In the News

Comp changes, breakaway brokers: What recruiters expect next

April 16, 2018 Mindy Diamond Quoted By Lee Conrad The breakaway movement is as strong as ever and unlikely to slow down despite the recent departures from the Broker Protocol, top recruiters say. Some advisors may be even more inclined to go independent due to their ire at wirehouse policy shifts. Yet, the fact remains that many brokers are paid very well and are averse to upsetting the applecart (even one of the recruiters says it’s hard to argue with that). In this third installment of our annual recruiters roundtable, top headhunters discussed how they see this tension playing out, […]

LPL Financial wages ‘war’ on Cetera, Securities America and Kestra after they pounced on NPH advisors in wake of sale

April 12, 2018 Louis Diamond Quoted By Lisa Shidler LPL Financial has declared “war” on three broker-dealers that recruiters say drove a wedge between the giant broker-dealer and the advisors it sought to acquire from its new acquisition, National Planning Holdings Inc. The Fort, Mill, S.C.-based independent broker-dealer, with about 16,000 rep relationships, launched a recruiting offensive against Cetera Financial Group of El Segundo, Calif.; Securities America of La Vista, Neb.; and Kestra Financial Inc. of Austin, Texas of a type, fury and focus that’s flabbergasted recruiting firm principals and internal LPL-affiliated OSJ recruiters for the way it’s singled out firms. “It’s like an act of war,” says Louis Diamond, recruiter […]

Jeff Maurer poached his RIA from zero to $7.5 billion in nine years but now comes M&A

April 10, 2018 Louis Diamond Quoted By Brooke Southall Every inch of the way, Jeff Maurer has built Evercore Wealth Management LLC his way, which is to say he has relentlessly recruited advisors, executives and their assets from ultrahigh-net-worth units of national banks. What the former CEO of U.S. Trust mostly refrained from doing in taking his New York-based RIA startup to just over $7.3 billion in AUM, according to its March 30 ADV, and is buying talent and assets by acquiring RIAs. “Evercore is a really, really strong brand and highly respected in the investment banking world and for advisors used to having an investment bank, it’s […]

Which wirehouse is the least advisor friendly?

April 9, 2018 Mindy Diamond Quoted By Lee Conrad OWS: When Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch announced cutbacks to recruiting efforts, they did it ostensibly so they could focus on their existing advisors. But they’re not doing a great job of retention either because now advisors are leaving hand-over-fist, mostly for the regionals. What happened? DIAMOND: The big firms are saying, ‘We want franchise players,’ but they’ve yet to really define what a franchise player is. The bottom line is, they’re open for business, but they’re not successful. This was a reason plenty of advisors looked at independence. In a […]

How an overtaking, low-overhead Merrill Edge threatens Merrill Lynch advisors and dramatically eases Bank of America’s transition to a post-wirehouse world

April 3, 2018 Louis Diamond Quoted By Lisa Shidler Ten years after it was bought by Bank of America, Merrill Lynch is no longer the fastest growing portion of the business. That laurel goes to its younger sibling: eight-year-old Merrill Edge, which may stir broker resentment that bank brass is — this time around — prepared to live with. Despite BoA executives’ rose-colored view of relations between two entities, Louis Diamond, principal recruiter of Diamond Consultants in New York says the situation is still filled with tension. “I think advisors in the smaller markets will see these Merrill Edge advisors and centers as competition — […]

Recruiters Roundtable: All quiet on the Broker Protocol front?

April 3, 2018 Mindy Diamond Quoted By Lee Conrad On Wall Street recently beckoned its panel of industry recruiters to our offices in lower Manhattan for our annual gabfest to discuss trends in advisors’ career paths. On Wall Street: What development in the industry didn’t get as much press as it should have over the past year? DIAMOND: The wirehouses sorely underestimated how important control and choice are to advisors. It’s the reason people are willing to consider independence. The reason why firms like Morgan and UBS, who are outliers in terms of pulling out of protocol, could be in trouble. They […]

Greg Fleming’s latest venture bets on the Rockefeller brand

March 30, 2018 Mindy Diamond Quoted By Jeff Benjamin Greg Fleming’s launch of Rockefeller Capital Management is fully stocked with brand recognition and the lofty goal of growing assets under management to $100 billion within five years. The Rockefeller name is incredibly sexy, but it’s not just the name that we’re talking about now,” said Mindy Diamond, president of the recruiting firm Diamond Consultants. “The Greg Fleming connection is really the interesting part of this,” she added. “He comes from the wirehouse world, and the language he speaks will resonate with brokers.” Read more…

The Real Reason Wells Fargo Stays in the Protocol isn’t What You Might Think

March 26, 2018 Louis Diamond Quoted By Thomas Coyle One reason Wells Fargo Advisors, the securities arm of Wells Fargo & Company, remains in the Protocol for Broker Recruiting is it can rely on a sister enterprise – a vast and high-profile retail banking channel – to help it capture assets that aren’t covered by the agreement, sources say. For recruiter Louis Diamond, WFA’s link to a well-known, multi-branch consumer bank is why it can “afford” to stay in the protocol even as veteran advisors with large books of business break away to join or start independent firms in numbers enough — it’s […]

Growing Number of Goldman Sachs Advisors Jumping Ship

March 23, 2018 Mindy Diamond Quoted By Cheryl Winokur Munk For many years, Goldman Sachs has been a firm where financial advisors hunkered down and planted roots. Lately, however, some advisors have grown more willing to transplant themselves elsewhere. In roughly the past 12 months, five sizeable, high-quality teams have left Goldman for other positions, writes executive recruiter Mindy Diamond in a column for WealthManagement.com. One team went to Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management, one to First Republic Wealth Management, and three left to pursue various forms of independence, she writes. Read more…

What Advisors Can Learn from the Goldman Departures

March 22, 2018 By Mindy Diamond With an increasing number of advisors leaving Goldman Sachs, it’s time to take notice and understand why. I write a lot about changes in the industry landscape—whether it’s a new business model, relevant trends that we’re seeing, or the headline-gripping announcements from firms. What strikes me about the past 12 months is the frequency and speed of transformation that we’re seeing. Even more striking are the courage and determination of advisors to find the best firm or model to suit their business needs, regardless of the obstacles they may encounter. For example, over the […]

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