Industry

Mark Schafly Makes Surprise Departure From The Top Spot At FSC Securities

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After a little under three years running FSC Securities for corporate parent AIG, Mark Schafly has suddenly resigned. A search for a replacement is already underway.   Schafly came to FSC from LPL after the high-energy Joby Gruber left the firm under a bit of a cloud. Before LPL, he had spent a stunning 20 years at A.G. Edwards.   No motive for the quick departure beyond "personal reasons" was given.   FSC -- along with the other AIG brokerage firms Royal Alliance and Sagepoint -- has seen significant retention problems since AIG's troubles began i

Financial Planners Still Lobbying For The Fiduciary Standard

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The SEC may be signaling a cooling-down period over whether to impose a unified fiduciary standard on RIAs and brokers, but the financial planning groups are still beating the drum.

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86% Of Brokers And Insurance Agents Want To Join An RIA Firm

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Schwab polled several dozen non-RIA advisors and found that almost 9 out of 10 find the fiduciary model appealing -- and once they actually know anyone, the appeal rate goes to 95%.

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Who Owns The Client? Shedding Light On A Critical Issue That Arises When Switching Broker-Dealers

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When I'm counseling registered reps changing firms, a question that often comes up is, “who owns the clients?" Financial advisors often face a restrictive covenant preventing them from soliciting clients to follow them to their new firm, and they assume their former broker/dealer owns the clients themselves. That's a bad assumption.

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Schwab's Full-Service Brokerage Plans Ramp Up, Along With Plenty Of Industry Speculation

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Eyebrows throughout the industry are still raised at the idea of Charles Schwab adding independent broker offices into its existing network of in-house branches and RIA affiliates.

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