerage division catering to wealthy clients, and will establish its first office in the burgeoning Austin market. The recruits are the $1 billion Neff Group and the Buchanan Group, a father-and-son team that managed $279 million in client assets at UBS.

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September 05, 2025 15:22 ET (19:22 GMT)

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