Articles Written by Jon Henschen

Making the Case for Midsized Broker-Dealers

April, 2011
by Jonathan Henschen, CFS and featured in AdvisorOne:

Over the course of the last year, fraudulent alternative investments have brought down not only small broker-dealers but also midsized firms such as QA3. With press coverage skewed in their favor, larger broker-dealers continue to chant the mantra of “scale gives advisors an advantage.”

As a recruiting firm, we’ve found that midsized firms can be somewhat of a sweet spot in the industry—large enough to be financially viable, but not so large that they become a cookie cutter platform saddled with cumbersome bureaucracy. With the pendulum swinging so far in the direction of larger broker-dealers, I thought it only fair to give the medium-sized firms an opportunity to have the spotlight shine on their value proposition.

Six Broker-Dealer Red Flags

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,

Cutting Through The Advisory Clutter

by Jonathan Henschen, CFS and featured in AdvisorBiz.com
March, 2011:

Our recruiting firm specializes in placing advisors with independent broker/dealers. My objective with this article is to clear up some of the confusion I’ve been hearing from my clients about the choices being tossed at wirehouse and regional-firm advisors these days–and why those choices may or may not always live up to reality!  Primary Motivations and Practice Valuation

To begin with, it’s important to understand why so many financial advisors at wirehouses or regional firms are choosing independence. The top four reasons are:

1. Monetizing the value of their practices
2. Owning and controlling their destinies
3. Marketing without excessive compliance burden
4. Higher payouts and commissions

A compelling case for independence also comes from this data provided by the Tiburon CEO Summit XII:

• Independent advisors are growing client assets at 14% –