there are a variety of "rating" services that rate firms on all sorts
of criteria. unbiased is another question altogether. in this sort of
survey the bias is built into the information you seek and the
measuring sticks you create. that makes unbiased a matter of opinion
of the surveyor or the bias of the reader. it is also unclear from
your question what information you are seeking about a firm. quickest
executions, best block trades, most educated brokers, widest variety
of products, best proprietary products, no proprietary products,
equity specialists, strong general practice, most cfp designated
agents, fee for service, tax, estate and trust expertise, private
placements, don't bother me with any of that, strong qualified plan
department, small business knowledgeable, able to take your massive
private firm public, municipal underwriter, or any of a thousand other
questions. what are you looking for. before you try to decide what
kind of vehicle to buy - don't you have to understand where you are
trying to go. not to imply that you don't. just saying that it's not
implicit in your question so i believe any specific answer you receive
will be invalid on its face.
beyond that full service brokerage is or at least should be a very
personal experience. how will you fair personally if you go to the top
rated firm in your unbiased survey but deal with their worst broker?
some are better than others. or vice versa, suppose you find yourself
with an account at a firm you subsequently read is the lowest rated
firm in the ratings but you are doing business with a broker of
exceptional talents. should you terminate a long term, profitable and
productive relationship because that despite your success you just
read it's not a good place to be? are we about survey results or
personal experience? i am simply suggesting that the nature of your
question indicates to me that your approach to satisfying your need or
interest in working with a financial professional is not well formed.
as i pointed out, the first failure of your approach is that it
implies that you believe that if you have the right firm your
experience will be the same without deference to the specific broker
you are engaged with. this supposition is just plain old wrong. for a
lot of reasons. sorry.
as to your inquiry about discount brokers i would suggest this. if you
are dealing with a firm that offers transaction rates at the lower end
of the available scale but still offers personal service from a
qualified professional then the complex nature of the relationship
between client and broker applies just the same as with a full service
firm. actually it is possible to be full service and negotiate rates.
you have to locate a person who you believe has the vision, knowledge,
and understanding of markets, products and money management techniques
and is committed to applying said knowledge to the full benefit of the
client at all times. if you are paying full service rates and getting
less, change brokers.
if you are dealing with a discount firm that offers only generic one
size fits all information or offers a licensed contact with little or
no real expertise than i suggest that you need to be more self-reliant
and i wouldn't concern myself with anything they are saying. the idea
that somebody (or some corporate entity)who isn't intimately involved
with you and the details of your personal circumstances can provide
information and advice that will consistently and proactively be to
your benefit over the long run is also demonstrably false. if life
were that easy, everyone's asset base would grow all the time.
i would also suggest that you (and that really is a generic you) spend
a lot less time worrying about what compensation the broker is getting
and a lot more on your results. if your broker is working for 16 cents
an hour but doesn't know much and can't really help you or be a
trusted member of your financial planning team then who cares what he
charges. it's too much. if your broker has demonstrated
professionalism, honesty, knowledge and is concerned about your well
being and is doing the job for you at or beyond expectations then who
cares what he charges. he's worth it. you broker is entitled to make a
living, a good living if he does what he is supposed to do. if he is
not doing those things he shouldn't be your broker. offering product
because there is incentive to do so is wrong. chastising an honest
practitioner for recommending viable product that meets needs and
solves problems just because he is being compensated for so doing is
wrong too. you don't work for free and neither does anyone else. you
are beginning your evaluations at the wrong place employing the wrong
criteria. stop watching suze orman. that is the kind of simplistic
information you get when you are getting the same advice as everyone
else with a television. your situation is unique and needs to be
addressed as such.
that may well be an unsatisfying response. probably not the firm name
or rating service you were looking for. but as i said, it's not that
easy. why not try reorganizing your question here or among personal
contacts along the lines of, this is what i need, this is what i seek,
do you know anyone you feel comfortable recommending that you think
can do the job for me. then go interview them. anybody worth a dime
will offer to sit with you and discuss your needs and their approach.
then you get to decide if it works for you. look before you leap. you
might just find a firm and a broker that you never heard of that is
perfect for you.
last thought, i know of no service that can tell you why a broker
recommended a particular product to you. be pretty hard to read his
mind. that's why you have to have someone you trust and trust is
earned over time. however if you want to know if a broker has a
disciplinary history that information is public and available at the
nasd site. a note of caution. simply having a disciplinary file is not
indicative of and by itself of a bad broker. there are things to look
for and things to overlook in that file. think i'll leave that
discussion for another time. |
