Advisor Resources
Independent Broker Dealer Associations
NAIBD. . . National Association of Independent Broker Dealers
The purpose of the National Association of Independent Broker Dealers is to positively impact rules regulations, and legislation by facilitating a consistent, productive relationship between industry professionals and regulatory organizations and by providing education and member benefits for Broker Dealers. Read more »
AIBD. . . Alliance of Independent Broker Dealers
The Alliance of Independent Broker Dealers (AIBD) is a nonprofit mutual benefit corporation founded in 1980 by a group of independent broker dealers who are dedicated to jointly reviewing investment products. The AIBD and many of its members are are headquartered in Northern California. Read more »
Independent Broker Dealer | Financial Advisor Associations
NAPFA. . . National Association of Personal Financial Advisors
The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) is the country's leading professional association of Fee-Only financial advisors who are highly trained professionals, committed to working in the best interests of those they serve. Since 1983, Americans across the country have looked to NAPFA for access to financial professionals who meet the highest membership standards for professional competency, client-focused financial planning, and Fee-Only compensation. Read more »
NAIPFA. . .National Association of Independent Public Finance Advisors
The National Association of Independent Public Finance Advisors (NAIPFA) is a professional organization of independent financial advisory firms located throughout the U.S. specializing in providing financial advice to public agencies related to financing of public projects and issuance of bonds.
NAIPFA member firms must be completely independent of underwriting of municipal securities by banks and securities dealers. Member firms must also be structured such that financial advice is not incidental to any other service. Read more »
LIMRA. . .Life Insurance Management Research Association
The national association, Limra represents over 850 financial services companies in more than 70 countries worldwide whom turn to LIMRA first to help them build their businesses and improve their performance. Their members rely on our 90 years of industry experience, along with resources in Research, Consulting, Assessment, Development, and Compliance and Regulatory Services to: Chart a clear course for the future; Benchmark their competition; Create new products; open new markets; Add distribution channels—independent producer, bancassurance; and worksite; Increase distribution productivity; Assess, train and manage productive sales forces and distribution networks; Meet the challenges of increasing regulation; and Identify and develop the next generation of leaders; plus much more. Read more »
IMCA. . .Investment Management Consultants Association
The Investment Management Consultants Association was established in 1985 to deliver the premier investment consulting and wealth management credentials with world-class educational offerings through membership, conferences, research, and publications. IMCA sets the standards and practices for the investment management consulting profession and provides investment consultants and wealth managers with the credentials and tools required to best serve their clients.
Credentials Certified Investment Management Analyst®
The cornerstone of IMCA is the Certified Investment Management Analyst® certification. The CIMA® certification reflects experience, education, examination, and ethical standards. Those who have earned the CIMA certification have at least three years of experience in financial services, have passed an extensive background check, have completed a demanding two-step, graduate-level program of study, and have passed a comprehensive examination.
Certified Private Wealth Advisor®
IMCA's newest designation, the Certified Private Wealth Advisor®, or CPWA®, was launched in 2007 and facilitates an advanced expertise in the life cycle of wealth: accumulation, preservation and protection, and distribution. Those who earn this designation learn to identify and analyze challenges facing high-net-worth clients and how to develop specific strategies to minimize taxes, monetize and protect assets, maximize growth, and transfer wealth. IMCA's credentials are offered in conjunction with two of the top business schools in the country: The University of Chicago Booth School of Business; and The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
The association is proud to serve more than 8,700 members including more than 6,200 CIMA certificants and 485 CPWA designees, as of March 31, 2012. Each member must subscribe to and each designee must adhere to IMCA's Code of Professional Responsibility. In addition, IMCA's Standards of Practice and Performance Reporting Standards provide practical guidance to investment management consultants in the course of conducting their practices and providing services to clients. Read more »
NAIP. . .National Association of Investment Professionals
The new for-profit National Association of Investment Professionals (NAIP) is a re-creation of the former not-for-profit NAIP. NAIP is a catalyst for developing awareness and understanding of issues affecting persons working in the financial services industry. They believe it is through this understanding, financial advisers can begin to make informed decisions that will help not only those who work in the industry but the investing public at large. The NAIP Blog will post articles from a variety of media sources that address financial market regulation, legal and employment related issues.
They hope that their policy analysis will be done by professionals in the industry, lawyers who specialize in employment/securities law, and academics. They also hope that their members will contribute data and opinion to their effort, since policy analysis is only as good as the data it analyzes. They will post articles and research that will achieve this objective on their blog.
NAIP differs from other financial sites because it focuses on opinion and analysis rather than just news, and provides tools and services to its membership to help them grow and protect their business. Read more »
AIFA. . . Association of Independent Financial Advisors
The AIFA is the voice of the IFA profession. They represent the interests of their membership to the regulator and those policy makers who have an impact on the IFA market place and the business operation of IFAs. There is a clear need for IFAs to speak with one strong voice. Their role is to bring about this united front. They influence the opinions of decision makers to direct policy towards proportionate and appropriate regulatory structure, and are sought out to provide their knowledge and expertise to better understand and define practical policy. They are funded by their membership and industry supporters, and are a not-for-profit organization. Read more »
NAIFA. . . National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors
The NAIFA was originally founded as the National Association of Life Underwriters (NALU), NAIFA, the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, is one of the nation's oldest and largest associations representing the interests of insurance professionals from every Congressional district in the U.S. NAIFA members assist consumers by focusing their practices on one or more of the following: life insurance and annuities, health insurance and employee benefits, multiline, and financial advising and investments. NAIFA's mission is to advocate for a positive legislative and regulatory environment, enhance business and professional skills, and promote the ethical conduct of its membership. Read more »
Independent Broker Dealer | Financial Advisor Required Reading / Online Publications
Investment News
Since 1998, Investment News has been delivering news and analysis essential to the business of financial advisors. Their weekly newspaper, which combines comprehensive news with accurate, independent reporting on the entire financial services industry, provides financial advisors with insight into the market unavailable in any other publication. Today, their readers have come to rely on Investment News for up-to-date market information on the stories and events affecting their clients' investments, and they claim this has enabled them to be the number one source of news to the financial advisor community.
In addition to news, Investment News organizes a number of webcasts and conferences throughout the year, bringing together their readership with key industry experts. Topics are industry specific, developed specifically for financial advisors, and designed to help guide them with the best way to grow their practices. Their events are highly interactive and serve as great networking opportunities. The Investment News main office is located in New York, with bureaus in Boston, Irvine, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, DC. Read more »
Investment Advisor
Investment Advisor magazine is a U.S. based monthly business-to-business publication reaching independent financial advisors, registered investment advisors as well as insurance based broker-dealers. It was first published in 1980 and focuses on news, information, and analysis written for investment advisors; topics include wealth management, alternative investments, retirement planning, technology, and practice management. It is edited by John Sullivan and the publisher is Matt Weiner. Read more »
Financial Advisor | FA
Financial Advisor, FA, delivers essential market information and strategies that advisors need to succeed in their increasingly complex environment. FA focuses on sophisticated planning and investment strategies to help financial advisors better serve their affluent clients, as well as practice management ideas to help advisors build their firms. FA goes in depth to challenge traditional planning wisdom by introducing their readers to new approaches to help them better counsel clients. To achieve these goals, FA continuously seeks to bring together the best team of editors and contributing writers to provide the most compelling publication for the top decision-makers in the financial advisory field. Read more »
Financial Planning
Since 1970, Financial Planning's mission has been to deliver the essential information that independent advisors need to make informed decisions about their business and the clients they serve. They claim, they provide the only website dedicated to the needs of the independent financial planner. Their loyal audience consists of powerful and action oriented financial advisors who rely on them to provide news, opinion, expert advice and practical business building ideas that independent financial planners need to be successful. Their primary concerns are their clients (building relationships), their practice (building and managing their business) and managing their client's portfolios.
They also produce podcasts, conferences, custom publications and eNewsletters—all covering in-depth analysis and planning advice. Whatever the medium, their principle purpose remains the same: to provide financial advisors with the most up-to-date information and cutting-edge analysis on investments, client relationships and business management. Their mission is to help financial advisors run a thriving business. Read more »
FINRA
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is the largest independent regulator for all securities firms doing business in the United States. FINRA's mission is to protect America's investors by making sure the securities industry operates fairly and honestly. All told, FINRA oversees about 4,345 brokerage firms, about 163,410 branch offices and approximately 635,145 registered securities representatives. FINRA has approximately 3,300 employees and operates from Washington, DC, and New York, NY, with 20 regional offices around the country. FINRA is dedicated to investor protection and market integrity through effective and efficient regulation of the securities industry. Read more »
Registered Rep
Registered Rep, now part of WealthManagement.com, is considered one of the most trusted digital and print source for the retail investment professional, serving brokers, financial advisors, RIA's, IBD's, insurance, financial planners, and financial product companies with award-winning insight coverage of the brokerage, wealth management, fund and financial product industry as well as breaking news, data, rankings, and profiles. Read more »
Investment Advisor | AdvisorOne.com
AdvisorOne.com is a comprehensive online destination, featuring news, in-depth analysis, market data, tools and networking opportunities, financial advisors need to transform their business and their bottom line. Responding to the needs of financial advisors for a single site source of information, their web site delivers content and data assets from Summit Business Media's Investment Advisory Group, combined with contributions from industry experts and relevant content aggregated from across the web. AdvisorOne is powered by industry-leading brands Investment Advisor and Research magazine and previously published Wealth Manager and Boomer Market Advisor.
Since 1980, they claim independent and independent-minded financial advisors have turned to Investment Advisor for their unbiased news, information, and analysis that they need to grow and run their practices and to provide the best investment advisory and financial planning choices for their clients. Whether it's wealth management, alternative investments, retirement planning, technology, or practice management, and whether the finacial advisor is a broker/dealer rep or an independent RIA, Investment Advisor is a leading media valued partner in helping financial advisors become and remain successful. Read more »
Research
Since its start in 1978, Research magazine has supported the interests of financial advisors nationwide. Their publication's practical columns and features are designed to help financial advisors boost their client-centric business. Their magazine highlights the latest information on financial tools, like ETFs, and important trends that affect today's financial advisors and their clients, such as compensation and regulation. Their publication is full of advice on how financial advisors can improve their practice, and readers work for both full-service national securities firms and regional and independent firms. Read more »
On Wall Street
SourceMedia, an Investcorp company, publisher for On Wall Strett, is a leading provider of timely and essential news, analysis, research, data and insights for members of the financial services community, and related fields in professional services and technology. SourceMedia offers its clients and subscribers publications and online information services, industry-standard data applications and in-depth seminars and conferences. Read more »
Regulatory | Exchange Resources...
Worth
Worth Magazine addresses the relevant financial, legal and lifestyle issues unique to high net worth individuals. They provide pertinent stories about dynamic wealth creators to expert advice on wealth management. Their magazine is organized into three chapters: "Make" focuses wealth creation and entrepreneurship; "Grow" centers on wealth managment and investing, and "Live" highlights philandthropy, lifestyle and passion investing. Read more »
As the largest and fastest growing electronic stock market in the world, NASDAQ is home to the world's leading companies—and a well-recognized household name. In a recent U.S. poll, NASDAQ was #1 in awareness and name recognition among investors. Building on a reputation for innovative technology and worldwide growth, the NASDAQ brand is recognized worldwide. Read more »
NYSE Euronext (NYX), is a leading global operator of financial markets and a provider of innovative trading technologies, is the only exchange operator in the Fortune 500. With exchanges in the US and Europe, NYSE Euronext equities marketplaces represent one-third of equities trading worldwide. NYSE Euronext is also one of the world's leading futures and options trading venues, with four markets based in the US and Europe offering derivatives on commodities, FX, equities, bonds, interest rates, indices and swaps. Its commercial technology division, NYSE Technologies provides best-in-class transaction, data, and infrastructure management services and solutions. Read more »
The mission of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation. As more and more first-time investors turn to the markets to help secure their futures, pay for homes, and send children to college, our investor protection mission is more compelling than ever.
As our nation's securities exchanges mature into global for-profit competitors, there is even greater need for sound market regulation. And the common interest of all Americans in a growing economy that produces jobs, improves our standard of living, and protects the value of our savings means that all of the SEC's actions must be taken with an eye toward promoting the capital formation that is necessary to sustain economic growth.
The world of investing is fascinating and complex, and it can be very fruitful. But unlike the banking world, where deposits are guaranteed by the federal government, stocks, bonds and other securities can lose value. There are no guarantees. That's why investing is not a spectator sport. By far the best way for investors to protect the money they put into the securities markets is to do research and ask questions.
The laws and rules that govern the securities industry in the United States derive from a simple and straightforward concept: all investors, whether large institutions or private individuals, should have access to certain basic facts about an investment prior to buying it, and so long as they hold it. To achieve this, the SEC requires public companies to disclose meaningful financial and other information to the public. This provides a common pool of knowledge for all investors to use to judge for themselves whether to buy, sell, or hold a particular security. Only through the steady flow of timely, comprehensive, and accurate information can people make sound investment decisions. Read more »
All About Money | Financial Information | Investing. . .
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal Digital Network (WSJDN) is the Web's largest publisher of original business news and financial information. Led by two respected Internet brands, WSJ.com and MarketWatch, WSJDN offers editorial coverage and innovative advertising solutions that are highly respected. The Wall Street Journal provides an elite, loyal audience with the high quality content, engaging readers with up to the minute, need to know information. Read more »
Published by the Wall Street Journal, SmartMoney.com is considered the go-to personal finance destination for investors and affluent consumers looking for strategic insights on investing, saving and spending. SmartMoney content and tools are available on an expanded personal finance section on MarketWatch.com. Read more »
Published by the Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch.com is a leading online financial-news publisher, providing an affluent and well-educated audience with up-to-the-minute business news, market information and insightful commentaries for business and investors. Read more »
Published by the Wall Street Journal, Barrons.com is considered a premier financial magazine, providing daily market insight, information, and exclusive features from the same sophisticated voice investors have trusted for nearly a century. Read more »
In the News. . .
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal Digital Network (WSJDN) is the Web's largest publisher of original business news and financial information. Led by respected Internet brands, WSJ.com and MarketWatch, WSJDN offers editorial coverage and innovative advertising solutions.
The Wall Street Journal provides an elite, loyal audience with the highest quality content, with up to the minute, need to know information. Read more »
Since 1917, Forbes has stood, unwavering, for one overriding principle: the unshakable belief in the power of free enterprise. Their mission is clear and unchanging: to provide insights and information that ensure the success of those who tap into Forbes.
Forbes delivers information tailor to meet their audience's needs—at any given time of day, week or year—through a portfolio of Forbes brand properties. Read more »
Morningstar is a leading provider of independent investment research. They offer an extensive line of Internet, software, and print-based products and services for individuals, financial advisors, and institutions. Their independence, along with 195 financial analysts and proprietary tools, makes Morningstar a primary destination for many investor audiences.
Morningstar provides access to four U.S. media properties and conferences to help you investors to target their audience. Read more »
Horsesmouth was formed to help financial advisors succeed. They understand the challenges financial advisors face on a daily basis. They deliver resources, know-how, and support to their audience. They provide a constant flow of wisdom, insight, and tools that are working in the marketplace.
They collect raw ideas, best practices, and primary research from across the industry, including tens of thousands of individual advisors and hundreds of experts and coaches. They filter and refine the most useful information through the needs of a financial advisor. They condense the best material and provide into the most practical and ready-to-use format possible.
They also provide ongoing inspiration, motivation, and support to keep advisors positive, focused, and always moving forward. Read more »
Across Fortune's print, digital and live media platforms, Fortune provides top executives the practical knowledge needed to maximize their success. "With their access to the world's most influential leaders and companies, FORTUNE writers provide our audience with unique insights and ideas they use to grow their businesses, advance their careers and make smart investments." Managing editor, Andy Serwer. Read more »
MONEY was founded in 1972 "to provide information to its readers to help them earn more money, invest more profitably, save prudently, spend sensibly and pleasurably, and enhance their careers." The magazine continues to be a trusted resource for affluent Americans who are actively seeking advice to help them make informed decisions about what matters most to them. MONEY delivers the 4th most affluent audience of all MRI measured magazines with 1MM+ circulation (Median HHI: $89,897).
MONEY provides fresh, relevant editorial and actionable advice through long-time reader-favorites as well as new features, including the Ultimate Investor's Guide double issue, Reader's Choice and Wealth Issues.
MONEY engages readers online with CNNMoney.com—a leading business and finance destination. CNNMoney.com is enriched every day with exclusive content from the editors of MONEY and CNNMoney.com, and major edit specials are expanded including Best Places to Live, MONEY's annual blockbuster list issue and CNNMoney.com's most heavily trafficked special of the year. Read more »
The company was founded in 1982 and within 10 years has over 10,000 customers for the Bloomberg Professional service, a private network with data, analytics and other financial information. In the same decade, Bloomberg launched Bloomberg News and opened offices around the world.
The company launched Bloomberg Tradebook and Bloomberg.com in the following decade.
Today, Bloomberg is applying its extensive data, news and technology to offer new tools in the fields of government, law, energy and sports. The company is recognized for their innovation and a passion for getting things right, remains strong and is the inspiration behind Bloomberg's award-winning products and solutions.
Bloomberg connects influential decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas. Their strength is to quickly and accurately deliver data, news and analytics through innovative technology. Read more »
Financial Services Online (FSO) is a popular Internet based services in the financial services community. The Virtual Assistant (VSA) is "a comprehensive financial advisor support tool" and used daily by over 10,000 financial advisors. FSO Pubs are the first (1996) and largest (over 4,000,000 deliveries a month) publications of their kind on the Internet where nearly 150,000 insurance professionals get news and ideas.
The Virtual Assistant - The VSA has been described as an interactive library. It is a very knowledgeable assistant that can virtually put everything advisors need to operate a financial practice at their fingertips.
Financial Services Online pubs - FSO Pubs provides financial services, news and marketing ideas that effect financial advisors' businesses since 1996. Read more »
For 65 years, the Kiplinger's Personal Finance provides investing, managing and spending guidance with a consistent, timely and authoritative editorial voice.
According to their Editor-In-Chief, Knight Kiplinger: "The Kiplinger organization has been giving financial and business-management advice about as long as anyone" (Our sister publication, The Kiplinger Letter, has been publishing since 1923.) "To us, the work we do is more than a business; it's a calling, a profession – indeed, a mission. We're passionate about giving our readers great value in every issue. Our readers trust us, and that bond of trust is what makes us such an effective advertising medium, too."
Published since 1947, Kiplinger's Personal Finance provides down-to-earth advice on managing money and achieving financial security. They provide their readers with trustworthy information and practical guidance on saving, investing, planning for retirement, paying for college, buying an automobile, home and other major purchases, as well as reliable advice for all stages of their financial lives. Their readers are affluent and influential men and women who are actively involved in their personal-finance decisions, and we are guided by the expectation that they will act on what we write about and benefit from doing so. Read more »
Since 1984, Investor's Business Daily (IBD) states that they have been helping ordinary people achieve extraordinary results. This is done with a unique step-by-step investing strategy anyone can use to systematically achieve financial freedom over time.
According to an independent, real-time study of more than 50 leading strategies by the American Association of Individual Investors from January 1998 through December 2010, their system — known as CAN SLIM® — gained 2,487.3%compared to a gain of just 29.6% for the S & P 500. Read more »
Bankrate, Inc. offers over three decades' experience in financial publishing. In 1976, Bankrate, was introduced as "Bank Rate Monitor," a print publisher for the banking industry. The "Bank Rate Monitor" newsletter originally distributed contained much of the same rate research and information they are known for today. After two decades of conducting quality, trusted rate research, they went online, expanded their offerings and made their online debut in 1996.
Today, Bankrate, Inc. provides financial rate information, offering insightful rate data and financial content. Bankrate continually surveys approximately 4,800 financial institutions in all 50 states in order to provide clear, objective, and unbiased rates to their consumers. Bankrate.com, provides free rate information to consumers on more than 300 financial products, including mortgages, credit cards, new and used automobile loans, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, checking and ATM fees, home equity loans and online banking fees.
In addition to rate data, they publish original and objective personal finance stories to help consumers make informed financial decisions. Read more »
The New York Times is an integral part of people's lives. Their content is available to millions of readers across multiple platforms. And their loyal readers are influential and highly engaged.
The New York Times is the largest seven-day newspaper in the U.S. and ranks #1 in overall reach of U.S. Opinion Leaders.
For more than 150 years, New York Times readers have expect their publication to provide thorough and uncompromising coverage worldwide. The Times has won more Pulitzer prizes than any other news organization and remains No. 1 in overall reach of U.S. opinion leaders. Source: 2011 U.S. Opinion Leaders Study, Erdos and Morgan. Read more »
Additional Resources...
Top Independent Broker Dealers 2011
Click here for the Top Independent Broker Dealer Listing issued by Gross Revenue for 2011, (PDF)
Independent Broker Dealer Listing ranked by growth in earnings, June 11, 2012, Investment News
"In March 2012 InvestmentNews Data surveyed more than 100 independent broker dealers nationwide for key financial information. Their findings highlights the top 100 independent broker dealer firms ranked by percent increase in pretax earning versus 2010." Read more »
Independent Broker Dealers in the News...
December 2012
Additional Resources...
January 20, 2013, InvestmentNews.com
Written By Bruce Kelly with Investment News, he state, "Small broker dealers will continue to face strong head winds in 2013, and dozens will shut down, seek a merger partner or abandon the transaction-oriented style used by securities houses to become registered investment advisers that charge fees rather than commissions. Difficulties such firms face include higher compliance costs, record low interest rates for money market accounts, competitive commission rates from large or discount broker-dealers and a tax increase that will cut available discretionary funds that investors can put to work in the stock market. Defined by the industry as any broker-dealer with 150 registered representatives or fewer, small B-Ds make up the overwhelming majority of firms registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. In the the first 11 months of 2012, pressures on the industry reduced the number of FINRA registered firms to 4,319 — 97 fewer than the year before."
December 2, 2012, InvestmentNews.com
Independent Broker Dealer - "Indie broker-dealers" are identifying new talent"
The following is an edited transcript of the NextGen Channel Spotlight session on independent broker-dealers. The panelists were Larry Roth, president and chief executive of Advisor Group, and Amy Webber, president and chief operating officer of Cambridge Investment Research Inc. The session was moderated by Derek Klock, assistant professor of practice in the department of finance at Virginia Tech's Pamplin College of Business. Mr. Klock: Advisor Group is one of the largest networks of independent broker-dealers in the U.S. With the recent addition of Woodbury Financial [Services Inc.] to FSC Securities Corp., Royal Alliance Associates Inc. and SagePoint Financial Inc., Larry manages more than 800 employees who serve the needs of about 6,000 total licensed advisers.
Mr. Roth: The independent adviser space has grown very dramatically over the last 20 years or so, and it's done that, frankly, because many, many more people — today more than ever — need help planning for their retirement. So a lot of our advisers spend time counseling people on growing their retirement nest egg, so to speak, and now that more and more people are retiring, our advisers are helping them with income strategies, etc., and estate planning.
One of the reasons I'm excited about talking to you in particular is that as the baby boomers have aged, so has the adviser population, and many of you are familiar with this. And we've gotten to a point where the need for advice has never been greater, and because of the aging population of advisers, the need for new advisers has also never been greater. And Amy will probably share this with you as it relates to her firm, but specifically in our firm, we have more advisers in the 70-years-of-age-plus range than we have in the 30-years-and-less range. And with the great training that you've had at your school and the certifications that you're earning, you're going to be entering this market at a really, really wonderful time.
