Top 10 hottest trends in the IBD industry
With Cetera Financial Group's parent company RCS Capital Corp. slated to file for bankruptcy by the end of the month, what's next for the 9,500 registered reps and advisers that operate under the 10 independent broker-dealers that comprise the network? Will those advisers remain with Cetera or will they bolt?
Remarkably, the rate of brokers leaving Cetera has been negligible. Among RCS Capital's woes was a charge in November, quickly settled, by the Massachusetts Securities Division that one of its units, Realty Capital Securities, committed proxy fraud in soliciting shareholder votes to approve pending deals.
Cetera's chief executive, Larry Roth, has a monumental task in front of him. Under pressure to cut costs and boost margins, he will have to begin consolidating the services and functions of the various broker-dealers.