Bill Willis in the News

Before coming aboard, every prospective hire at Raymond James must make a home-office visit. It allows the advisor to evaluate the firm, while giving senior officials a chance to get acquainted with the advisor. When advisors visit the St. Petersburg,...

Financial advisors are now in the driver’s seat when it comes to how they want to practice, thanks to the competition for top talent that has stayed strong in the wealth industry this year, according to the eight panelists who attended our annual...

As the calendar turns the page to another year, 2013 offers the four largest U.S. wealth management businesses the opportunity to recapture some of the assets and talent they have been ceding to other business models including regional, RIA and independent...

Among the thousands of financial advisers we have met over the years, very few have spent their entire careers at one firm. Advisors are a mobile group. According to the Boston-based research and consulting firm, Cerulli Associates, 12% to 13% change firms...

A growing number of wirehouse advisors are showing more interest in bank brokerage programs today. To clarify, almost all wirehouses are now bank-owned, but the space we are referring to is that which positions advisors directly in a bank branch. The...

Have firms gone too far with their huge retention bonuses? By Bill Willis March 1, 2012 The market meltdown of 2008 and mergers of financial firms that followed are beginning to feel like a distant memory. What remains in the present are the retention...

OnWallStreet Our annual recruiters roundtable: Dissatisfaction in the ranks and the end of blind loyalty translates into advisors on the move By Frances A. McMorris January 1, 2012 It was a busy year at the firms and, as a result, our seven recruiters are...

In the post-Madoff climate, a well-known wirehouse brand may indeed be more valuable for the advisor than an independent shop. By Bill Willis September 1, 2011 It has become fashionable to talk about the mass exodus from the wirehouse to the independent...

The independent channel seems enticing. But there are several things to consider before making the first step. By Bill Willis OnWallStreet – May 1, 2011 When I began my career in the 1970s, the brokerage industry was idea driven. Firms and their...

When you think of your branch manager, what images come to mind? Does your branch manger send off positive, negative or neutral vibes? Perhaps the message is mixed. Because he or she represents the management of your firm more than any other executive,...

Wirehouses have created high-end divisions to compete with the boutiques-but have they succeeded? By Bill Willis November 1, 2010 In an effort to compete for the high-net-worth segment of the retail market, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and UBS have formed...

The clients of the future are Gen X and Gen Y. But most advisors are boomers and they’ll be the ones forced to change their ways. By Bill Willis September 1, 2010 You might be surprised to learn that the average age of a financial advisor is approximately...

The Financial Supermarket Is Back In Style by Bill WillisOnWallStreet, March 1, 2010Glass-Steagall was repealed in 1999 overturning core financial regulations and allowing the creation of Citigroup. It became known as a financial supermarket; a place where...

Branch Managers Will Need To Start Producing Again By Bill Willis OnWall Street, November 1, 2009 When I became a stockbroker in the 1970s, most of the branch managers also had a book of business. Producing managers were the norm and many were favorably...

Culture Shock: A New Company Even Seems to Speak a Different Language by Bill WillisOnWallStreet, July 1, 2009Over the years, you probably have heard Heraclitus’ ancient adage, “the only constant in our world is change.” This axiom may have always made...