NEW YORK (Reuters) – Morgan Stanley Smith Barney is revamping its financial adviser pay structure to help raise its profit margin to 20 percent by encouraging brokers to bring in new business and sell more loans, industry sources said.

Executives of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, a joint venture with Citigroup Inc. (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) briefed managers Friday on the plan, which also will slash pay for lower producers. Financial advisers are getting briefed on the plan this week, recruiters said.

By Joseph A. Giannone

(Reuters) – UBS Wealth Management Americas said on Tuesday third-quarter earnings rose slightly in U.S. dollars, as the smallest of the four major Wall Street brokerages bested rivals on several fronts during the toughest markets since the financial crisis.

The Swiss bank said the U.S. brokerage unit earned almost $170 million in the third quarter, swinging back from a $47 million loss in the year-earlier period.

NEW YORK, Oct 21 (Reuters) – Merrill Lynch cut about a
dozen branch directors and complex managers this week, as part
of a continuing effort to streamline the firm’s management
ranks, according to a recruiter briefed on the situation.

Notices began going out to managers on Wednesday, according
to the recruiter, who asked to remain anonymous to maintain
their relationship with Merrill. The changes follow a
reorganization last month that eliminated three divisions and
consolidated regional manager jobs to 11 from 16.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Are banks beyond repair? The largest U.S. financial companies did little to answer that question, delivering a mixed bag of quarterly results.

Earnings rose at Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Wells Fargo. Meanwhile, JPMorgan Chase & Co and BlackRock Inc said profit fell, while Goldman Sachs Group had a rare loss.

NEW YORK, Oct 20 (Reuters) – Are banks beyond repair? The
largest U.S. financial companies did little to answer that
question, delivering a mixed bag of quarterly results.

Earnings rose at Bank of America , Morgan Stanley , Citigroup and Wells Fargo . Meanwhile,
JPMorgan Chase & Co and BlackRock Inc said
profit fell, while Goldman Sachs Group had a rare loss.

Oct 19 (Reuters) – Morgan Stanley on Wednesday said
third-quarter earnings from retail brokerage and wealth
management soared, powered by higher commissions, fees and
record in-flows of new client assets.

The firm’s wealth management division, mostly comprised by
retail brokerage joint venture Morgan Stanley Smith Barney,
boosted net revenue by 5 percent to $3.26 billion from a year
earlier, about a third of Morgan Stanley’s overall revenue.

Oct 18 (Reuters) – Volatile markets and souring mortgages
slashed earnings by nearly a third at Bank of America’s wealth management businesses during the third quarter.

BofA’s money management arm, which includes brokerage giant
Merrill Lynch and private banking unit U.S. Trust, earned $347
million in the September quarter, down 31 percent from the
second quarter, as potential mortgage losses prompted the bank
to more than double the amount it set aside for possible future
losses, to $162 million.

By Joseph A. Giannone

(Reuters) – Client balances, revenue and managed-account assets at Wells Fargo Advisors all declined during the third quarter.

Business was down across the board at the third-largest U.S. brokerage during the three months ended on September 30. Assets supervised for wealth management clients, IRAs and institutional retirement plans all declined. Managed account assets, from which Wells generates fees, fell 9 percent to $238 billion during the three-month period.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – More than two years after selling control of brokerage giant Smith Barney, Citigroup Inc this week abandoned its strategy of referring clients to independent investment advisers.

Citi said in a statement it cut 80 of its personal wealth management investment consultants in the United States as part of the move. The firm instead plans to expand the internal brokerage and wealth advisory services it already offers and, over the next year, add 30 financial advisers to the pool of 270 it already has.

By Joseph A. Giannone

(Reuters) – JPMorgan Chase & Co said third-quarter earnings in its asset and wealth management division were hurt by turbulent markets and customer withdrawals.

The bank also offered a muted outlook for these businesses in the coming year.

JPMorgan, the first major U.S. bank to report third-quarter results, said its asset management and private wealth businesses together generated $389.5 million in profit on $2.3 billion in revenue. Earnings fell 8 percent from a year earlier, reflecting litigation expenses and a bigger payroll.