December 1, 2008
COVER STORY: BROKER REPORT CARDS 2008
Registered Rep.'s 2008 Broker Report Cards: Dear Management, Thanks For Nothing.
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Christina Mucciolo
In our 18th annual Broker Report Card survey, wirehouse FAs say they are fed up with management ruining their excellent franchises and platforms. Will the great advisor diaspora begin?...
Merrill Lynch: Back Sliding?
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, Kristen French
Just a few months ago, working for Merrill Lynch was the pinnacle of achievement for many in the Merrill herd: Eighty percent of Broker Report Card respondents...
Smith Barney: While Citi Was Sleeping
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, Christina Mucciolo
The slogan may be, Citi never sleeps, but judging by this year's performance, Smith Barney reps might think Citi was napping on the job. This year, Smith...
Edward Jones: Drinking The Kool-Aid
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, Christina Mucciolo
What's in the water supply at Edward Jones? For the 16th consecutive year, the firm scored the highest overall approval rating (9.4) on our Annual Broker...
JPMorgan Chase/Bear Stearns: Happy To Be Here
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, Halah Touryalai
Bear Stearns was swallowed up by JPMorgan Chase nine months ago, which seems like a lifetime when you consider what's happened to the financial industry...
Morgan Stanley: Best Of The Lot?
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, Christina Mucciolo
While Merrill Lynch and Wachovia Securities' respective mergers might recall Frankenstein, Morgan Stanley's transformation brings to mind a Park Avenue...
UBS: Tough Times for the Swiss
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, John Churchill
The Swiss firm's reputation for conservative financial savvy has been crushed, and the dour mood of the firm's U.S. FAs clearly reflects that. Since the...
Wachovia Securities: Rolling Brokerage Gathers No Love
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, Christina Mucciolo
Wachovia advisors (including legacy A.G. Edwards types) are clearly exhausted from the ride their firm has taken them on this year and it's not over yet....
FEATURES
Taming An In-House Rivalry
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By John Churchill
As head of Citigroup's Private Bank, John Longley has to pull off one of the more vexingly stubborn organizational challenges of the modern financial...
Let’s Make a Deal
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Halah Touryalai
It's good to own (or work for) a registered investment advisory (RIA) these days. As you may have heard, the CDO debacle is helping RIAs to steal Wall...
Book Excerpt: Chain of Blame
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Paul Muolo & Mathew Padila
When E. Stanley O'Neal was promoted to CEO of Merrill Lynch in the summer of 2002, he aimed to change the perception among institutional investors that...
INVESTING
Muni Bonds Are Still Boring But Really Cheap
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Stan Luxenberg
Since the credit crisis began unfolding, many strange things have occurred in the fixed-income markets. Among the strangest has been the downturn of municipal...
The Price Is Right
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Jennifer Popovec
Last month, as Wall Street was melting down and the global stock markets were crashing, I gave my parents some investing advice: I told them to invest...
THE PRACTICE
Making “Joe The Plumber” Your Best Client
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Anne Field
As we all know, the Holy Grail for most advisors is the high-net-worth client. But Stacy Francis has a different idea. While Francis, who runs Francis...
Just-In-Time Giving
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Kevin McKinley
The wobbly economy and plunging stock market might cause some of your clients to start thinking less about charitable giving and more about charitable...
Insurance Matters: Looking For Guarantees
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Alan Lavine
Financial advisors are, apparently, hungry for insurance: Two-thirds of registered reps plan to sell more life insurance products over the next two years....
Generations: College Credit
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Kevin McKinley
Clients who have children heading off to college next year and beyond are facing a convergence of events that will drastically reduce the typical family's...
OPINION
Editor’s Letter: Not So Happy
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, David A. Geracioti Editor-In-Chief
Back in 2006, the theme of our 16th Annual Broker Report Card Survey was: We Love Management. Our survey of about 920 advisors revealed mostly positive...
The Inner Game: Measuring Up?
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Matt Oechsli
In September, I wrote about a wealth management team I walked through the service-loyalty-revenue nexus drill. If you recall, this team was composed of...
Career Moves: The Boutique Route
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Mindy Diamond
The September meltdown in the financial markets, not surprisingly, undermined the confidence of many financial advisors, and their clients, in the Wall...
Street Legal: A Call For Overhaul
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Bill Singer
Recent weeks have been tough at my law firm. I hesitate to answer my phone. One client sobs to me about the loss of his savings, his job and his career....
Endpiece: The Puzzler #11
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By John Kador
Think You're Smart? Try these brainteasers that recruiters use in actual job interviews. THIS MONTH'S CONTEST A financial services firm has 10 employees....
REPORTS
The Globalization Bubble
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, Kristen French
The Baltic Dry Index, which tracks the cost of shipping goods and commodities like coal and iron ore around the globe, has fallen to six-year lows in...
60 Seconds
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, David A. Geracioti
Registered Rep.: You say SEC Chairman Christopher Cox is being treated unfairly. Why? Philip Moyer: Companies need to report in an electronic data format...
Cold Call
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, Halah Touryalai
Registered Rep.: How did your experience as an executive at Hewlett Packard as well as two technology startups help you when first launching your RIA?...
Bye Bye, Open Bar
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, Halah Touryalai
The economy is ruining Christmas on Wall Street. First they get their bonuses taken away, now they can't even get drunk in designer tuxedos at the company...
About That Bonus
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, Halah Touryalai
Apparently Andrew Cuomo isn't a no gifts kind of birthday boy. At the New York Attorney General's 51st birthday and fundraising bash early this month,...
Blotter
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, John Churchill
Head Exam, More Delays For Jail-Bound Hedgie: After faking his suicide and going on the lam for 23 days to avoid a 20-year jail sentence for swindling...
Comings & Goings
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM
Dean Bell has joined independent broker/dealer Leonard & Company as a senior vice president of investments. Before joining Leonard, Bell served as a branch...
