Author: rafferty

Facing The Challenges

June 2, 2014 by Dan Jamieson, Financial Advisor

Running a smaller broker-dealer wouldn’t seem to be a promising venture these days. Growing regulatory costs, low interest rates and fierce competition for advisors make the business a challenge for any size firm, especially those with limited resources.

But small-firm executives say they can thrive by offering a level of personal service to independent advisors who detest the stifling bureaucracy of larger firms.

Broker-dealers “all do pretty much the same thing—process the business,” says Susan Woltman Tietjen, chief executive at Girard Securities Inc., which has about 250 reps and $52 million in gross revenue. “For the reps, it comes down to how good the people are, the culture, the service and the experience they have.

IBD Advisors Gripe About Fees

May 30, 2014
by Diana Britton, WealthManagement.com

Nearly 37 percent of independent b/d reps agreed or strongly agreed that fees are becoming a bigger problem.

Independent broker/dealer advisors are getting tired of fees, according to WealthManagement.com’s annual compensation survey. When asked if they agreed with the statement “Rising fees such as ticket charges, technology fee, etc., are becoming a bigger problem,” IBD advisors scored an average 3.1 on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being “strongly agree”). That compares with the industry average of 2.6. Nearly 37 percent of IBD reps agreed or strongly agreed that fees are becoming a bigger problem.

“I think that a lot of independent advisors may feel that firms are pulling different levers,

Is AIG Advisor Group the next big fish Schorsch wants to land?

May 23, 2014by Bruce Kelly, Investment News

To build a network of 20,000 advisers, RCS Capital Corp. and Larry Roth, the newly anointed chief executive of its retail brokerage umbrella unit, Cetera Financial Group, are undoubtedly considering another big and bold move.

Cetera will have about 9,800 registered reps and advisers under the roofs of its far-flung network, once a few pending deals close by the end of June.

That rep headcount would put the Cetera network second in the industry, behind only LPL Financial, with 13,600 reps and advisers.

Second place, however, isn’t good enough for RCS Capital, known by its ticker RCAP,