Not your father’s broker-dealer

As part of the second generation of a family broker-dealer recruiting business, I have seen more changes in…

As part of the second generation of a family broker-dealer recruiting business, I have seen more changes in the landscape over the past few years than ever before.

Broker-dealers keeping pace with the competition are a far cry from those of my father's generation. Particularly over the past few years, we see broker-dealers serving as partners to their financial advisers, investing profits back into the business in areas such as technology, practice management and marketing to help their advisers grow and do business with more ease.

Consider the recent case of an adviser with whom we worked who was close to retirement and realized that if something were to happen to him, there was no plan for his business that would protect his clients or his family. He asked his broker-dealer for help with succession planning, but it had nothing to offer.

We were able to help him find a broker-dealer that had a formalized program in place to help advisers create and implement succession plans. Firms that are attracting advisers tell us that investing in such services is a win-win for adviser and broker-dealer alike.

INVALUABLE PARTNERSHIP

When advisers ask me what a broker-dealer can do for them, my answer is that there are several factors that turn a broker-dealer affiliation into an invaluable partnership:

Efficiency. Long gone are the days when broker-dealers considered growth to be the sole responsibility of their advisers. Broker-dealers realize that adviser growth translates to broker-dealer growth, and the result is their investment in a host of areas that help increase efficiency to free up advisers' time for building assets. For example, new technology allows advisers a single sign-on to their desktop and subsequent access to all their tech platforms integrated into one system. “Paperless” offices eliminate the back-and-forth of snail mail and fax machines. With these types of services, advisers can spend less time in front of their computers and more time in front of their clients.

Growth by acquisition. In addition to helping advisers with succession planning, many broker-dealers are helping their advisers expand their business with formalized programs for identifying, evaluating and even financing acquisitions. In the example of the adviser looking for help with a succession plan, his new broker-dealer helped him find the right firm to acquire his business and meet his needs. For advisers looking to build their branch, some broker-dealers are focused on helping to recruit additional advisers to their practice, equipped with teams of recruiting and marketing people to build marketing plans and send leads.

Networking and educational opportunities. In the past, independent advisers often could feel very alone. Today advisers can have the best of both worlds: independence combined with conferences and events for networking, opportunities to learn about how to build their business and enlist their broker-dealer's services in doing so. Regional conferences offered by broker-dealers offer access to key experts on topical matters as well as access to like-minded professionals.

Organic growth. Some broker-dealers have a practice management department offering one-on-one training and formalized programs to help advisers market to particular niches. Marketing departments often offer full suites of instantly customizable materials such as websites, brochures, newsletters, advertising and more. Additionally, some marketing departments are working with their advisers on how to communicate with clients through social media.

Being an independent adviser no longer means that advisers are on their own. Broker-dealers that act as partners in building their advisers' businesses recognize that investment in services for advisers is the ultimate investment in their own bottom line.

I have seen firsthand the impact that quality broker-dealer partnerships can have on creating adviser success stories. Broker-dealers are offering services that were unheard of in B-D generations past, and advisers who take advantage of these services are reaping the rewards.

Jodie Papike ([email protected]) is executive vice president of Cross-Search, an independent-broker-dealer adviser and executive placement firm.