In the News

Co-Founder of ING Firm Jumps to NFP

00:00 01 February in In the News by rafferty

by Bruce Kelly and featured in Investment News February, 2007: New York - One of the founders of Financial Network Investment Corp., the largest independent-contractor broker-dealer in the ING Advisors Network Inc., walked out the door last month and joined NFP Securities Inc., leaving some observers to wonder how many registered representatives affiliated with FNIC eventually could follow. Jerry Brown, one of the seven partners who started FNIC of El Segundo, Calif., more than 23 years ago with Miles Gordon, was a regional director in Seattle for FNIC and ran one of the firm’s largest group of producing brokers and advisers. At one time, he had as many as 100 reps and advisers in his shop, industry observer said, with an office that generated between $15 million and $20 million in gross dealer...

AIG Advisor Group’s Makeover Gets OK

00:00 01 January in In the News by rafferty

by Bruce Kelly and featured in Investment News January, 2007: Industry observers and financial advisers are welcoming a series of management changes announced Tuesday by AIG Advisor Group Inc., which hopes the changes will lead to better services for advisers. The biggest change is that AIG has named Larry Roth to replace Peter Harbeck as chief executive. Mr. Harbeck remains the group’s chairman. AIG Advisor Group’s changes are seen as boding well for the network of broker-dealers. The changes signal that AIG Advisor Group’s management wants to “use the best ideas among the firms and spread them across the board to benefit everyone,” Mr. Henschen said. Mr. Roth joined AIG in January 2006, replacing Mark Goldberg as president and chief executive of Royal Alliance Associates Inc. of New York, the network’s largest broker-dealer. Mr. Roth’s promotion is one...

Indie Firms Sweeten Deals For Recruits

00:00 01 January in In the News by rafferty

by Bruce Kelly and featured in Investment News January, 2007: New York - Faced with intense competition for financial advisers and growing transition costs, an increasing number of independent-contractor broker-dealers over the past year have boosted the amount of money they give to representatives and advisers to switch firms. The broker-dealers that recently have increased the transition or bonus money include top firms such as LPL Financial Services of Boston and San Diego, Commonwealth Financial Network of Waltham, Mass., and Cambridge Investment Research Inc. of Fairfield, Iowa, according to executives and recruiters. In the past, those firms and others gave recruits transition packages of 2% to 3% of their prior 12 months’ production. Those packages, which have various structures, are now as high as 8% to 10%, executives said. Meanwhile, more independent registered reps are...