In the News

Indie B-Ds Cast Wary Eye on Insurers

by Darla Mercado and featured in Investment News
February, 2009:

Seeking to assess the strength of the insurance carriers they do business with, many smaller independent broker-dealers — flummoxed by the insurers’ opaque balance sheets and arcane accounting practices — are relying on a time-tested tool: their own observations.

They have noticed with alarm a rash of recent departures by insurance wholesalers, either due to the elimination of their jobs or through voluntary resignations, from some major carriers, including John Hancock Financial Services Inc. of Boston and The Hartford (Conn.) Financial Services Group. “I don’t look kindly on companies that take out their wholesalers in a time like this. We could no longer do business with them if I didn’t have the support right now when I need it the most for our people,”

John Hancock Makes Room for Independent Reps

by Darla Mercado and featured in Investment News
November, 2008:

John Hancock Financial Services Inc. today will announce a dramatic overhaul of its business model in which some of its 1,800 representatives have the option of going independent.

Under Hancock’s new structure, as of Jan. 1, reps may elect to go independent, which would allow them to expand their menu of product offerings and give them more control over how they market their businesses. The new model also allows for groups of independent reps to band together to form a so-called producer group, providing insurance and investment services.

Reps may also choose to maintain a traditional relationship with Boston-based Hancock as statutory employees, in which case they would receive a high level of support as well as a subsidized health and retirement plan from the firm in exchange for selling a certain amount of its proprietary products.

With No Deal in Sight – AIG Advisers Ready to Jump Ship

by Darla Mercado and featured in Investment News
November, 2008:

John Hancock Financial Services Inc. today will announce a dramatic overhaul of its business model in which some of its 1,800 representatives have the option of going independent.

Under Hancock’s new structure, as of Jan. 1, reps may elect to go independent, which would allow them to expand their menu of product offerings and give them more control over how they market their businesses. The new model also allows for groups of independent reps to band together to form a so-called producer group, providing insurance and investment services.

Reps may also choose to maintain a traditional relationship with Boston-based Hancock as statutory employees, in which case they would receive a high level of support as well as a subsidized health and retirement plan from the firm in exchange for selling a certain amount of its proprietary products.