B-Ds down: Total reps displaced surpasses 2,400

With the confirmation yesterday of the shuttering of yet another independent B-D, the total number of reps that have been displaced over the last year has increased to nearly 2,400, according to an InvestmentNews analysis. The planned closure of Ensemble Financial Services Inc.'s broker-dealer operation, which officials said will take place shortly, is at least the thirteenth broker-dealer to go down since March 2010. The B-D housed 85 reps, some of whom are said to be in the process of moving to Invest Financial Corp., one of the broker-dealers owned by Jackson National Life Insurance Co. Ensemble is not the only B-D to exit the business this month, with QA3 — one of the largest B-Ds to cease operations yet — closing its doors Feb. 11. A large number of QA3's 400 brokers have defected to former competitors, including FSC Securities Corp. and Securities Service Network Inc. The two recent closings have increased by 25% the total number of reps that have been forced to find new B-Ds. The chart below details the 13 independent broker-dealers that have ceased operations since March 2010, as reported by InvestmentNews, and includes their total number of reps: