They’re giving retention bonuses.  ING certainly hasn’t been pumping money in lately, so possibly that could change.  Nothing is changing but advisory accounts do need to get a new agreement.

I was at LPL when two VC firms purchased majority stakes.  It was not a terrible thing for the company overall.  Basically, a VC group will be focused on creating a liquidy event within 5 years.  So they are focused on growing the company and beginning to manage it like a public entity.  If you want a small boutique firm with a family feel, this probably is not going to be your cup of tea.  In general, I think being owned by a VC firm is an upgrade over an insurance company.  To an insurance company, the b/d represents distribution - pure and simple.  Plus, it is the lowest margin and highest risk business it owns, so management has no incentives to push resources to the broker/dealer.  If the VC firm that buys the b/d is any good, they will grow the business reasonably and upgrade the service and tech so they can attract and retain more producers.