Apr 11, 2011
By Susan Konig
You’re not likely to find many branch managers like Jim Pekelder these days. He’s a complex director for Wells Fargo Advisors in Omaha, overseeing 31 reps in his own branch, and another 30 spread among a half-dozen smaller offices. Pekelder’s complex assets total about $5 billion, certainly enough to keep him busy (and well-compensated). But, with the help of a junior partner, he also manages 1,200 of his own client accounts worth about $130 million in assets.
That would make Pekelder a very busy man—and somewhat of a rock star, frankly. But like anybody else, Pekelder entered the industry as a lowly young rep, and like other reps of his vintage, he endured seven corporate mergers and five back office conversions—only to come out the other side as the manager of a large complex....
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 Charles Paikert
Beleaguered municipal bonds received a vote of confidence from financial service executives at SIFMA’s Private Client Conference this morning....
Apr 7, 2011
By John Aidan Byrne
Wealth management firms are expected to invest heavily in customer relationship management technology (CRM) over the next three years, according to a new report from Aite Group. The new technology would more efficiently store and manage vast amounts of client information and speed up retrieval of client information by financial advisors and other users at the firms. ...
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 6, 2011
By Diana Britton
As assets continue to flow to alternatives in the wake of the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, many advisors are launching their own alternatives strategies to meet that demand. Advisors say this allows them to offer clients alternatives with increased transparency, greater liquidity and lower fees. ...
Apr 5, 2011
By Charles Paikert
Wealth managers don’t have to be experts when it comes to philanthropy, but they do need to be empathetic and knowledgeable about charitable giving, according to industry leaders who will be addressing the annual conference of the International Association of Advisors in Philanthropy in suburban Chicago later this month....
Apr 5, 2011
By Stan Luxenberg
Worried that interest rates could rise for years to come, some investors have been dumping their bonds. But the extreme bears are probably overreacting...
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 29, 2011
By Charles Paikert
A new study on the growing economic power and financial needs of the Indian-American market, “No Longer Newcomers,” underscores the growing reliance on segmentation as a cornerstone of new business development by wealth managers....
Mar 29, 2011
By Diana Britton
Mutual funds with good stewardship—fund companies that regard their investors more like partners than “other people’s money”—are more likely to deliver good risk-adjusted returns and have higher survivorship rates, according to Morningstar’s 2011 Mutual Fund Stewardship Grade Research Paper, released Monday. ...
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 28, 2011
By Diana Britton
Securities America has made “substantial progress” in its mediation with plaintiffs’ attorneys involved in class action suits against the independent broker/dealer, said spokeswoman Janine Wertheim, in an email. ...
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 25, 2011
By Charles Paikert
Despite increasing turmoil around the world, high-net-worth investors in the U.S. remained confident in the economy and the stock market, according to Phoenix Marketing International’s latest tracking survey....
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 22, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
Wealth managers with family business owners for clients may want to prepare for some rough transitions ahead. A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers survey of more than 1,600 family-owned or managed businesses around the world found that 27 percent expect to change hands in the next five years. But 47 percent of the companies had no succession plans in place....
Mar 22, 2011
By Charles Paikert
Social media may be all the rage, but traditional media plays a more important role in wealth managers’ marketing plans for high net worth clients...
Mar 21, 2011
By Diana Britton
“It is very unsettling. They have 2,000 reps that are trying to figure out what to do next. It also poses some interesting questions for the industry . . ."
...
Mar 21, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
The Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE:SCHW) said today it will pay about $1 billion in stock for optionsXpress Holdings (NASDAQ-GS:OXPS), the retail online brokerage business, in a deal it expects to close in the third quarter. The deal will give Schwab, which has about $1.6 trillion in client assets, larger exposure in the fast-paced options industry....
Mar 18, 2011
By Stan Luxenberg
Should you pay attention to Morningstar’s star ratings? No, say a growing number of advisors. The stars are based on risk-adjusted past performance, and the past doesn’t necessarily predict the future, the advisors say. Instead of trying to pick tomorrow’s winning active managers, it pays to rely on index funds. ...
Mar 17, 2011
By Diana Britton
Securities America will face a federal court judge Friday to decide whether the independent broker/dealer gets preliminary approval for a $21 million settlement agreement related to allegedly fraudulent private placements sold by the company. Firm says FA retention is nevertheless still strong....
