Don’t assume educational programs are just about markets and
products. Although new products are
the focus of many broker-dealers’ educational initiatives, there is a lot more
out there. For example, National Planning Corporation, a broker-dealer in
Santa Monica, Calif., offers the NPC
University program, which is designed
to train support staff in the nuances of
workflow efficiencies and help them
understand the tools available to them.
NPC also provides a practice-management conference aimed at helping
advisors run their businesses better.
“It’s more of the practical how-to,”
says CEO Scott Romine. “It’s reps
sharing their best practices, sharing
their successful ideas.” And the firm
has an online practice-assessment tool
called Compass, which helps advisors
evaluate the strengths and weaknesses
of their businesses. Some broker-dealers also offer mentorship programs
that pair advisors with senior advisors
eager to share their experiences.
In addition, some broker-dealers
provide help with succession plan-
ning and valuation. “Something that
a number of our advisors are thinking
is: ‘How do I create a business that
I can sell?’” says Bob Cogan, CLU,
ChFC, and vice chairman of Capital
Analysts Incorporated in Cincinnati.
Capital Analysts sponsors a two-year
Business Succession Navigator program, which helps advisors shore up
the weak spots in their practices and
assists them in attracting people to the
practice who can eventually run it or
purchase it.
gets a regular stream of newsworthy
updates about the regulatory environment from his broker-dealer, Purshe
Kaplan Sterling Investments.
■
Gain access to state-of-the-art technology
Make full use of your broker-
dealer’s technology. Kevin Bach-
mann, president of Questar Capital,
a broker-dealer based in Minneapolis,
Minn., notes that advisors often fail
to take full advantage of their broker-
dealers’ technology. Integrated finan-
cial-planning systems and reporting
packages, paperless account manage-
ment, and online customer-relationship
management are a few of the resources
modern broker-dealers offer. Weinberg,
for example, says he is able to submit
paperwork directly through a scanner to
his broker-dealer and is happy with the
results. “It speeds up the process through
which I get business to them, which, in
turn, means that the client’s business is
moving faster, which means, that
in the end, I get paid a little bit
faster,” notes Weinberg.
Not every advisor realizes
that broker-dealers offer tech-
nology services that can also
make their lives easier by piecing
together the different systems in their
offices. Romine, for example, has a
dedicated group of employees who
make office visits to accomplish that. “We can come in
on a proactive basis and help
[advisors] put those pieces
Consider your broker-dealer a news
source. Another way to optimize your
relationship with your broker-dealer,
especially when the likelihood of
increased regulation is high, is to get
on its newsletter-distribution list and
read its publications. Many of these
publications address current trends
that can help you stay ahead of the
curve. Broker-dealers also often
publish articles on their websites.
Aaron Skloff, CFA and CEO
of Skloff Financial Services in
Berkeley Heights, N.J., says he
U SE YOUR Broker-Dealer TO Broker-Dealer TO :
■ Enhance your client meetings
■ Learn more about new products
and services
■ Stay abreast of compliance issues
