In his article, “The Dark Side of Broker-Dealer Scale: Pain for Advisors” on ThinkAdvisor, recruiter Jon Henschen highlights the fact that big BDs may tout their “services,” even though their service is rarely up to par.
Prospective advisors tell us the same thing in our conversations with them each day.
Henschen makes several points that remind us we are doing things the right way at SCF Securities. Here are a few examples.
Advisor-to-Home Office Staff Ratio
Henschen: “Having high staffing levels is not a guarantee that the service level always will be of high quality, although broker-dealers with consistent high-quality service do have high staffing levels — of around the 5:1 ratio of reps to staff.”
At SCF: We currently have an advisor-to-staff ratio of 5.12:1 — right in the sweet spot of Henschen’s analysis. Last year alone, our staff welcomed 3,500 new clients, 7,200 new accounts, and 23,000 account service requests. We have the right staffing levels — and the right back office systems to keep our firm as efficient as our advisors need us to be.
Top-Quality Service for the Top Tier
Henschen: “Another tip-off to poor service is when a broker-dealer adds a layer of higher-quality service for their best producers.”
At SCF: Every one of our advisors is in a first-class seat. We call it the Diamond Standard, and we talk about it at length in “The Coach Class Conundrum.”
Markups, Platform Fees on the Rise
Henschen: “Prevalent for over five years with larger firms, markups and platform fees are growing, with some midsize broker-dealers being tempted to go this route to expand profitability.”
At SCF: We free our advisors from the burden of constant fee increases, high affiliation fees, exorbitant branch inspection fees, and other surprise costs. No additional affiliation or platform fees. No other hidden costs. In fact, at SCF, advisors pay a flat monthly fee of $425, which includes technology, E&O coverage, and bonding.
No broker-dealer is perfect; neither are we. But every individual in our home office strives for perfection in his or her role. And while we understand we will never reach perfection, we do get a little closer every day.
Here’s what Derrick, one of our advisors on the East Coast, had to say in a recent email.
“Thank you so much for ‘going to bat’ for us and the clients. I truly appreciate it … It is great to know that we have partners like you and the SCF team that will work hard to get things done when we need them. We are grateful!”
What other SCF advisors say…
Don’t just take our word for it. Consider these real-world experiences of actual SCF advisors.
