How to Ruin a Good Broker/Dealer
by Jonathan Henschen, CFS and featured in Investment Advisor June, 2005: In the spirit of Ben Stein’s How to Ruin Your Financial Life (Hay House, 2004), I penned a guide to assuring the premature demise of an otherwise successful broker/dealer. Tongue-in-cheek tips from the frustrated financial advisors we’ve consulted with in our recruiting activities. If you’re the president of a broker/dealer, establish the fact that you’re far too busy to spend time visiting with prospective advisors. If you must, visit with million-dollar producers only (just be sure to be pompous and listen primarily to yourself). Let your compliance folks run wild creating reams of paperwork to protect the firm. Clients feel more secure when handed stacks of disclosure forms to sign. Do all you can to protect the firm from your own advisors. When...