Paying for referrals compliant
Is it compliant (by NASD and or Merrill) to offer to pay for a referral
from a cpa or attorney or a well connected friend/ acquaintance??
thank you
I am not an attorney, but I do not believe it is allowed.
However, I think some brokerage firms have programs by which you can
share advisory fees with a CPA if they are properly set up as a
registered investment advisor. Don’t know if Merrill this ability
currently or not.
Morgan Stanley has an “Alliance Program” for thier managed account platforms where they can pay a licensed CPA or Attorney a percentage of the annual fee. The requirements vary from state to state though. I think it’s a great program if you can find CPAs who are licensed, but are too busy to make the investment side a business focus.
[quote=iconsult100]Morgan Stanley has an "Alliance Program" for thier managed account platforms where they can pay a licensed CPA or Attorney a percentage of the annual fee. The requirements vary from state to state though. I think it's a great program if you can find CPAs who are licensed, but are too busy to make the investment side a business focus.[/quote]
Merrill and a number of other firms have the same sort of programs.
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