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Financial Advisor Survey Puts Underdog Broker/Dealer on Top

16:12 07 June in Articles Written by Jon Henschen by rafferty

June 4, 2018 By Jon Henschen, WealthManagement.com Every year, WealthManagement publishes its IBD Report Card. The 2018 report card, released on March 30, gives fresh data on the condition and perceptions of the independent broker/dealer channel. The annual survey asked advisors from IBDs to rate their firms on a scale of one to 10, with one being unacceptable to 10 being outstanding. One of the survey questions asks, “How likely are you to still be affiliated with your current b/d two years from now?” As a recruiter in the IBD space, we give weight to this question because it reflects the level of loyalty advisors have toward their broker/dealers. Combing through the numbers, the stats for the b/ds that make up the Advisor Group unexpectedly jumped out at us. Looking at the categories, the percentage of advisors...

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Cambridge ditches OSJ label amid fee-based shift, segmentation strategy

14:54 06 June in In the News by rafferty

June 5, 2018 By Tobias Salinger, Financial Planning The rise of fee-based business in the independent broker-dealer space has prompted one of the largest firms to drop the traditional “office of supervisory jurisdiction” label from its service model for advisors. The structure of Cambridge Investment Research’s affiliated practices remains the same in terms of compliance oversight, but the Fairfield, Iowa-based firm has become “really more of an RIA than a broker-dealer” because 87% of its advisors are now dually registered, says Chief Risk Officer Seth Miller. The No. 7 IBD’s advisors no longer associate with terms like “OSJ” and “branch,” according to Miller, who says Cambridge is also studying how best to tailor its approach based on the size of the practices. The firm announced a new approach at its conference for top producers...

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Advisors Have Much to Gain With Broker-Dealer Arbitrage

16:18 04 June in Articles Written by Jon Henschen by rafferty

June 2, 2018 By Jon Henschen, ThinkAdvisor With the advisory space getting crowded as others flood into the same investment style, price compression is an increasing reality, making advisory cost savings increasingly important.   The expression, “Out of sight out of mind” applies to the topic of advisory administration fees, as does “I don’t know what I don’t know.” When I interview advisors regarding the expenses they currently pay, the answers tend to fall into two categories: they are either not aware of what they pay, or they know but have no idea of what pricing competition offers them in the marketplace. Certainly, advisors are aware of what they are paying for errors and omissions insurance, monthly expenses and miscellaneous expenses such as SIPC & FINRA assessment fees. However, when asked about what advisory administration fees they pay...

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Bill Hamm taps Pershing, lays groundwork for new IBD after LPL exit

17:00 20 May in In the News by rafferty

May 17, 2018 By Tobias Salinger, Financial Planning Just one month after saying it would leave LPL Financial, Bill Hamm’s Independent Financial Partners has taken a major step in laying the groundwork for its new independent broker-dealer by selecting Pershing as its primary custodian. The hybrid RIA and office of supervisory jurisdiction will launch its new IBD in the first or second quarter of 2019, Hamm said in an interview. With 530 advisors and $10 billion in assets under management, the new IBD will offer expanded choices, lower prices and better technology, Hamm added. Hamm’s April announcement that IFP would split from the nation’s largest independent broker-dealer marked the largest exit from LPL since Ron Carson’s firm left for Cetera Financial Group in early 2017. It also represented the largest practice to leave LPL...