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Raymond James Financial Moving To Single Payout Grid

19:42 05 July in In the News by rafferty

July 5, 2017 By Dan Jamieson, Financial Advisor   In response to the DOL fiduciary rule, Raymond James Financial Services will be changing its compensation plan so that all production is paid off of one grid. The move comes at a time when many broker-dealers are wrestling with the issue of broker payouts in expectation that they will face more scrutiny in a post-DOL world. Some observers speculated that the switch to a single payout grid was designed to eliminate the perception of potential conflicts of interest. Next year, the independent contractor unit of Raymond James Financial will switch to a single payout grid that starts at 81 percent for trailing 12-month branch production up to $500,000, topping out at 90 percent at the $10 million-plus level. Depending on product mix and production, the changes could...

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100% Advisory Payouts & 7 Other ‘Heresies’

17:26 29 June in Articles Written by Jon Henschen by rafferty

June 28, 2017 By Jon Henschen, as published on ThinkAdvisor Advisors take note: Many sacred cow profit centers being disrupted by broker-dealers promoting “loss leaders” to prospects There is a mad scramble going on as new DOL rules erode once reliable sources of independent broker-dealer revenue. Shifting or creating new profit centers is becoming an obsession for broker-dealers. For some, it’s a matter of survival. For others, such as private-equity owned broker-dealers, getting profits up to a level that will make the broker-dealer attractive for an aggressive sale price is the prime motivation. New DOL rules are also causing broker-dealers to implement more conservative compliance policies that many advisors find too restrictive. For firms that buck the trend, they are quickly shot down with an almost religious fervor. An example of this is the 100% advisory...

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Victor Fetter Is Out at LPL; Former AmEx, eBay Exec Is In

21:36 22 June in In the News by rafferty

June 22, 2017 By Janet Levaux, ThinkAdvisor The IBD taps Scott Seese for the CIO post in a move that one recruiter calls ‘a big deal’ LPL Financial says Chief Information Officer Victor Fetter is leaving the firm and will be replaced on July 10 by Scott Seese, who has been CIO of American Express’ global consumer business unit and of eBay. The change comes about six months after Dan Arnold stepped into the CEO slot left by the retiring Mark Casady, who also acted as chairman. Previously, Arnold was president of the independent broker-dealer, a role he took on in 2015, when Robert Moore departed. LPL’s stock traded down about 2% at under $41 per share on Thursday. At least two recruiters are upbeat on the large IBD’s CIO news. Technology has become a very important...

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How DOL Is Changing Sign-On Bonuses and Other Indie BD Procedures

15:29 16 June in Articles Written by Jon Henschen by rafferty

June 13, 2017 By Jon Henschen, as published on ThinkAdvisor A profitability shell game is going on, as profit centers such as ticket charge markups are sacrificed while advisory administration fees increase The wirehouse channel is cutting back dramatically on upfront money offered to join their broker dealer. Also of note is the recent case of Merrill Lynch, which is trying to grow without offering traditional sign-on bonuses. Both trends are a result of DOL rules, and DOL rules are having an impact on the independent broker-dealer channel, but not in ways you may think. Of the 3,902 FINRA member firms (as tracked by Fishbowl Strategies in late February), approximately 25% offer some form of forgivable note (or sign-on bonus) to aid in the expenses and disruption of a broker dealer switch. Much of this is...