By Kenneth Corbin

Charles Schwab will reduce the fees it charges on four index exchange-traded funds and split shares on six of its mutual funds, which will lower the price per share. The fee cuts are modest -- between two and four basis points -- but Schwab says they will bring the cost of all its equity and fixed-income market cap-weighted index ETFs to less than 10 basis points. The cuts continue a trend of fee reductions in the industry, and follow similar recent moves by Vanguard and E*Trade.

In other most-read wealth management articles this week:

What is Sammons' wealth strategy ? Long known as a prominent player in insurance and annuities, Sammons Financial Group is making a strategic push into wealth management. The firm, based in West Des Moines, Iowa, recently announced the acquisition of the $8 billion advisory business Wealthcare, which caters to a mass-affluent client base. That followed earlier acquisitions of a firm that specializes in model portfolios for retirees and an advisory practice specializing in family-office services for high-net-worth clients.

Brokerage firms settle charges of excessive commissions . Edward Jones, LPL Financial, and three other major brokerage firms have agreed to pay $9.3 million in penalties to resolve charges brought by state regulators that they overcharged clients for commissions on small-dollar stock trades. Those firms, along with RBC, Stifel, and TD Ameritrade, agreed to establish safeguards to ensure they don't revert to charging excessive fees. Regulators allege that the firms routinely charged their minimum commission for small-dollar trades, often exceeding the cap for a commission as a percentage of the transaction.

Morgan Stanley says it's "underweight" in alts . Morgan Stanley prides itself on being the largest distributor of alternative investments, and CEO Ted Pick says at times its activity in the field has eclipsed all competitors combined. But in its fast-growing wealth management channel, exposure to alts has lagged, Pick said at a conference this week. Morgan Stanley's advisors allocate roughly 5% of clients' funds to alternative investments such as private credit and private equity, but Pick suggests that a better proportion would be closer to 10% or 15%.

CFP chair on the changing planning profession . A lot has changed since Liz Miller became a certified financial planner in 2008, a time that seems recent enough but was almost impossibly analog compared with today's world. Miller, the chair of the CFP Board, sat down with Barron's Advisor to take stock of the profession, sharing her views on how artificial intelligence is reshaping the field, how aspiring planners stumble and sometimes flame out, and what types of careers in nonfinancial industries produce some of the best financial planners.

New Commonwealth recruit discusses LPL transition . The same day Ralph Angelo joined Commonwealth Financial Network, the firm announced it was selling itself to LPL Financial. Angelo, who came to Commonwealth from Osaic, had hoped that would be the last time he would switch firms. Angelo says he took a "good long look" at the new arrangement and concluded that if his 30-person, $1.5 billion team was going to have to find another home, LPL "would make the most sense." In an interview with Barron's Advisor, Angelo discusses the potential to scale his practice as part of LPL.

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June 13, 2025 14:08 ET (18:08 GMT)

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