Three years ago it was "almost impossible" to get brokers to sell life insurance products, according to Jerald Hampton, director of Salomon Smith Barney's estate and trust services group. Only 250 brokers at the firm were doing any insurance...
The SEC is now considering a proposed NASD rule that would change the way employee discrimination claims are handled in NASD arbitration forums.The proposed change is an addition to the rule that eliminated the regulator's policy of forcing...
Concern over pre-empting state defamation law may have killed the NASD's controversial qualified immunity rule.RR has learned that the SEC last year asked the NASD to address concerns that the rule would be an illegal pre-emption of state...
You've read about the threats the Internet poses for your business and seen cover stories predicting the death of the full-service broker. You've probably even experienced firsthand a beating over the prices you charge compared to Internet brokers...
Contrary to the "full service is dead" rhetoric of the popular media, Registered Representative's readers say that while they get questions and comments from some clients about trading online, they're far from feeling inundated or threatened."Most...
Bill Costarides' first-floor office in Mobile, Ala., isn't a run-of-the-mill brokerage. Past the receptionist's desk, there's an area that resembles a living room. Complete with a couch, big-screen TV and refreshments, it could be called a client...
The hardest part is deciding to do it. Frank Aiello remembers that moment in 1995. After six years in the business, Aiello had more than 400 clients. He was so tired of doing trades that he had to change something or get out of the business. So he...
Each weeknight, John Desenberg's team of part-time cold callers dials nearly 700 numbers in the Houston area. On average, 150 prospects pick up the phone, 30 express interest in Desenberg's "Planning for the Future" retirement seminar, 15 commit...
Marc Jaffe became a million-dollar producer in his rookie year. He simply began prospecting 10 years before he became a broker. Jaffe built a real estate brokerage career from 1981 to 1991 focused on enlivening economically depressed Richmond, Ind...
