Registered Rep
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Limited Options for Orphaned Financial Advisors
June/27/2011
The independent broker/dealer landscape is lately littered with tales of woe—scores of smaller firms have gone up in a puff of smoke over the past two years due to everything from troubled private placements to insufficient net capital. In February of this year, independent broker/dealer QA3 Financial announced it would close its doors following an arbitration related to Regulation D products. Just over a month later, at the end of April, Ameriprise Financial said it would be selling Securities America, its IBD arm, while the firm was in the middle of finalizing a settlement agreement with investors related to private placements. And at the beginning of June, it surfaced that Harrison Douglas, a small IBD of about 28 advisors, would be closing up shop, after the firm was fined $200,000 in a client arbitration. There are plenty of other examples. Read more . . .
Morgan Keegan On The Block After Regions Settles
June/22/2011
Morgan Keegan may soon be for sale after agreeing to a $210 million settlement with federal, state and industry regulators over issues related to subprime mortgage-backed securities. Read more . . .
America's Top Independent Brokerages
June/02/2011
With the breakaway broker debate raging, and smaller independent b/ds imploding all over the place, we launched our first Independent Broker/Dealer Report Card survey. Read more . . .
The Myth of the Vanishing Advisor
April/01/2011
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. Read more . . .
No Hardball Garden Leave at Merrill, Krawcheck Tells Advisors
March/07/2011
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 wonÂ’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. Read more . . .
New SEC Rules won't Kill Upfront Bonuses
November/11/2010
Attorneys, compensation experts and recruiters said broker recruiting bonuses would be difficult to regulate, and that if anything, the SEC would most likely require greater disclosure of the practice to clients. Read more . . .
Who Will Be Number One Among The Wirehouses?
October/04/2010
Bragging rights are just that. But it sure is nice to say you're number one. Read more . . .
UBS Rolls Out Mortgages For Advisors
September/01/2010
UBS advisors welcome the firm's plans to push mortgages through the retail division. It means a little extra padding on payout when times are tight. Read more . . .
UBS Advisors Welcome Mortgage Rollout
August/06/2010
Financial advisors at UBS Wealth Management Americas closely watched this week as the U.S. brokerage rolled out plans to sell more of its own mortgage and lending products through its retail brokerage force. While the mortgage market has recently spelled trouble for Wall Street (think delinquent loans, toxic mortgaged-backed securities) UBS is calculating that the worst is over. Most UBS advisors, looking for added revenue in a competitive market, welcomed the UBS push. Read more . . .
Taking Home The Leftovers
June/01/2010
Broker/dealer firms eat away at their advisors' take-home pay with little fees on nearly every product and service. Sometimes the slices they take aren't very transparent. Read more . . .
Bank of America Still Ramping Up Merrill Branding
May/14/2010
Though it recently wrapped up a national advertising campaign for Merrill Lynch, Bank of America continues to ramp up branding of the division, with an extension of the Merrill New York Yankees sponsorship as well as recent visits to Merrill offices by BofA personnel to monitor marketing materials. Read more . . .
Recruiting Trends
April/08/2010
Wall Street Recruiter Danny Sarch, on recruiting trends. Read more . . .
Registered Rep. Video Channel
April/08/2010
Video of Wall Street Recruiter, Danny Sarch, on Recruiting Trends. Watch the video . . .
McCann Is the Man at UBS: Name Change to PaineWebber?
March/15/2010
The much-anticipated revival plan for UBS Wealth Management Americas will cap off a series of recent organizational changes garnering support from an important constituency: advisors at the beleaguered brokerage, Registered Rep. has learned. Read more . . .
Wealth Management Has Strong Fourth Quarter at Morgan, BofA
January/20/2010
Neither Morgan Stanley Smith Barney nor Bank of America ended 2009 with a bang in the earnings department. But their wealth management units were pockets of strength. Read more . . .
RIAs Want You
October/01/2009
It’s no secret that RIAs are looking to hire successful wirehouse reps. Here’s how to evaluate your options. Read more . . .
Recruiting Games
September/01/2009
Plenty has changed at wirehouses recently -- except for the rich recruiting deals. Read more . . .
Wirehouse Channel Is Home for Big Producers
June/01/2009
For big producers, the Wirehouse channel is home. Read more . . .
2009 Advisor Survey
June/01/2009
Financial advisors’ wallets have been ravaged by the current market and economy. Some of them are taking desperate measures. But most will survive and come out stronger. Read more . . .
For Sale: Branch Offices
March/25/2009
This week, Stifel Nicolaus announced it was buying 55 UBS wealth management branches spread across 24 states, which include $15 billion in assets under management, 320 reps and over $100 million in revenue. The St. Louis regional b/d will make an upfront cash payment of $27 million for the branches, which are said to consist of mostly lower level producers. UBS says the deal allows it to divest itself of producers who donÂ’t fit into its high-net-worth strategy, and sell them to a firm thatÂ’s willing to take them on. Read more . . .
Concerns Bank of America May Undermine Merrill's Culture
March/01/2009
With veteran Bob McCannÂ’s departure, some Merrill rank and file are concerned Bank of America may undermine MerrillÂ’s culture. Read more . . .
Wachovia-UBS Hookup Rumored But Unlikely
February/03/2009
Here’s a possible new twist in the changing financial services landscape: A report in the New York Post raises the possibility of a “joint venture” between the wealth management divisions of Wachovia Securities and UBS. A lot of questions need answering before this one pans out. Read more . . .
Merrill Tweaks Grid: Lowers It For Smaller FAs
December/19/2008
Merrill Lynch executives Dan Sontag, head of Americas Wealth Management, and John Hogarty, COO, released the 2009 Financial Advisor Comp Plan yesterday afternoon. Read more . . .
Merrill Lynch: Back Sliding?
December/01/2008
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 from Merrill said their firm was the best in the business. Only Edward Jones, where advisors are so fiercely loyal that it has become the butt of industry jokes, scored higher on this scale (94 percent). Even now after a near-death experience. Read more . . .
Recruiting Trends
November/24/2008
Radio interview with Danny Sarch on recruiting trends. Read more . . .
If You've Got Leaving On Your Mind, Who's Going With You?
November/19/2008
Keeping your book of clients intact when switching firms has never been a cakewalk, but it sure isnÂ’t getting any easier. Read more . . .
Brokers Flooded With Recruiting Offers, Confident That Clients Will Follow
November/12/2008
Competition for recruits is so hot these days that nearly half of the financial advisors from the wirehouse and regional firms have been offered checks to switch firms, according to a new survey from Fidelity Investments and National Financial. Read more . . .
Retention Package Paranoia
October/22/2008
If you are an advisor at Merrill Lynch or Wachovia, youÂ’re wondering what your retention bonus is going to be. Read more . . .
Merrill Lynch Sells ltself To Bank of America
September/15/2008
So why did John Thain do it? Well, he didnÂ’t have much of a choice. Read more . . .
Bear Sells To JP Morgan, Advisors Prepare For Flight
March/17/2008
Bear Stearns reached a deal Sunday to sell itself to J.P. Morgan—at a fire-sale price. J.P. Morgan will pay $2 a share for the teetering bank, less than one-tenth of the price that its shares were trading for on Friday. That day, Bear’s stock plunged 47 percent to close at $30. Just a year ago, Bear shares were trading at $170. Recruiters say Bear advisors are very determined to leave, but the deal at least buys them some time to look for a new home. Read more . . .
With Share Price Sagging, Citigroup Offers New Options To Advisors. Will Other Firms Follow:
March/12/2008
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
August/01/2005
When Smith Barney and Legg Mason announced a deal to swap the wirehouse's asset-management business for Legg's brokerage unit, a lot of Legg reps saw an ugly storm brewing. Some made calls to recruiters and began to prepare for a move they wish they didn't have to make. But as the details of the combined entity begin to emerge, the devil is sending out the right vibes, and a lot of reps have stopped. Read more. . .
Morgan Trainee Program Could Get Whacked
July/26/2005
John Mack is moving quickly to get Morgan Stanley’s ailing retail brokerage in shape. Read more. . .
On The Gossip Trail: Mack to Replace Schaefer-But With Who
July/21/2005
When Morgan Stanley announced late last week that John Schaefer, the head of MorganÂ’s struggling retail brokerage unit and an ally of former CEO Phil Purcell, was stepping down, Wall Street immediately began speculating about who will be chosen as his successor. And what that successor might augur for the retail brokerage. Read more . . .
Star Wars
June/01/2005
Recruiting competition between the top brokerage firms is fiercer than ever, and Morgan Stanley is currently wielding one of the most powerful deals on Wall Street. Known as the Rising Star program, it offers young, successful brokers 100 percent cash upfront, plus generous production-based payout increases at 14, 24, 30 and 60 months. For those of you counting at home, those numbers add up to a payout. Read more . . .
Crunch Time For Independents
May/01/2005
Joel Marks is in a race to get big before he gets crushed. Marks, vice chairman and COO of independent broker/dealer Advanced Equities in Atlanta, more than tripled the size of his independent advisor force with two acquisitions in the past year. That brings him to 600 reps and assets of $14 billion. In the coming year, he expects to nab another two or three b/ds, and by 2007 he hopes to double revenue. Read more . . .
Money For Maturity
January/01/2005
A shaky market environment in 2004 didn't stop the largest brokerage firms from fighting tooth-and-nail for the best reps, and, heading into 2005, similar rules apply. This year, firms are expected to get more creative in the courtship process, looking more for trainees with tangible business experience and continuing to compensate incoming reps for deferred money left on the table at their former Read more . . .
Meet The New Boss - Different From The Old Boss
December/01/2004
November's news that Bob Mulholland was leaving Merrill Lynch wasn't entirely a surprise. He had been co-head of the 14,000-strong retail brokerage unit, but Merrill insiders figured all along that only one boss would prevail. The news is nonetheless dispiriting to many Merrill reps because Mulholland, a former broker, is part of a dying breed an executive with hands-on knowledge of life in their
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Handcuffs Made of Gold
September/01/2004
It's a familiar occurrence these days brokers fighting their former employers over money held in deferred-compensation plans. A group of former Smith Barney advisors recently won a judgment that would return over $8 million in forfeited wages held in the company's Capital Appreciation Plan (CAP). Meanwhile, a former rep from the former Prudential Securities is challenging that firm's deferred-comp
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Read more . . .
Dollar Signs
February/01/2001
Want to see where Wall Street is headed? Follow the money. Payouts on transactions and small accounts are shrinking, while fee business and deferred compensation packages rise higher.First they tie you down, and then they raise the bar.While the big firms enhanced their deferred compensation programs, some also boosted production requirements.In a controversial move just days before the end of the
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Read more . . .
Repricing Brokerage
February/01/2000
Gathering assets and delivering advice for a fee are what count, and firms are rewarding brokers accordingly. Prudential Securities is a good case in point, instituting this year a higher payout for fee-based business. Last year, Merrill Lynch and PaineWebber both changed their compensation systems to better reward asset gathering and fee business. Meanwhile, fee pricing and commission rates are declining, Read more . . .
Ups and Downs
February/01/1999
Brokers at most major firms will see little change in how they're paid this year. Brokers at Merrill Lynch and PaineWebber, though, have new compensation plans that deliver a strong message: Adapt to fee-based business or die.Merrill reps in 1999 will receive bonuses mainly for how well they pour assets of high-net-worth households into a defined set of products and services. According to compensation
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Read more . . .