(New York)

Raymond James just reported earnings and alongside its figures, it also released its latest advisor numbers, and they were eye-popping. The firm has grown its advisor head count to over 8,000, up 198 since last September. Raymond James’ recent recruiting success seems to come down to two factors: big recruiting loans, and the fact that with Raymond James, advisors own the client. According to Raymond James CEO Paul Reilly, “I can’t remember seeing so many $5 million to $10 million [advisors] in the pipeline”.

FINSUM: Big recruiting payouts and letting advisors own the client is a pretty compelling (if expensive) way to recruit.

(London)

After three and a half years of chaos, it is finally going to happen—the British people are going to get a chance to vote on Brexit. No, it will not be in the form of a second referendum, but rather in the form of a general election. After fighting the option for months, the Labour party has been forced to give in to a general election that will pit Boris Johnson against Jeremy Corbyn, and likely decide the future of Brexit. No date has yet been set for the election, but it looks very likely to be in early December.

FINSUM: The trick of this election is that Brexit is probably going to happen no matter who wins because even top Labour leaders actually want the UK to leave.

(New York)

Regulation Best Interest could be on the verge of being struck down in court just like the DOL’s Fiduciary Rule. A consortium of state attorney generals and fiduciary advisers has brought a consolidated lawsuit aiming to stop the rule. The case was rapidly dismissed by the Southern District of New York because of a lack of subject matter experience and it will now be heard by the 2nd Circuit Court. The plaintiffs are arguing that in its current form the rule does not meet the clear demands laid out in the Dodd-Frank Act.

FINSUM: The smart money is on the SEC prevailing, but we expect this will just be an opening salvo in a long legal battle over the rule.

(New York)

Most analysts and investors are quite bearish on the market at the moment despite the fact that the trade war is looking less worrying. That said, there is still a lot of indecision over where the market is headed. With that in mind, Barron’s is arguing that buying beat up but high-quality dividend stocks is a safe bet no matter which way the market heads. Here are five stocks to look at: UnitedHealth, food products company Ingredion, drug company Eli Lilly, Kohl’s, and Ralph Lauren.

FINSUM: There are a lot of different types of names here. We are most interested in Ralph Lauren, which is trading at a 25% discount to its historical valuation. The company is very healthy—easily covering its 3% dividend with earnings—and it it not facing the same headwinds as other retailers because it is mostly a wholesale business, meaning it is agnostic to the shift to online selling.

(New York)

The ETF industry has been undermining the mutual fund business for years, but it is now set to undergo a transformation itself. In particular, as many as half of the 2,000+ ETFs currently listed are likely to close in the next few years as they die off from a lack of assets. Most ETFs need to reach somewhere between $50m and $100m to break even, but currently more than half of the 2,100 or so ETFs have less than $100m. The problem is that the market has become so inundated with new concepts—and so top heavy from broad index funds—that attracting assets is very difficult. Accordingly, many ETFs, including from large providers, are likely to close over the next couple years.

FINSUM: Big names have already started shuttering funds that were underperforming in terms of assets. Expect more of the same.