In the News

FINRA Expands BrokerCheck to Include IARD Reports

23:28 12 November in In the News by rafferty

November 12, 2013 By Melanie Waddell, ThinkAdvisor New BrokerCheck widget also available to third-party websites The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority announced Tuesday that it has enhanced BrokerCheck to allow investors to now search both the BrokerCheck and Investment Adviser Registration Depository record of any securities professional or firm directly on the FINRA home page. The BrokerCheck search results, FINRA says, are presented in a graphical timeline, illustrating a more user-friendly view of an industry professional’s employment status and history, industry registrations, and any reportable events such as customer disputes or disciplinary actions that may have occurred during his or her career. FINRA says that it will also make the new BrokerCheck widget available to third-party websites, allowing visitors to those websites direct access to securities professionals’ or firms’ BrokerCheck or IAPD reports without having to visit...

Want a Big Paycheck to Switch BDs? Beware the True Price

19:57 11 November in In the News by rafferty

November 7, 2013 By Savita Iyer-Ahrestani, ThinkAdvisor Culture beats cash when it comes to picking the right firm, recruiter Jon Henschen says How much importance do advisors give to upfront compensation when considering a move from one broker-dealer to another? At a time when the data shows that the population of financial advisors is both shrinking and aging, it can be tempting to accept the more lucrative packages that wirehouses, banks and even regional firms are offering to brokers looking to switch firms, particularly given the expenses of starting an independent advisory firm. But the better the deal, the more onerous the commitment, says Mark Elzweig, president and founder of the executive search firm Mark Elzweig Co. Elzweig, who participated in a panel discussion titled “Recruiting Deals by Channels” during ThinkAdvisor’s Going Independent virtual conference, said that “the...

John Sykes’ JHS Capital Advisors challenged by annual losses, handful of Finra arbitration claims

21:15 07 November in In the News by rafferty

November 6, 2013 By Bruce Kelly, Investment News As at his old firm, GunnAllen, B-D's reps rely on stock, bond transactions but little fee business Backed with hundreds of millions of dollars from owning a call center business, John Sykes entered the independent broker-dealer industry in the perilous market of 2008 brimming with confidence, brio and optimism. It has been a struggle ever since that heady time for Mr. Sykes, who in January 2009 compared the potential of his first broker-dealer holding company, GunnAllen Holdings Inc., with industry stalwart Raymond James Financial Inc., both of which are based in the Tampa Bay, Fla., region. But crushed by a burden of client litigation and failed investments, GunnAllen Financial Inc., the holding company's broker-dealer, filed for bankruptcy protection in 2010, a few months after Mr. Sykes, 77,...