Recruiters say reps that are tiring of the pressure to convert their clients to fee-based arrangements have an alternative — in the independent broker/dealer world.
“Many of our recent placements with regionals have been experienced brokers who want to be free to do transactional business in a place where they don't have to feel like second-class citizens,” says Mark Elzweig, a New York-based recruiter.
At the nation's largest firms, transactional books are being discouraged via lower payouts and high ticket charges, and for the average broker, these measures are more than a minor inconvenience.
“If you're in the top two quintiles of production, firms leave you to run your business,” says Mindy Diamond, a recruiter with Diamond Consultants. “But if you're below that or well below, say, 20 or 25 years experience, $200,000 production, you are either getting terminated or costed out of the business.”