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Author: rafferty

What the Broker-Dealer Industry Looks Like Now, in 5 Charts

13:24 08 May in In the News by rafferty

May 5, 2023 By Melanie Waddlell, ThinkAdvisor The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has released its 2023 Industry Snapshot, the annual statistical report on the brokerage firms, registered representatives and market activity that FINRA oversees. For the first time in years, the number of registered reps increased, and the number of people entering the industry was greater than the number leaving. “The 2023 Snapshot maintains FINRA’s commitment to providing a data-driven view into the securities industry and its activities through the lens of regulatory reporting. We continue to add new data categories to the Industry Snapshot, increasing the transparency of and visibility into an evolving securities industry,” said FINRA Chief Economist and Executive Vice President Jonathan Sokobin in a statement. This year’s edition adds new data about options trading activity, and certain demographic changes of FINRA-registered reps. The 2023 Industry Snapshot incorporates...

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FINRA: Broker numbers up for first time in years

12:56 08 May in In the News by rafferty

May 4, 2023 By Dan Shaw, Financial Planning   The number of people joining the brokerage industry increased for the first time in several years in 2022, driven by wealth managers joining both pure-play broker-dealer firms and hybrid outfits with an advisory arm. That's according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's latest industry snapshot, released on Thursday. The number of registered representatives at brokerages rose to 620,882 in 2022, up from 612,435 the previous year. Although that was only a modest 1% increase and the 2022 total came in below the 629,475 registered reps recorded in 2018, it still marked the first time the figure had climbed in at least the five previous years. Increases were seen in both the number of firms registered solely with FINRA, the broker-dealer industry's self-regulator, and so-called hybrid outfits with advisory arms...

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Ex-Cetera branch manager wins $500K over breakdown of M&A deal

22:48 02 May in In the News by rafferty

April 28, 2023 By Tobias Salinger, Financial Planning Nearly seven years after a Cetera Financial Group branch's succession plan fell apart, FINRA arbitrators held its regional directors liable for damages of more than a half a million dollars. Betsy Jo Merritt won an award of $512,500 in compensatory damages from Janice G. and John D. Cartwright of Long Beach, California-based CLG Wealth Management after accusing the Cetera Advisor Networks regional directors of tortious interference with contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, negligence and state business laws.  Financial Planning obtained the arbitration filing alleging that an agreement for Merritt to sell her branch, also known as an office of supervisory jurisdiction, to a then-Cetera financial advisor named Joseph E. Singleton for $2.1 million was undercut when the Cartwrights recruited two advisors from Merritt's group to their own firm....