Berthel Fisher's president, Jeff Auld, exits the firm

Jeff Auld, the president of Berthel Fisher and Company Financial Services Inc., has left the company for personal reasons. This is the second time that he has left his position as the head of an independent-contractor broker-dealer in less than two years. He joined Marion, Iowa-based Berthel Fisher in September 2006 after deciding to leave Next Financial Group Inc. of Houston. At that time, Mr. Auld was widely credited for building Next Financial into one of the fastest-growing broker-dealers of the decade through his skill as a recruiter. He is from Iowa, and when he joined Berthel Fisher, he said that it was a quality-of-life decision. In a memorandum, Thomas J. Berthel, chief executive of Berthel Fisher, told representatives and employees last Wednesday morning that Mr. Auld is "no longer employed" by the firm. Mr. Berthel, who will replace Mr. Auld as president, gave no reason for Mr. Auld's departure. Last month, Mr. Auld asked the company for time off because of a personal issue, said Ron Brendengen, the firm's chief operating and financial officer. But last week, Mr. Auld said he needed to resign, according to Mr. Brendengen. Berthel Fisher was ranked as the 46th-largest independent-contractor broker-dealer in last month's survey of firms by InvestmentNews. Last year, the firm had $56.2 million in gross revenue and about 300 affiliated reps. The departure marks the second time in as many months that a popular head of an independent broker-dealer has left a firm. Last month, Joseph B. "Joby" Gruber was forced to resign from two broker-dealers in the AIG Advisor Group, a subsidiary of American International Group Inc. of New York, because he permitted an underling to take continuing-education exams in his name. Mr. Auld couldn't be reached for comment. E-mail Bruce Kelly at [email protected].