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GUEST BLOG: Bill Singer Talks To Industry Recruiter Ron Edde of Millennium Career Advisors
August 26, 2020
Recently, BrokeAndBroker.com and
Securities Industry Commentator publisher Bill Singer has
been inundated with calls from industry associated persons worrying about the
future of their firms, contemplating resignation, or troubled about potential
post-employment litigation against them by their former employer. Bill raised
some of the issues with prominent industry recruiter W. Ron Edde of Millennium
Career Advisors:
Ron, how are you seeing COVID impact the
employment scene?
Ron Edde: The pandemic has brought
significant change to the advisory/recruiting landscape, and some of this
change is likely permanent. Initially, the inability of firms to meet with and/or
onboard candidates nearly brought activity to a standstill. That pause was very
short-lived, however, as people and companies quickly adapted to virtual
meetings. Things like technology demonstrations and even virtual home office
visits rapidly filled the vacuum. Overall, advisor movement has not been
markedly slowed, especially for advisors that were already considering a change
prior to the appearance of the virus and the subsequent social lock-down that
occurred in many areas.
Given your veteran status as an industry recruiter, what
are you seeing in COVID that is
unique?
Ron Edde: It is not so much the virus
itself but the social response to it which has made this situation distinctive.
Never before in my experience has any global threat spread beyond market
disruption to near paralysis of activity. As we are able to get a better
understanding of the real nature of this threat from increasing amounts of hard
data, both advisors and firms are adapting with impressive
speed.
What suggestions do you have for reps you are thinking of
relocating during this
crisis?
Ron Edde: The pandemic will ultimately
go away either of its own accord, or more likely, with the imminent development
of therapeutics and/or vaccines. Unless one was convinced that clients would be
more reluctant to follow an advisor to a new firm as a result of this
environment, there is no reason to delay. In fact, a compelling argument can be
made that it is easier to move now than before the pandemic. Clients are hungry
to hear from their advisors right now, and most of them are at home. So,
discussions regarding a move are not as difficult to initiate and getting ACAT
forms signed and returned can and is happening at a speed which is nearly
unprecedented.
What mistakes are you seeing reps making in
reacting to COVID?
Ron Edde: By far, the number one
mistake is not reaching out to clients frequently enough. Some older clients
who may not be as comfortable utilizing tools like Zoom or WebEx may prefer to
hear from their advisors via telephone instead. J.D. Power found in its latest
study that financial advisors did not take advantage of technology available to
them to communicate with clients. That has to change or clients could become
ex-clients very quickly. Fortunately, most advisors seem to recognize this and
are making diligent efforts to reach clients via whatever means
necessary.
For advisors planning on making a change, Covid has not
magically imparted expertise about what career options exist and how to assess
those any more than it has made clients more knowledgeable about investments
and how to position their portfolios wisely. In both areas, making informed
decisions is critical...and relying on oneself to do that without outside
consultation is tantamount to representing yourself in a criminal
trial.
How is the pandemic impacting the recent trend of reps
transitioning out of the broker-dealer arena and into the
RIA?
Ron Edde: I have seen no discernible
impact from Covid on movement away from independent broker/dealers into the RIA
channel.
Do you see the recent acquisitions by Schwab (TDA) and
Morgan Stanley (E*Trade) as presenting overall opportunities or are you
worried about any negative
implications?
Ron Edde: As a recruiter, the natural
inclination is to be concerned about any changes like this. But if past mergers
are any kind of reliable indicator, it is unlikely that the two
acquisitions mentioned here are going to significantly diminish
opportunities for people in my industry.
Baby Boomers seem to be particularly motivated by the
pandemic to either pack
it in and retire, or, in the alternative, many of them are planning
on moving to a retirement locale and see the chance to
extend their careers as more folks join the exodus from big cities. What are you
seeing in that regard?
Ron Edde: Advisors now contemplating
either taking a sunset package from their employer or to find another advisor
to buy their practice are increasing in numbers the extent of which I've never
seen before. Also, we are seeing an increase in advisors who are not just
changing firms, but changing states of residence, most notably out of
California and New England. This is reportedly due to increasing civil unrest
in many areas resulting in a sense of insecurity, but also by a growing
aversion to paying increasingly higher taxes in specific areas,. It used to be
rare to see an advisor willing to leave a state, even if they weren't changing
firms. Now, given the new dynamic of client interaction where virtual meetings
are increasingly replacing actual ones, relocating is becoming much more
common. Rather than the cause, however, I believe the pandemic has merely
served as a catalyst to this emerging diaspora.
The independent channel has continued to gain in
popularity, particularly with older advisors who are recognizing that they can
continue to ply their craft in that environment, even if they only choose to be
in the office a couple of days per
week.
ABOUT RON
EDDE
W. Ron
Edde
President/Chief Executive Officer
President/Chief Executive Officer
2132 Treasure Lake Court
Henderson, NV 89052
Henderson, NV 89052
Telephone: 760-642-2701
Ron Edde, Founder, President, and
Chief Executive Officer, has over 17 years of financial recruiting experience.
As a licensed principal and Investment Advisor Representative, he personally
recruited and managed over 200 representatives for a national financial
services firm.
Ron is interviewed frequently by financial media, including the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Financial Advisor magazine, Fund Fire, InvestmentNews, Rep magazine, On Wall Street, AdvisorHub and RIA Biz
Ron is interviewed frequently by financial media, including the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Financial Advisor magazine, Fund Fire, InvestmentNews, Rep magazine, On Wall Street, AdvisorHub and RIA Biz