Articles Written by Jon Henschen

Are Brokers Greedy Scumbags?

22:50 11 December in Articles Written by Jon Henschen by rafferty

by Jon Henschen December 11, 2013 featured on ThinkAdvisor A recent financial news program highlighted a comedy competition held at Gotham Comedy Club in New York called “Funniest Person in Finance.” One of the standout comedians was a financial advisor, Greg Cantone. When commenting about all the complaints there are about how people in finance make a lot of money, Cantone announced, “Well I’ve got news for you Gotham…we do!” Cantone offers no apology for making a good living. He takes aim at other high-end professionals, everyone from nurses to NFL kickers, for example, “You never hear anyone complain about them making a lot of money, do you? The man kicks a leather meatloaf… with his foot… once a week! But if for some reason, I help a family plan their retirement, send...

Making Sense of the Nonsensical Broker Comp Rule

18:37 18 September in Articles Written by Jon Henschen by rafferty

by Jon Henschen September 18, 2013 featured on ThinkAdvisor New rule inequitable for independent BDs For advisors changing broker-dealers, financial assistance in the form of forgivable loans is standard procedure for regional broker-dealers and wirehouses, but less common in the independent channel. Wirehouses commonly offer up to 300% of trailing 12 months’ production. In the independent channel, for those firms that even offer forgivable notes, the amounts are typically in the range of 10% to 20% of trailing 12 months’ production. The new disclosure rule will not apply to incentives totaling less than $50,000. While that figure might look reasonable at first glance, applying a static amount as a guideline fails to differentiate between large and small producers. For example, in the independent channel, forgivable note money is intended to cover initial transition expenses and...

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...