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Our Human Capital Disaster: Three big trends will exacerbate the advisor talent shortage

15:44 17 September in Articles Written by Jon Henschen by rafferty

September 2014 issue of Investment Advisor magazine and the September 17 issue of ThinkAdvisor's Daily Wire By Jon Henschen   It may not be news that the advisor community is facing a labor shortage just as demand for professional advice is peaking. What is news is the scale of that shortage, and three overlooked trends are already playing out with the potential to make that shortage a catastrophe. Men account for the overwhelming majority of existing advisors—around 80% or even more among some sectors of the advisor community. Moreover, a very large chunk of advisors—43%, according to Cerulli—are in or nearing their traditional retirement age. Finally, the percentage of advisors who are women has not appreciably increased since the industry began keeping track of that statistic. In our recruiting efforts we’ve been tracking three mega trends that...

Advisers Must Avoid ‘Due-Diligence Lite’ on Asset Managers

21:17 12 September in In the News by rafferty

By Daisy Maxie September 10, 2014 Wall Street Journal   The regulatory troubles of F-Squared Investments are a reminder to brokers and investment advisers of the need to do more than simply review the numbers a mutual fund company or other asset manager offers to demonstrate financial health and prowess. Analyzing how the company arrived at the numbers is critical, specialists in vetting asset managers say. F-Squared, which builds portfolios of exchange-traded funds, recently acknowledged a deepening investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission into how it marketed some funds' past performance. Some brokerages dig deeper, or employ third-part specialists to help. In terms of ensuring that a performance record is accurate, most check to see if it is "GIPS compliant"--that is, it conforms to the Global Investment Performance Standards, a set of standards for...

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One Strike, You’re Out: FINRA looking more closely at IBDs with high-risk brokers

18:40 05 September in In the News by rafferty

September 5, 2014 By Diana Britton, Wealth Management.com   Not long ago if an advisor was a big enough producer, his or her regulatory and credit history didn’t matter as much. As long as infractions were not criminal, he or she could still find a place to do business—if they kept producing. Likewise, if a broker with a spotless record left a firm that ran afoul of regulators, or had more than its fair share of brokers who had, there was no implied guilt by association. They too could find a place to hang their licenses. “Those days are gone,” says Ryan Shanks, CEO and founder of Finetooth Consulting and co-founder of JoinAFirm.com. “It doesn’t matter if you come in and you think you’re with a great firm and you’re doing $5, $6, $7, $8...

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As Kleintop Leaves LPL for Schwab, Will Morale Suffer?

23:02 18 August in In the News by rafferty

August 18, 2014 By Janet Levaux, ThinkAdvisor   Recruiters debate whether or not the latest high-profile departure will hurt the IBD Jeffrey Kleintop has stepped down as chief market strategist at LPL Financial (LPLA) and officially starts a new job at the giant RIA custodian Charles Schwab (SCHW) next week. “As our new chief global investment strategist, Jeff will help investors make sense of international market trends and events and their implications for investing strategies,” Schwab said in a statement on Monday. Kleintop left LPL, the biggest independent broker-dealer, in early August. His departure comes on the heels of news that Chief Marketing Officer Joan Khoury is leaving later this month. Earlier this year, Derek Burton retired as head of Independent Advisor Services after the IBD expressed “concerns over his interactions with other employees.” LPL  has not yet named Kleintop’s replacement. “Part...