Anxiety is at the core of the hand-holding call. But the question is whose anxiety, the client's or the broker's? During periods of market volatility and market sell-offs, many brokers reach for the phone to comfort clients and allay their anxiety...
You need a contact management program. Should you go with your firm's system, an outside product designed for the brokerage industry, or an off-the-shelf generic program? Let's first look at outside programs. One popular broker-specific product is...
A.G. Edwards has made a big move into fees. Actually, its brokers made the move. The firm says it is not pushing fee business. Nevertheless, the average monthly value of client assets in its various fee programs increased to $21.6 billion by the...
Regulators are focusing on mutual fund sales practice violations. They've brought two widely watched actions against brokers and managers, and more are coming. If you think you're safe because you do a quality business, think again. The case...
They're typical new clients: A couple approaching middle age, 2.4 kids, a nice home and comfortable income looking to plan for a financially secure future. But one of their children is disabled. You could craft a dazzling retirement and estate...
The brokerage business is just about the last place you'd expect to find Phyllis Albritton. After all, she is a former state coordinator for the human rights group Witness for Peace. She helped raise $25,000 to build a school in a small Nicaraguan...
Failure and setbacks will never beat us if our own determination is strong enough to succeed. Here are 13 thought-provoking items you might find helpful to both your business and personal lives. The best definition of a high-performance team is...
Brokers have been overlooked in their firms' online offerings, according to a study released in July by Gomez, the Waltham, Mass.-based Internet research firm. Researchers analyzed firms' sites and interviewed 50 brokers and advisers. Gomez...
The war on analysts is now threatening brokers. In proposing heightened disclosures from analysts, the NASDR has included retail brokers as well. The July proposal, NASD Notice to Members 01-45, broadens disclosure obligations for public...
UBS PaineWebber will charge brokers two times gross commissions when clients sell newly issued stock within 40 trading days, provided the stock hasn't moved up or down by 10%, the firm announced July 27 when the policy was implemented. It's very...
