Registered Rep.’s 2009 Broker Compensation Survey: Making Ends Meet
Financial advisors’ wallets have been ravaged by the current market and economy. Some of them are taking desperate measures. But most will survive and come out stronger.
Registered Rep.’s 2008 Broker Compensation Survey: They Work Hard for the Money
When Jeffery Camarda Left His Job as an insurance-based advisor at John Hancock in 1988 to launch Camarda Financial Advisory Inc., a fee-only RIA, his income vanished. “I took a loss for the first time in my life,” Camarda says. Not only did Camarda have to rebuild his book from scratch; he also realized that making money in the fee-only world was not going to be an easy task. “For a long time people couldn't figure out how to make money in fee-only, or how to pay sales people or advisors as lucratively as they do at wirehouses,” Camarda says.
Registered Rep.’s 2007 Broker Compensation Survey: The Ownership Society
When Patrick Collins Jr. was searching for ways to improve his book, he decided to launch his own RIA. In 2004, the year he left, Collins was an employee of Merrill Lynch with five years experience under his belt. He had only about $30 million in assets under management in his last year with the firm, a sum that many experts say isn't enough to go it alone. What also makes his choice interesting is that his book, with about 60 percent of his assets in the fee-based model, would have been attractive to many independent broker/dealers in search of reps with recurring revenue.
Registered Rep.’s 2006 Broker Compensation Survey: The Kids Are Not Alright
As any wirehouse or regional brokerage rep can tell you, the classic branch office manager — part alpha dog, part teacher, part corporate middle manager — has all but disappeared in recent years. Consumed by rising demands from regulators and home-office compliance departments to sniff out possible customer abuses, BOMs say they have little time for coaching — or even for pushing toward sales goals. Often, the little time that managers have left after dealing with compliance issues is consumed by the pursuit of high-priced talent as they try to fill quotas for recruiting proven producers with big books. Managers have less and less contact with the troops, and may have little or none with young brokers; there are few “teachable moments” to transmit the skills and knowledge that BOMs bring to the job.
In Praise of Pruning: Registered Rep.’s 2005 Compensation Survey
Mark Little, a San Antonio-based broker gave away 99 percent of his clients. And that, he says, is the best thing he has ever done to boost his income.
Registered Rep.’s Broker Compensation Special Report (Part One): Full Service Carries the Day
Daniel Yasharel learned his most important lesson about the financial advisory business even before he became a full-fledged member of it.
Registered Rep.’s Broker Compensation Special Report (Part Two): Indie Existentialism
“Freedom has its price,” the saying goes, and perhaps nowhere is that price more frequently calculated than in the brokerage industry.
Broker Pay
If your paycheck is feeling a little light, you're in good company. Registered Rep.'s annual compensation survey finds that broker pay has taken a Nasdaq-like dive. But reps remain hopeful that they can get back to where pre-crash levels. Some brokers will--if they master a consultative approach. Here's what a breakdown of broker pay and which business model offers the most potential.
