By Mindy Diamond, WealthManagement.com – 3 years later, financial advisors are still asking: Will Merrill leave the Protocol? And if Merrill opts out, what does that mean for advisors at the firm?
By Mindy Diamond – This week, Diamond Consultants celebrates its 20th anniversary as a recruiting firm in the wealth management space. And frankly, it’s hard to believe that so much time has passed.
No doubt that the breakaway movement shows no sign of abatement and, in fact, almost every day we learn of yet another advisor who has chosen to leave their traditional brokerage firm for the greater freedom and flexibility of independence. And while any advisor who chooses to leave the mother ship is courageous in giving up the comfort and turnkey support of a major firm, it is especially brave when an advisor from a non-Protocol firm chooses to make the leap.
By Howard Diamond and Mindy Diamond – It’s the time of year when we gather the team at Diamond Consultants to revisit the prior year—and few can argue that 2017 was an interesting one to review to say the least. Working together, we examine deals both large and small, dissect the headlines and hearsay, and study the players.
Louis Diamond Quoted – By Thomas Coyle, Financial Advisor IQ – 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 generally thought — to offset net gains.
By Howard Diamond – Over the past few weeks, rumors have abounded that some wirehouse firms are contemplating an exit from the 13-year old arrangement that protects firms and advisors alike: Membership in the Protocol for Broker Recruiting (“Protocol”). What is the rationale for considering such a move and, more telling, what impact will it have on advisor recruiting?
By Mindy Diamond, Financial Advisor IQ – The Protocol for Broker Recruiting was a game changer. It was created in 2004 by three of the then five wirehouses (Smith Barney, UBS and Merrill Lynch, with the two remaining wires – Morgan Stanley and Wachovia [now Wells Fargo] – joining in 2006) as a way to simplify the recruiting process and protect transitioning advisors from restraining orders, protracted legal battles and time out of the business.
