In the News

Spike in Finra, SEC regulation leaves star brokers exposed

By Bruce  Kelly

October 24, 2104, Investment News

Star financial advisers, the cocky big producers in the corner offices, have long been treated with kid gloves by management at brokerage firms.

The financial advice industry, particularly the large securities houses, have an unspoken tradition of coddling their leading advisers, regardless of the ethics of some of their business practices.

It’s known in the financial advice industry that management typically will avert its gaze from potential indiscretions of star brokers; they produce too much in fees and commissions to risk antagonizing. Brokerage CEOs live in fear of star brokers getting annoyed after being asked too many questions by the geeks in compliance;

Raymond James Coddles Ex-Wirehouse FAs

October 23, 2014

By Chris Latham, Financial Advisor IQ

Wirehouse advisors looking to break away don’t always get to chat face-to-face with both the chairman and the COO of the new firm they’re thinking of joining. Yet such a conversation was what swayed Thomas Dedrick to sign on with Raymond James & Associates from Merrill Lynch last February.

“When I walked out of that meeting, I knew this was the place I wanted to be,” says the Tuscaloosa, Ala., advisor, whose two-person team made the move with him. “It reminded me a lot of how Merrill was when I started with them back in 1982.”

Dedrick’s path exemplifies how Raymond James woos wirehouse breakaways and makes them comfy once they set up shop.

RIA Assets Jumped 12.6% in 2014: IAA/NRS Study

October 15, 2014

By Melanie Waddell, ThinkAdvisor

Regulatory assets held by advisors registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission increased by $6.9 trillion (12.6%) in 2014 to $61.7 trillion from the $54.8 trillion held last year, with the top 1% of advisors managing more than 52% of that total, according to the Investment Adviser Association and National Regulatory Services’ Evolution/Revolution report, released Tuesday.

In their 14th annual report based on Form ADV, Part 1 data filed by all SEC-registered advisors as of April 7, IAA and NRS also found that the total number of SEC-registered advisors increased from 10,533 in April 2013 to 10,895 in April 2014.