Advisor news
Financial advisor career news from Willis Consulting
Merrill Edge to Debut In Late June
So, will it take away business from Merrill advisors? “Merrill Edge” is Bank of America’s version of free online trading. I read with interest and an open mind, RegisteredRep.com’s June 1, 2010 article by John Byrme, “Bank of America Ramps up Online Brokerage.” This...
Women Advisor Forum Encourages Women to Act as Mentors
Where are all the young women in financial services? Well, this was the focus last week at the New York Women Advisors Forum. And consensus was there are not enough of them out there, especially in the room at high levels. Yet, Deborah Doyle McWhinney, president of...
Wirehouse Retention Packages – Only Buying Time?
[pullquote] ...a great deal of broker switching can clearly be expected to take place in 2010 and 2011.[/pullquote] Retention bonuses to top brokers may satisfy some, but maybe only for a short time, according to a recent Aite Group survey of 400 advisors published...
FINRA’s Annual Conference Sold Out
Not surprising-- the annual FINRA conference in Baltimore last week was packed with financial advisors all wanting to know what was coming down the pipeline and what would happen next. The conference was literally sold out, a result of the concern over the new...
Testimony for Women and RIAs
[pullquote]Women need an objective model based on trust that is product-free, collaborative and understanding of the specific requirements of each client…”[/pullquote] Using the “comprehensive and collaborative” model she developed based on 20 years in the business as...
Broker/Dealers, RIA’s to Accelerate Firm Growth
What is your practice worth? During the first quarter, there were 24 mergers and acquisitions in the RIA space…that’s a record since 2003, according to RegisteredRep as reported on April 15 by Halah Touryalai. As recruiters at Willis Consulting, we’ve definitely seen...
Circuit Breakers on the Clock – and Lawmakers Tough on Wall Street
Interesting developments in the financial industry last week…The SEC, FINRA, and all exchanges actually agreed and reached consensus on a set of uniform circuit breakers that would be triggered if a security price moves 10% or more in a five-minute period…(all this as...
Excitement + Ensures Advisor Success
As financial recruiters, we often hear an initial objection from advisors saying they are happy where they are. And that’s good, because a positive attitude about your firm leads to increased sales…but it doesn’t end here. There’s more to the equation. So, what other...
Amend…Amend…Amend? Is This Chaos Or What?
Looks like the regulatory reform legislation will come to a vote this week, but not without amendments which some say are “spinning out of control!” So what else is new in Washington? And how do you get 100 senators to agree on a sweeping bill to reform the financial...
New Branch Manager? Be an Ally!
[pullquote] Branch managers are supposed to be leaders, so they can have significant impact on the local culture. Their leadership can profoundly affect an advisor's perception, productivity and, ultimately, his loyalty.[/pullquote] President and CEO of...
Reap the Benefits by Joining an Established RIA
I have often had asked of me by potential breakaway brokers why they would want to join an established RIA, versus going “truly” independent by opening their own independent registered advisor. Probably the most influential factor is accessibility to existing...
Financial Reform – Legal Vs Right
Goldman Sachs was acting “within the rules of the government” states Sramana Mitra, technology entrepreneur and strategy consultant, in her article published by Forbes.com on April 30. You need to read this…it is one of the most thought provoking and intelligent...
Does Bank Of America Care About Their Brokerage Clients?
Talk on the street is that they do not and that down the pipeline, they just as soon let that part of their business go. When BofA bought Merrill, they tallied 2.500 FA’s; since then 1,000 have left with prediction by some that as many as half of the BofA financial...
Firms Seeking More Talent – Diversity – and Women!
Timing is everything, and I think talented women financial advisors have an advantage now. As Wall Street firms emerge from one of the most disastrous financial crises ever and their profit base begins to rise, we see them turn towards an increase in hiring once...
Is It Tough To Recruit Breakaway Brokers?
It can be challenging, especially if you don’t understand wirehouse compensation, which is complex, to say the least. The RIA principals wanting to recruit have to come up with a fair compensation comparison and be able to explain the difference. Bottom line, the...
Financial Advisor Trainees Needed
It appears that Wall Street brokerage training programs have not been successful in developing young sales talent with longevity. My experience as Marketing Director of Willis-Consulting, Inc. points to a massive void in the number of financial advisors with less than...