Articles Written by Jon Henschen

Should You Be a Big Fish in a Small or Large Pond?

17:05 21 June in Articles Written by Jon Henschen by rafferty

June 20, 2023 By Jon Henschen, ThinkAdvisor  What You Need to Know Changing your broker-dealer is a situation where there is no perfect outcome but rather, a give-and-take of trade-offs. Small firms can mold to an advisor’s individual needs and provide them with greater flexibility and opportunities for recognition. Larger firms have the advantage of scale, not to mention depth and breadth of services "There are no solutions, there are only trade-offs; and you try to get the best trade-off you can get, that’s all you can hope for,” wrote economist Thomas Sowell. It is especially fitting to quote Sowell on this topic because changing your broker-dealer is clearly a situation where there is no perfect outcome but rather, a give-and-take of trade-offs. The primary voices in our industry would lean toward the side of larger firms,...

Retirement Is Overrated for Many Advisors

19:52 16 June in Articles Written by Jon Henschen by rafferty

June 16, 2023 By Jon Henschen, WealthManagement.com   Statistically, continuing to work later in life is better for longevity as well as mental and financial health. As our industry continues to age, we find our daily conversations with advisors increasingly centered around succession/continuation plans; the contemplation of when or if to retire is almost a daily occurrence. Our personal experiences, as well as witnessing others’ journeys, mold our preconceived notions on whether retirement is ultimately in our best interest.  The sharing of journeys as well as statistical data on the subject of retirement have shown us that working longer brings greater fulfillment, maintains your sense of purposefulness and adds longevity, all while helping to preserve mental acuity.  Here are two examples of deferring retirement as long as possible and their motives. A family member that...

3 Ways RIA’s Without a BD Have an Edge

12:39 23 March in Articles Written by Jon Henschen by rafferty

March 22, 2023 By Jon Henschen, ThinkAdvisor  Some broker-dealer/RIA firms have been trying to transform their identity away from the broker-dealer side of their businesses to the RIA side — essentially saying they’re RIAs that also happen to own broker-dealers.Marketing maneuvers like this reminded me of a headline I saw last year: “All the Cool Kids Are Going RIA.” On the surface, these broker-dealer/RIAs want to give the appearance of being cool or more sophisticated by being mostly advisory focused while minimizing the broker-dealer side of the uncool fringe. Of course, a BD/RIA can identify itself however it cares to. In my view, though, it would be more constructive for a BD/RIA to show how it differs from independent RIAs that don’t own broker-dealers in a few key areas. 1. Dual Clearing All the independent RIAs...