The Top 5 Reasons Advisors Change Broker-Dealers
by Jonathan Henschen, CFS and featured in Producers Web April, 2006: Changing broker/dealers is a choice of last resort. Just the thought of it can cause an advisor’s guts to churn. For an advisor even to consider changing broker/dealers means that the pain threshold has reached disturbingly high levels. The causes of this pain are many, but here in descending order are what I’ve found to be the top five reasons advisors find it necessary to make that decision. 1. Unhappy in their current relationship Frequently, relationship issues are caused by consolidation of insurance companies and banks, where significant management changes have altered advisors’ home office contacts. For example, when an insurance company buys your broker/dealer, you’ll experience a six-month to one-year honeymoon period where things are left alone while the new owners decide...