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In a challenged sector, how one IBD is navigating a barrage of changes

21:26 23 April in In the News by rafferty

April 22, 2019 By Tobias Salinger, Financial Planning Jack Oujo admits he may have flubbed the initial call. The 26-year HD Vest Financial Services advisor and former minor league baseball umpire first balked at the largest tax-focused independent broker-dealer’s clearing switch to Fidelity’s National Financial Services. Upon further review, he says, it looks much better, thanks to tools like eMoney and a new client portal. “I questioned the whole thing when it happened, but I was wrong,” says Oujo, who has an eponymous New Jersey-based practice and notes he previously “had a bitter taste” toward National Financial. “It's clear now that they've upped their game tremendously.” HD Vest parent Blucora’s pending $180-million acquisition of 1st Global would mark a further change at the IBD, which also made Envestnet its advisory platform in September and bid...

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Finra guidance could help departing reps hang onto clients

20:35 11 April in In the News by rafferty

April 11, 2019 By Mark Schoeff Jr., Investment News If clients ask, firms must give them contact information for their former brokers Brokers leaving firms could more easily hang on to their clients and avoid being disparaged by their former employers under recent Finra guidance. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. issued a regulatory notice last week that told brokerages to "communicate clearly, and without obfuscation, when asked questions by customers about the departing registered representative." In response to a customer query, the firm must clarify that the customer can retain assets at the firm or transfer them elsewhere. The firm also must give the customer the former broker's contact information, if it has been provided. "I'll be asking my clients to put their new contact information in their resignation letter," said securities lawyer Brent Burns,...

Why Advisor Transition Loans are Impacting Recruitment in a Big Way

16:48 11 April in In the News by rafferty

April 11, 2019 By Mrinalini Krishna, Financial Advisor IQ Stifel Financial nearly doubled loans given to financial advisors to join the firm in 2018. According to its annual report, Stifel paid $120.3 million in the form of upfront notes for transition pay to financial advisors last year — up 94.7% from $61.8 million in the year prior. These notes, given out based on the advisor’s trailing production and assets under management, are forgiven over a five-to-ten-year term. The St. Louis-based broker-dealer ended last year with a net gain of 57 advisors in what it says was a “record recruiting year” in terms of client assets. Stifel had slowed recruitment due to the uncertainty around the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule, but once that rule got thrown out, the firm stepped on the gas. “As we continue...

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Don’t Sell Your Business: Try Semi-Retirement

16:27 11 April in Articles Written by Jon Henschen by rafferty

April 8, 2019 By Jon Henschen, ThinkAdvisor Advisors who trim their book of business can avoid the downsides of full retirement — which can take a toll on spouses — and continue to enjoy purpose and productivity. As the Japanese population ages, there’s a growing trend among married men who have worked long hours during their adult lives to fully retire at age 65. In earlier generations, these retirees tended to live with their children. Today, though, this is no longer the case. The husbands’ retirement can be such a difficult transition that their wives often suffer debilitating physical symptoms. The Japanese have adopted the label “Retired Husband Syndrome” for this condition. Dr. Nobuo Kurokawa and other medical researchers have pointed out that Retired Husband Syndrome can cause health problems for wives that include stomach...