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Author: rafferty

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What Ohio National’s End of Annuity Trails Means for Advisors, BDs

16:00 09 October in Articles Written by Jon Henschen by rafferty

October 9, 2018 By Jon Henschen, ThinkAdvisor Cutting off advisors servicing variable annuity products they have sold to clients is anti-fiduciary and harmful to policyholders. After an extended period of failing to get results out of buyout offers on its variable annuities, Ohio National has decided to stop paying trailing commissions on some variable annuities. Going one step further, the firm will also stop the data feed to advisors, leaving clients to fend for themselves. We checked with several broker-dealers on the matter and heard some contradictory feedback. One mid-size broker-dealer commented that its reps would continue to receive trails and data feed, so no change; another mid-size firm, though, said it would not get trails but could continue to service the Ohio National products. Besides the inconsistencies, many broker-dealers will be out of the...

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Cetera Financial Group selling stock to its advisers

20:59 05 October in In the News by rafferty

October 5, 2018 By Bruce Kelly, Investment News New stock and business loan plans are part of a broader outreach to 8,000 advisers As part of a broad plan to bolster its 8,000 financial advisers, the recently sold Cetera Financial Group is offering its advisers loans to invest in their practices and an opportunity to buy stock in the company. In a press release Thursday, Cetera said the company had created "two types of attractive, growth-oriented loans" for business purposes, with examples including "lead generation initiatives and succession planning." The company also said that it had "unveiled an equity value participation program for existing, as well as for new, advisers, which is unique to the profession." Those opportunities were part of Cetera's new Advisor Alignment program, which includes committees of advisers focusing on various aspects...

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Ladenburg not dependent on ex-chairman’s capital for growth, CEO says

16:01 02 October in In the News by rafferty

October 1, 2018 By Tobias Salinger, Financial Planning The SEC charges against Ladenburg Thalmann’s primary shareholder will not affect access to capital for its 4,300-advisor independent broker-dealer network, CEO Dick Lampen says. Phillip Frost retired from the Miami-based firm’s board on Sept. 20, two weeks after the SEC accused him of involvement with a $27 million pump-and-dump scheme. In addition to the network of five IBDs, Ladenburg’s subsidiaries also include its 139-year old investment bank, an asset management unit, an insurance brokerage and a trust division. The company’s various entities hold $250 million in cash with a book value above $390 million, Lampen noted in a statement. Ladenburg is “very pleased about how well-positioned our company is today for continued industry leadership,” he said, noting it also has $600 million “in permanent capital and long-term...