BD Deals: When Do Advisors Win, Lose?
November 2, 2022 By Jon Henschen, ThinkAdvisor When one broker-dealer is bought by another, advisors at the acquired firm hope for the best but wait for what will change. The acquiring broker-dealer will most always start off with a statement such as, “Everything will stay the same.” This may be the case for a month or two; over time, though, this statement often proves to be untrue. The size of the firm being sold and the size of the acquiring firm can make a big difference in the retention of advisors over the first two years. Potential points of conflict tend to be service, compliance and culture misalignment. Why BD Size Matters Here are the main merger scenarios and their likely outcomes: Small BD being sold to another small BD: very favorable to advisors/high retention; ...