Articles / Resources

Thomas H. Lee Partners Wants an Independent Broker/Dealer

17:23 07 April in In the News by rafferty

April 7, 2021 By Asia Martin, WealthManagement.com THL managing director Ganesh Rao said THL is looking to buy the "Hightower" of the independent broker/dealer space, but industry observers say it may be too late. Thomas H. Lee Partners, the Boston-based private equity firm with a majority ownership in RIA rollup Hightower Advisors, is also looking for an independent broker/dealer to invest in, says Ganesh Rao, managing director at TH. “I’ve been looking at IBDs for the last 10 years,” said Rao, who has been at THL for 21 years. “The premier firms I’m interested in I’ve been intimately getting to know for the last five years.” Without mentioning any names, Rao said he has eyed two firms that don’t yet have outside ownership. But the opportunity to close the deals has yet to present itself....

Regulations Throw Sand In The Gears Of Business

23:02 25 March in Articles Written by Jon Henschen by rafferty

March 19, 2021 By Jon Henschen, FA Financial Advisor The money spent on regulation and whether those dollars are ultimately cost effective in their stated goal rarely correlate. A prime example of this is the brick and tile industry, where the EPA and OSHA imposed rules in an effort to reduce mercury and particulate matter in the environment, which resulted in enormous costs. The industry had already experienced the Brick MACT rule in 2003, which required brick manufacturers to spend millions on scrubbers in order to help control emissions, however that rule was later thrown out. The EPA requirements passed in October of 2019 will cost the brick and tile industry $100 million annually, with the net result of 118 fewer pounds of mercury and 170 tons fewer of particulate matter being released...

The Trouble With Being a Big Advisor at a Small BD

18:26 23 March in Articles Written by Jon Henschen by rafferty

March 19, 2021 By Jon Henschen, ThinkAdvisor What You Need to Know Several factors limit smaller firms’ ability to compete in today's broker-dealer marketplace. Besides struggling to add advisors, smaller BDs find their advisors retiring at an increasing rate or going fee-only. Their profit centers are on the decline, and they lack the ability to be rainmakers on services that drive growth. Advisors with large books of business sometimes consider joining a smaller broker-dealer to ensure that they rank in the top 10 or 20 in production (or yearly fees and commissions). Getting the extra attention, service level and admiration from BD staff, management and peers certainly has its attractions. But the ground is shifting under these advisors — with many unaware of the dynamics affecting smaller broker-dealers as well as some midsized firms. Recently,...

Amidst Proxy Battle, Avantax Adds to Executive Team

15:42 19 March in In the News by rafferty

March 18, 2021 By Diana Britton, WealthManagement.com Avantax hires a CMO and elevates practice management leaders, even as an outside investor seeks to shake up the broker/dealer's parent company. While an activist investor wages a public proxy battle with its corporate parent, Avantax Wealth Management, the tax-centric broker/dealer created from the acquisitions of HD Vest and 1st Global, said Thursday it has added to its senior leadership team. Mike Holmes, a former marketing executive at USAA, joins the firm as chief marketing officer, with responsibility for growing and supporting the IBD’s 3,700 advisors and building the Avantax brand. Mike Kobs, who most recently ran an Avantax practice, MRK Financial Solutions, has been named vice president of enterprise relationships and business consulting. Kobs recently completed his succession plan at MRK. He’ll be leading a new ambassador...