Merrill to Continue Pay Plan

According to InvestmentNews, Merrill Lynch will continue to reward its wealth management advisers for bringing in new client accounts.

Last year, Merrill Lynch unveiled a 2018 pay grid that rewarded advisers who brought in a healthy number of net new accounts. Those advisers who fell short of company goals had their compensation reduced. The plan was called the "growth grid."

Merrill's 15,015 financial advisers can expect to see such a compensation plan next year, said a senior Merrill Lynch executive. More at InvestmentNews.com

Wells Fargo to pay Brokers

According to InvestmentNews.com Wells Fargo Advisors will pay $9.5 million to settle a class action suit brought by 2,198 current and former brokers in California, who had charged that the firm failed to pay commissions in a timely manner.

http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20180430/FREE/180439991/wells-fargo-to-pay-9-5-million-to-reps-in-compensation-dispute

Those Deals Really Are Negotiable! - Adviser Attrition at Barclays

Stifel's acquisition of Barclays' U.S. wealth management unit closes in early December, but the firm may end up with a lot more empty desks than it originally expected. According to press reports just under half of Barclays' U.S. advisers have left for other firms since the deal was announced in June, Stifel said when announcing earnings this week.

The firm expects that 95 to 105 Barclays advisers overseeing $25 billion in assets will transition to Stifel. When the deal was announced, Stifel said that the Barclays unit had about 180 advisers overseeing $57.9 billion in client assets.

Terms of the deal have not been disclosed – making it difficult to judge whether the firm is paying a good price for the unit, insider observers say. Yet by one measure, the Barclays unit will contribute less to Stifel's revenue.

The St. Louis-based firm said it now expects the unit to add $210 million to $230 million in revenue, compared to $332 million when the acquisition was first announced.

With Stifel Deal Pending, Advisor Attrition Spikes at Barclays | IAG Breaking News:

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Mark Astarita represents brokers and advisers in their transitions between every major broker-dealer, and has been doing so for decades. He is the founder of SECLaw.com, his web site is www.securitieslawyer.us and his firm's site is www.sacllc.com

Transition Agreements are Negotiable - Even For Credit Suisse Brokers

In October of this year, Credit Suisse announced that it was closing its retail brokerage unit and that it had signed a recruiting arrangement with Wells Fargo. That arrangement lets Credit Suisse brokers who are hired by Wells Fargo to smoothly transition their practices and clients to the Wells Fargo Advisors arm by early next year.

That agreement seemed to be a welcome solution to the recruiting issues that arise when a large number of retail brokers changed firms, but that soon changed. Wells Fargo put a cap on the upfront loan, which traditionally has been 2-3 times trailing twelve. For some brokers, their upfront loans would be more than $5 million, which is where Wells Fargo set the cap.

That cap then starts to unravel the benefit of entering into the recruiting agreement, because the brokers are not bound to deal with Wells Fargo. Brokers complained, and since firms like  Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and UBS do not impose such caps. Credit Suisse brokers were encouraged to discuss relationships with those firms.

Credit Suisse brokers need to keep in mind that they are not locked into any particular deal, even if they go to Wells Fargo. Despite popular opinion, all employment deals, including transition bonuses, upfront loans and hurdles are negotiable, as demonstrated by Wells Fargo decision to modify the upfront cap for brokers who are affected, and sometimes offering $2.5 million in new deferred compensation that vests over four years.

Related Stories:

Credit Suiss Advisors Free to Move to Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo and Credit Suisse strike recruiting deal for 250 advisers

Credit Suisse brokers not happy with move to Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo-Credit Suisse Deal: First FA Out Picks Merrill

Broker Dealers Move to Banking Fueling Transitions?

Advisors Have Leverage In Employment Agreements

Reviewing Broker Transition Agreements

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Mark Astarita is a nationally known securities lawyer who has represented brokers and advisers in their transitions, loans and compensation issues for decades. He has negotiated deals, settlements and agreements with every major brokerage firm and dozens of regional firms. Mark has also represented brokers in disputes with every firm and does so in an efficient and cost effective manner. Call him for a free telephone consultation, and let’s see how I can help you. 212-509-6544 or email - mja@sallahlaw.com

Credit Suiss Advisors Free to Move to Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo struck a deal with Credit Suisse to smooth the recruitment of the Swiss lender's private-bank employees as their firm retreats from managing wealth for U.S. clients.

The deal would allow U.S. advisors and clients to move to Wells Fargo Advisors by early 2016, according to a joint statement Tuesday from the firms.

Wells Fargo Reaches Agreement to Add Credit Suisse Advisors

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Considering a move? All deals are negotiable. At all firms. Don't fall for the hype, you can get a better deal, and resolve your disputes with your prior firm. Call us today - 212-509-6544 - Sallah Astarita & Cox, a national securities law firm.

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• DealBook News Analysis: In Credit Suisse Settlement, a Question of Justice

The Advantages of a Regional Brokerage Firm

In my securities law practice I have represented large national firms, regional firms, and small local firms and hundreds of brokers from all size firms. Each business model has its own advantages and disadvantages for the adviser, and the investor. As the large firms have consolidated over the years, investors, and brokers, are finding additional advantages in the regional and small firms, at this article from Forbes points out.

Regional firms, and independent firms, offer some significant advantages to both the adviser and the client. Advisers enjoy the more entrepreneurial culture and the regional firms, and investors enjoy more individualized attention from their adviser, and the firm itself.

As discussed in the article, the advantages for advisers include increased access to the decision makers at the firm, plus,  they will be more important to these people than if they were large producers at a wirehouse. That is an advantage for their clients as well. In addition, regional brokerages generally have fewer proprietary products than their larger counterparts do. Therefore, advisors are under less pressure to offer in-house products to clients, who often perceive a conflict of interest in such sales. As stated by Forbes, "this independence appeals to advisors attracted to the objectivity and fiduciary status associated with RIAs. Additionally, regional brokerages are not associated with banks, which reduces the pressure to cross-sell bank products."

We represent advisers who transition from large firms to regional firms, and with the right mind-set, and the right account mix, those advisers are apparently more successful in their new positions - and their clients get more attention and better service.

For more information, go to The Comeback Of The Regional Broker/Dealers and if you are considering a move, then visit our securities employment section at our site, or send me an email and see how we can help you make that transition.

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The attorneys at Sallah Astarita & Cox include veteran securities attorneys who are well versed in the unique issues facing brokers and advisers who are changing firms and provide representation to brokers across the country. For more information call 212-509-6544 or send an email.

Efforts Continue to "BankofAmericanize" Merrill Brokers - No Compensation for "Small" Accounts

I am not quite sure when a $250,000 account became a small account, but Merrill Lynch told its brokers on Wednesday that it is eliminating pay for servicing clients with less than $250,000

Now, if you are a client at Merrill, with an account worth "only" $250,000, are you going to stay with Merrill? Of course not. 

And if you are a broker at Merrill, with any number of accounts in that range, are you going to stay with Merril?

For more information, go to Merrill Raises Broker Bonuses, Eliminates Pay On Small Accounts

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The attorneys at Sallah Astarita & Cox include veteran securities litigators and former SEC Enforcement Attorneys. We have decades of experience in securities litigation matters, including SEC and FINRA investigations, insider trading cases, securities arbitrations and class actions, nationwide. For more information call 212-509-6544 or send an email.