In the not-too-distant past, the bank brokerage industry wasn’t much of a threat to Wall Street’s aggressive pursuit of high net worth individuals. Most bank-based brokerage operations had pretty limited offerings (mutual funds, annuities, and insurance) and usually the banks didn’t venture far from their own proprietary products.“The banks would try to get deposit dollars into investments, but it was piecemeal,” says Jeff Strange, a senior analyst with Cerulli Associates in Boston. Their frustration was that they didn’t have anything “holistic” to offer – “a way to deliver investment advice,” he says. But the banks are now becoming serious competitors in one of Wall Street’s long-established and more sophisticated lines of business: “Managed Account Solutions,” the umbrella term for separately managed accounts (SMAs) and mutual fund wrap programs. (more…)

Finding the time to recruit brokers and grow your branch can be very challenging when juggling your day-to-day activities, but building your branch can put some extra money in your pocket. If you are willing to supervise, perform audits, and have a series 24, you can potentially act as an OSJ and even collect overrides from your brokers for your time spent. The recommended business model is to house your broker in your office while you cover their overhead and expenses. You have the ability to set the brokers’ payout, and keep a percentage of their payout as a supervisor. Hiring two brokers could easily pay for an assistant for your new team. Acting as an OSJ is a great way to take your business to the next level. (more…)

Special Considerations When Supervising Recommendations of Newly Associated Registered Representatives to Replace Mutual Funds and Variable ProductsExecutive Summary
Registered representatives with an established customer base may, from time to time, change their association from one firm to another and may wish to bring with them customer assets, including mutual funds and variable products. (more…)

Cash is no longer the investment between investments -cash is king! According to the survey Broker Dealer Journal sponsored with the help of The Reserve. Below are some of the conclusions that may be drawn from the survey data: (more…)

Problems, problems, problems. Everybody has ‘em. Most people try to deal with them as quickly as possible and just get rid of ‘em — often by shoving them under the carpet. The “problem” with dealing with problems is that the first available, seemingly simplest solution often causes even bigger, more difficult problems to solve.Certain types of problems never seem to go away and tend to compound. Why? The methods employed to resolve them are usually faulty. (more…)

The FSI Broker-Dealer Conference – Orlando January 29-31st, 2007. By Alex Wein

Broker Dealers face a wide array of problems. Most of the time the answers lie at the end of arduous hours of work and investigation and a great deal of expense. Set at Walt Disney’s Contemporary Hotel in sunny Orlando, Florida, the FSI Broker Dealer conference attempts to help find solutions in a low-key, enjoyable and yet efficient style. (more…)

There are some interviews that are inspirational and there are some that are moving. The following interview was both and is definitely a BD to keep a lookout for.How did you originally get into the financial services industry? (more…)

NASD Manual Rule 10301(a) requires every member firm to arbitrate any dispute with a customer if demanded by the customer. Since Shearson demanded the enforcement of arbitration clauses in the case of Shearson/American Express, Inc. vs. McMahon, the courts practically have enforced arbitration clauses when customers have filed lawsuits in the court systems. If you think this is a good idea, keep reading. (more…)

Since the dawn of the financial services industry, advisors have strived to adhere to one primary standard in performing their daily tasks: Know Thy Client (Know Your Customer—NYSE Rule 405). (more…)

When put to the test in your Business Development Plan, the Ten Steps towards Recruiting Efficiency described in this article can help your broker/dealer reap accelerated success. Neglecting some or all of these issues, however, can result in conflict, discontent, and inefficiency among your recruiters and staff, as well as prevent your firm from reaching its full potential. (more…)