As the broad market continues its free fall, independent broker-dealer Woodbury (Minn.) Financial Services Inc. is grappling with changes in senior management and the lingering problems of its owner, The Hartford (Conn.) Financial Services Group Inc.
Seeking to assess the strength of the insurance carriers they do business with, many smaller independent broker-dealers — flummoxed by the insurers' opaque balance sheets and arcane accounting practices — are relying on a time-tested tool: their own observations.
Smith Barney has lost 15 advisers in the Baltimore area to Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc.
Robert W. Baird has snagged Paula Johnson, an industry veteran most recently with rival Wachovia Securities LLC of St. Louis, to lead a fledgling branch office.
Private-equity investors appear to be leading the pack of likely buyers for the three broker-dealers in the AIG Advisor Group, which houses 6,571 representatives, according to a number of industry sources.
Who would be better at running an independent broker-dealer than an independent rep?
The severe market downturn is wreaking havoc on an independent-broker-dealer industry, putting all sources of income under siege and flattening already thin profit margins.
As much as executives at custodian firms dream about scores of wirehouse brokers going independent, they say that it's just not happening.
Two recent surveys lend credence to suggestions that the Wall Street meltdown may drive more financial advisers to independent firms from wirehouses.
To attract disaffected wirehouse reps, more independent financial firms are signing on to the industry's recruitment protocol.
Seven in 10 financial advisers prefer working for a nationally recognized company over an independent advisory firm, according to a yet-to-be-released survey.
Advisers tell me that broker-dealers are not created equal when it comes to technology support.
Regional and independent brokers such as LPL Financial, D.A. Davidson & Co., Raymond James Financial Inc. and Stifel Financial Corp. are thriving while brawnier brokers struggle, but the firms' executives have deep concerns even as they rev up their recruiting.
LPL Financial plans a spirited defense against claims that it was negligent in its supervision of a rogue broker who allegedly stole $5 million from at least 40 victims, many from his church in Phoenix.
The following is an edited transcript of the round-table discussion. It was moderated by InvestmentNews news editor Bruce Kelly and InvestmentNews reporter Jed Horowitz.
Some representatives and advisers wonder whether their broker-dealer will be able to cut it, and broker-dealer executives are dealing with the trials — and prospects — presented by the financial-markets crisis.
At a time when major investment banks are failing, the independent-advisory business is flourishing, according to a recent research report.
LPL Financial has agreed to pay a $275,000 penalty for violating customers' privacy, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday.
Securities America Inc. has made a splash in the roiling mergers and acquisitions market for independent broker-dealers, and it could make more waves soon.
