Those in financial services like to call mutual funds commodities, because there are more than 8,000. And many liken those who market them to shoe salesmen or door-to-door encyclopedia salesmen.
Partners at the soon-to-merge Coopers & Lybrand and Price Waterhouse may be doing more this summer than combining their files. They also could be realigning their personal portfolios.
A fragmented legion of independent financial advisers controls a growing share of the retail investment business. Meanwhile, an increasing cadre of larger financial services companies is on the prowl to buy these firms.
In an interview just a few weeks ago, Jack White was extolling the joys of running a boutique.
