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Author: rafferty

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Roth’s Exit From Advisor Group: ‘A Big Deal’

21:22 06 September in In the News by rafferty

September 6, 2013 by Janet Levaux, ThinkAdvisor Experts say Larry Roth’s departure creates a void for the IBD network News that the Larry Roth, who has led the Advisor Group of 6,000 independent reps for the past six years, is set to be CEO of Nicholas Schorsch's Realty Capital Securities on Monday has raised eyebrows and questions for broker-dealer recruiters and other experts. Peter Harbeck is serving as interim president and CEO of the Advisor Group, which includes the IBDs Royal Alliance, FSC Securities, SagePoint Financial and Woodbury Financial. Chip Roame, head of Tiburon Strategic Advisors, agrees. “Larry did a terrific job leading Advisor Group through the AIG crisis and rebuilding it afterward,” he said. “It would be difficult to rate his performance other than an A.” Losing such an “A-level” executive is tough in any business,...

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E&O Insurance: Cost and Deductibles Skyrocket

20:51 04 September in Articles Written by Jon Henschen by rafferty

August 30, 2013 by Jon Henschen, featured on ThinkAdvisor Reps get less for more in this era of Dodd-Frank reform The days of $1,500 errors and omissions insurance with a $5,000 deductible are quickly coming to an end. Today, it’s more typical to see annual policy costs in the $3,000-$4,000 range, with deductibles running as high as $350,000. Reasons for the increases vary, as Jim Eccleston, president of Eccleston Law Offices, explains. “Regulatory actions and arbitration claim filings are increasing,” Eccleston argues. “Arbitrations claims may be ‘group’ type claims involving multiple investors and may involve products sold to numerous investors. And product-based class-action filings alleging lack of due diligence are increasing as well.” Jodee Rager, chief compliance officer at Geneos Wealth Management, believes that securities attorneys are a primary cause of the current E&O insurance dilemma. “Attorneys...

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LPL’s paradox: Cut costs and outsource for growth

16:25 03 September in In the News by rafferty

September 1, 2013 by Bruce Kelly, Investment News Shutting Nestwise, outsourcing some jobs illustrates challenges Two separate moves last week — one that involved shuttering a new business and the other job outsourcing — highlight the challenge facing LPL Financial LLC as it pushes to drive growth and contain costs. That seemingly paradoxical challenge is, of course, nothing new for big, established companies. But for LPL Financial, which has 13,400 affiliated independent advisers and 700 financial institutions, it represents a new stage in its life as a public company, industry observers said. “LPL is at the point where it's the product of many mergers,” said Alois Pirker, research director with Aite Group LLC. “It's reached a certain size, and they have to look at the operating model and ask, "How much do operations cost and how efficient...