Financial advisors are dissatisfied with their dealers, according to Investment Executive’s 2010 Dealers’ Report Card. That sentiment is evident in the ratings the 481 advisors surveyed gave to their firms.
Advisors scored their dealers lower by a significant margin in several Report Card categories. In fact, seven of the 13 dealers saw major declines of at least half a point in five or more of the categories.
The reasons for this discontent include lower payout grids; a lack of strategic focus; a dearth of consumer advertising initiatives and marketing materials; and dealing with new ownership following an acquisition.
As if that weren’t enough, the market bounce and subsequent increase in book sizes experienced by advisors surveyed for last month’s 2010 Brokerage Report Card hasn’t carried over into the dealer channel. Advisors at dealer firms did see their books rise, by a modest 6.3% to $21.9 million from $20.6 million. But this pales in comparison with the increases seen by brokers, whose books rose by 10.3% to $77.2 million from $70 million.
Despite the turmoil, some dealer firms did manage to pull through unscathed. What set them apart? They focused on communicating with their advisors during the tough times and provided their advisors with the tools they needed to do their jobs effectively.
Results from previous years
For previous Dealers’ Report Cards, click on the related links below.
Prior to 2008, this special report was known as the Planners’ Report Card.
To find older report cards, visit our Advanced Search page, and select “Planners’ Report Card” from the list of keywords.
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