Displaying items by tag: breakaway

(Boston)

Earlier this year (before the Schwab deal), TD Ameritrade put out an interesting report about breaking away. The report was centered on advisors’ motivations for breaking away as well as their likelihood of doing so. One of the most interesting findings is that as of July, 46% of advisors who were thinking of breaking away said that they had increased urgency since the start of the year. 44% said they would move within the next year. The main reasons were freedom, compensation, and client service, all of which they felt were better at an independent. Another key finding is that only about 36% of advisors wanted to breakaway on their own; most wanted to merge with another partner or join an established firm.

FINSUM: The breakaway movement is only gaining momentum. Wirehouses are shedding advisors and RIAs and IBDs are picking them up left and right.

(New York)

Independent or wirehouse? It is a big decision, especially because it not only means moving firms, but going from being an employee to running one’s own business. Well, to fill the void between those two possibilities, LPL has just launched a new program designed to let advisors half-breakaway. The program lets advisors be independent, but also employees. The new new offering is short on details but follows in the footsteps of Raymond James and Wells Fargo, both of whom have similar opportunities.

FINSUM: This seems like a good option if you are an advisor that wants more flexibility, but does not want the difficulty associated with running your own firm.

(New York)

Not only is the broker protocol collapsing underneath the feet of advisors, but a new court ruling has just set a precedent which will likely make it harder for advisors to switch firms. A recent ruling by the Georgia Court of Appeals says that advisors who have agreed in a contract to give advance notice of departure, but then do not, are not covered by the Broker Protocol. The case stemmed from a smaller firm, Aprio Wealth Management, making a claim against a group of advisors who moved to Morgan Stanley. “We’re really pleased with the court-of-appeals ruling on this case … We think it’s a very meaningful decision for small and midsize firms, especially for registered investment advisers that can feel confident they’ll be protected from poaching like happened to us”.

FINSUM: The bottom line of this story seems to be that one needs to make sure to give appropriate notice. However, that is not always be easy as there might be extenuating circumstances.