Apr 27, 2011
By Diana Britton
Have you ever been recruited to a broker/dealer based on certain representations, then found that the firm couldn’t follow through on its promises?...
Apr 26, 2011
By Diana Britton
Ameriprise Financial (NYSE: AMP) said its first quarter net income was at $241 million, a 13 percent boost from $214 million a year ago. Meanwhile, the firm reported its best quarterly advisor productivity ever at $95,000, up 23 percent from 2010. Improving advisor productivity has been a focus at the firm for more than a year. ...
Apr 25, 2011
By Kristen French
LPL Financial reported net income of $49 million, or 43 cents a share for the first quarter of 2011, a 92 percent jump from the first quarter of 2010. Revenues grew 17.5 percent from the year ago quarter to $873.9 million. Nearly 70 percent of that growth was driven by increased sales activity, LPL executives said on a conference call. ...
Apr 21, 2011
By Kristen French
In a disappointing quarter for Morgan Stanley, the firm’s global wealth management group was, once again, a bright spot, with revenue, earnings and client assets up, though advisor headcount and pre-tax profit margins were down...
Apr 21, 2011
By Diana Britton
Raymond James Financial’s (NYSE: RJF) Private Client Group led the firm’s growth in the second quarter, posting a record $275 billion in client assets under administration, up from assets of $242 billion a year ago and $262 billion in the previous quarter...
Apr 20, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
Charles Schwab’s new advisor “franchisee” program, which was announced in February and will be rolled out at the end of this year, aims to hire financial advisors with entrepreneurial drive, but not too much entrepreneurial drive. The franchisee program would operate out of individual branches, turnkey operations largely funded by Schwab, located in areas that are underserved by the company’s existing network of employee-staffed offices that cater to retail investors, Chief Executive Walt Bettinger said during a conference call convened to talk about the program today. He was adamant about one aspect of the project: Each branch will operate in a single location and will be run by a single advisor. ...
Apr 18, 2011
By Diana Britton
Every year, Registered Rep. editors survey reps, branch managers, financial planners, broker/dealer executives and RIAs about compensation trends. But to get the numbers right, we need your help. The participation of our readers is essential to the survey’s success. Just fill out our CONFIDENTIAL 2011 Compensation Survey. As thanks, those who participate can enter to win an iPad 2....
Apr 8, 2011
By Diana Britton
Independent broker-dealer Multi-Financial is undergoing a major growth initiative, ramping up its recruiting, wealth management platform capabilities and practice management services, said President and CEO Brett Harrison. Recruiting is already up 900 percent from last year, and the firm has brought on $9 million in production in the past five months, and plans to add $20 million in total production this year. ...
Apr 7, 2011
By Kristen French
Migration to the independent financial advisor model—independent b/ds and RIAs—is likely to continue unabated in 2011, a Fidelity Investments survey about advisor and broker sentiment released today suggests. ...
Apr 4, 2011
By Diana Britton
Do you want to know how your pay stacks up against that of your peers? The final deadline for participation is April 18, and that’s coming up. We are depending on your input! ...
Apr 1, 2011
By Mindy Diamond
As recruiting from other wirehouses dries up, the big Wall Street firms have been turning to non-traditional sources....
Apr 1, 2011
By Charles Paikert & Diana Britton
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Apr 1, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
The average financial advisor is in his 50s and mulling retirement. The total number of advisors in the industry has been flat for years and is expected to decline in coming years. These facts are constantly trotted out as proof that a talent crunch is at hand in the industry. But in fact, it may be no big deal....
Apr 1, 2011
By Diana Britton
IBDs are dressing up their offerings for hybrid advisors....
Apr 1, 2011
By Philip Palaveev
Securities America is just the latest broker/dealer to face financial distress. With so many firms falling into financial or legal hot water lately, financial advisors need to be prepared for the worst. Here's a checklist for your Plan B....
Mar 31, 2011
By John Aidan Byrne
Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo Advisors and Edward Jones plan to ramp up trainee recruiting in 2011, Registered Rep. has learned. It comes at a time when a number of currents in the business are converging to create what many predict will be a talent crunch. ...
Mar 30, 2011
By Matt Matrisian
Financial advisors work countless hours helping clients plan their financial futures. But, unfortunately, too many advisors need help planning their financial futures. Today, only about 18 percent of independent advisors have a well-defined business succession plan that is ready to implement, according to a recent survey....
Mar 29, 2011
By Diana Britton
Mark Schlafly, president and CEO of FSC Securities, has suddenly resigned from his position at the AIG Advisor Group broker-dealer because of a family medical emergency, an industry source familiar with the situation told Registered Rep. ...
Mar 28, 2011
By Robert Kraus and Jeremy Freedman
U.S. Trust recently told its advisors they had to repudiate the broker protocol for recruiting in writing. Will other firms follow? Here’s a refresher so you know what the protocol does and does not protect when you seek a new home for your clients and your practice....
Mar 25, 2011
By Diana Britton
Securities America met with plaintiff’s attorneys on Thursday to negotiate a resolution to investor claims against the company related to its sale of allegedly fraudulent private placements. The outcome of the mediation was unknown at press time, as key players involved didn’t return phone calls. Other media outlets have not reported on the results. Will the asset class become demonized unfairly?...
Mar 24, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
Just two months after it announced the acquisition of three RIAs with $2.2 billion in combined assets, United Capital said today it has bought another practice, Vantage Point Advisors....
Mar 23, 2011
By Philip Palaveev
Securities America is just the latest broker/dealer to face financial distress. With so many firms falling into financial or legal hot water lately, financial advisors need to be prepared for the worst. Here’s a checklist for your Plan B. ...
Mar 14, 2011
By Anne Field
The one constant about change is that people hate it. Trouble is, if your employees don’t embrace whatever change it is you want to introduce, you can forget about it: You won’t succeed. ...
Mar 9, 2011
By Kristen French
Morgan Stanley (MS) will lay off a total of 200 to 300 trainees and lower-producing financial advisers during the first quarter, and most of those cuts have already taken place, a source knowledgeable about the situation told Registered Rep. Dow Jones newswires broke the story Wednesday....
Mar 8, 2011
By Diana Britton
The hybrid hype is growing. Independent broker-dealers have lately been ramping up their efforts to attract hybrid advisors, launching new recruiting efforts and rolling out integrated commission and fee-based platforms and hybrid-specific services. Meanwhile, two major custodians released reports about the importance of the hybrid market in the past two weeks. ...
Mar 8, 2011
By Charles Paikert
Bankers need to flaunt their status as fiduciaries to battle expected competition from broker/dealers, ...
Mar 7, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
Morgan Stanley is considering new names for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, the 18,000-advisor retail brokerage joint venture it created in a deal with then-Smith Barney owner Citigroup, back in 2009. ...
Mar 7, 2011
By John Aidan Byrne
In an email memo, Krawcheck, the head of Bank of America’s wealth management business, told Merrill’s thundering herd that the bank’s new “garden leave” employment policy agreement won’t apply to them. Under that agreement, advisers working at BofA’s US Trust unit must commit to stay at U.S. Trust for sixty days after they resign, and avoid soliciting clients for eight months after they resign, in order to qualify for 2010 bonuses and their continued employment. ...
Mar 3, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
Broker disdain for banking culture runs deep. But banks see brokerages as another — important — bank product distribution outlet. Can this marriage work? Should it?...
Mar 3, 2011
By Charles Paikert
Add Beacon Pointe Wealth Advisors to the growing list of registered investment advisors who want to become a national firm.
The Newport Beach, Calif.-based firm, which has approximately $4 billion in assets under management, made its first move towards expanding beyond California on Tuesday when it signed on Bruce Meyer, former managing director of Copperwynd Financial in Scottsdale, Az., Registered Rep. has learned.
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Mar 2, 2011
By Kristen French
On Wednesday, the SEC proposed open-ended rules aimed at reigning in incentive comp. The rules, which stem from Section 956 of the Dodd-Frank Act, would prohibit incentive-based compensation arrangements that encourage “inappropriate” risk-taking or could lead to “material financial loss” at broker-dealers and investment advisers with $1 billion or more of assets. ...
Mar 1, 2011
By Diana Britton
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Mar 1, 2011
By David A. Geracioti, Editor-In-Chief
Every broker/dealer describes itself as advisor centric. It has, in fact, become a cliché. ...
Mar 1, 2011
By Mindy Diamond
Today's fat recruiting deals reward those who clear challenging growth hurdles. Not everyone is able to stay in the race....
Feb 25, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
Wells Fargo Advisors has tentatively agreed to a $32 million settlement of a federal class-action gender discrimination lawsuit brought in 2009 by three women financial advisors who worked at its legacy Wachovia Securities brokerage. ...
