2002 Articles
- On Wall Street. “The Growing Unease” October, 2002.
- Research Magazine. October, 2002.
This is one the most fertile times in recent years for a good hard-working broker to build a business. Investors are more willing than ever to switch firms and brokers are capitalizing by either going after disgruntled clients or moving their own clients to new firms. Article not available. - The Wall Street Journal. “Morgan Stanley Sets Change for Brokers in Competition.” September 18, 2002.
- The Wall Street Journal. “Layoffs on Wall Street Make it a Dead End for Some Brokers.” Susanne Craig and Randall Smith. July 25, 2002. Wall Street securities firms — which have cut a total of 25,910 employees, or 7% of their work force, since the end of 2000, according to the Securities Industry Association trade group — are bracing for a new round of layoffs based on the stock market’s swoon during the past three weeks, notwithstanding Wednesday’s strong, but partial, rebound. … Already, the resumes are piling up. “There are maybe 50 managers that I have right now in my stable here who have been either outsized, downsized or terminated who are looking for a job,” says Rick Peterson, a brokerage-industry recruiter in Houston. “There have been so many cutbacks in the number of complexes and branches, there are just fewer and fewer openings for the kind of quality managers that are available in this environment.”
View full article… - Registered Representative. “Reversal of Fortune: Compensation Trends 2002.” David Geracioti. June 1, 2002. The old saying is that brokers eat what they kill. And these days it seems that everybody is on a diet. Our annual broker compensation study shows about one-third of the respondents took a substantial hit in the wallet last year, as clients fled the markets and trading volumes fell. Many brokers — optimists that they are — confidently predict a comeback this year. But, there aren’t many signs of that happening yet.
View full article… - Registered Representative. “The Difficulty of Going it Alone.” Anne Field. June 1, 2002. Sure, going independent has its allure. You have the potential to earn a higher payout; you are the undisputed owner of your own book; and, say you want to take a Tuesday off to hit the links, sure, go ahead, you’re the boss. But nirvana it’s not. As is often the case, there are tradeoffs: While you may dislike your firm for its fixation with monthly production numbers, you may also depend upon the resources the wirehouse brings, such as computers, office equipment and other support services. When you go off on your own, you are saddled with the time-consuming details of running a business that you never had to worry about. When you go it alone, no longer are you able to focus on investments exclusively; you need to become well-versed in buying insurance, negotiating office leases, buying computers and service contracts and finding and hiring various consultants. “You end up spending an inordinate amount of time on trivial details you used to dump on your manager’s door,” says Rick Peterson, president of Rick Peterson & Associates, a Houston-based recruiter specializing in the brokerage industry. Peter Haack is a case in point: He estimates that as an independent he spent perhaps one-third of his time in what he calls “non-producing activities.”
View full article… - Registered Representative. “Who are the Superbrokers?.” May 1, 2002. What makes an outstanding broker? Why do some reps get more out of their jobs — both financially and personally — than their peers? How is it that some brokers build a business and a web of relationships with clients that evolve into a rewarding community of interest for all participants — while others struggle with hard-selling, cold calling and endless turnover in their books?
View full article… - Registered Representative. “The McKinsey-ization of Wall Street.” March 1, 2002. Wall Street old-timers will tell you that the beginning of the end of the freewheeling business they loved came in 1979, when consulting firm McKinsey advised Merrill Lynch to become a marketing-driven firm as opposed to a markets-driven one. The era of seat-of-the-pants management by close-knit partnerships of traders and investment bankers was ending.
View full article… - On Wall Street. “Street Talk.” January 2002.
- The Wall Street Journal. “Many Securities Firms Lost Brokers During 2001.” January 23, 2002.