In the News

FINRA Seeks Second Round of Comments on Markups, Commissions Plan

00:08 06 February in In the News by rafferty

February 5, 2013 by Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne After proposing to end the 5% threshold on markups and commissions, FINRA now asks for feedback on retaining it After being deluged with comments against its plan to end a 5% threshold on commissions and markups, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is giving broker-dealers yet another chance to weigh in. As part of the process to develop a new, consolidated rulebook—merging the NYSE rule book with FINRA’s—FINRA released a second request for comment via a Regulatory Notice on Thursday regarding its proposed rules governing markups, markdowns, commissions and fees. The regulatory agency said that in response to the first round of comments received, it is now proposing several changes to the proposed rules, including amendments to retain the 5% markup policy in NASD IM-2440-1 (Mark-Up Policy); revise certain...

Faking It: Our Third-Annual IBD Report Card Survey

21:44 04 February in In the News by rafferty

February 4, 2013 by Diana Britton, Wealth Management .com In our third annual Independent Broker/Dealer Report Card Survey, reps turned out to sing the praises of their firms. But who are they kidding? The IBD business is in a tight spot. When you’re a parent, you always want to shield your child from the brutal realities of the world. You want them to maintain that wide-eyed innocence for as long as possible. But sooner or later, they realize: It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there. Same goes for the independent broker/dealer business. In REP.’s third annual Independent Broker/Dealer Report Card Survey, fielded at the end of last year, 2,873 advisors turned out to advocate and endorse their firms, giving them high overall scores in categories from compliance to compensation and benefits. But the results seem to belie the pressures that...

IBD Recruiters: Advisors Demanding More Than Ever, Especially Money

21:27 04 February in In the News by rafferty

January 29, 2012 by Diana Britton, Wealth Management.com Industry recruiters said advisors at independent broker/dealers are expecting more from their firms than they ever have before, especially when it comes to up-front money. “Financial advisors are more greedy than ever,” said Jodie Papike, executive vice president of recruiting firm Cross-Search in Jamul, Calif. During a session at the FSI OneVoice 2013 in San Diego, Calif., Papike said she recently spoke with a $100,000 producer, and the first thing he asked was how much up-front money he could get for moving. “That’s the reality.” Ryan Shanks, CEO and founder of Finetooth Consulting, said there are reps that are less greedy, but their main concern is being at a firm that’s stable. In addition to up-front money, reps also now expect higher payout and better services from their b/d, Papike...