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Author: rafferty

Six Broker-Dealer Red Flags

00:00 01 April in Articles Written by Jon Henschen by rafferty

April, 2011
by Jonathan Henschen, CFS and featured in Advisorbiz.com:

Five years ago the due diligence conducted on reps looking to join a broker dealer was more lax than what you see today. Pre-hire screening by broker dealers is more rigorous–even when it’s just for the privilege of a home office visit. When you decide you want to join a firm, the background checks are much more in-depth and detailed. As Bob Dylan would say, “The times they are a changing” Here are six red flags to consider when thinking about changing broker dealer:
  1. Frequent broker dealer change history – It’s one thing to have your firm sold out from under you or closed down. However, for those reps who stay at firms for one or two years and then move on to another firm on a repeated basis,
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What Will Life After Ameriprise Mean for Securities America Advisors?

00:00 01 April in In the News by rafferty

by Donna Mitchell and featured in Financial Planning
April, 2011:

April is not turning out the way that Securities America’s advisors had envisioned.

Its parent company, Ameriprise Financial, had just agreed to back a $150 million settlement between the broker-dealer and investors who had lost about $400 million from faulty, and in some cases, fraudulent, private placement investments. On Friday, a federal judge in Dallas is expected to rule on whether to accept the settlement. In March, executives for Securities America argued that the firm’s survival hinged on a $21 million settlement that Securities America had worked out with class-action plaintiffs.

But last Monday, Ameriprise Financial announced in its first-quarter earnings release that it would find a buyer for Securities America.

“We appreciate the many years Ameriprise has committed to our independent business model.

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Multi-Financial Comes Out of Hiding With Big Growth Plans

00:00 01 April in In the News by rafferty

by Diana Britton and featured in Registered Rep
April, 2011:

Independent broker-dealer Multi-Financial is undergoing a major growth initiative, ramping up its recruiting, wealth management platform capabilities and practice management services, said President and CEO Brett Harrison. Recruiting is already up 900 percent from last year, and the firm has brought on $9 million in production in the past five months, and plans to add $20 million in total production this year.

Under the IBD’s former parent, ING, Multi-Financial stayed under the radar, Harrison said. At ING, the firm was not encouraged to do much advertising and marketing. “We’ve been quiet for years.”

In November 2009, Lightyear Capital announced its plan to purchase the three broker/dealers—Multi-Financial, Financial Network and PrimeVest Financial—from insurance company ING and renamed the group Cetera Financial Group.

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