Happy New Year!
Dec
30
Written by:
Friday, December 30, 2011
Well, by most accounts people are happy to see 2011 behind us. The question now is what will the New Year bring? Specifically what will it bring for those of us in the financial services sectors?
So looking into my crystal ball here are some predictions:
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Interest rates will remain at their historic lows.
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Annuities will be in demand, but increasingly those feature laden, high quality ones will be more difficult to find as carriers eliminate benefits and features or leave the market.
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Current assumption products also will have attractive features watered down.
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Participating Whole Life will become more attractive.
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FINRA will become the SRO for Investment Advisors.
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Supervisory expenses will increase dramatically for both Broker Dealers and RIA firms by some estimates $23,000 to $41,000 per branch office.
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Regulatory audits will focus on non OSJ branches as well as OSJ branches.
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Regulatory focus will also extend to Independent RIA firms by all the regulators including the SEC, FINRA and the States.
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Broker Dealers will increase fees to Registered Representatives.
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It will become more difficult to remain independent.
WHAT’S A PERSON TO DO?
You need to understand that it’s a minefield out there. A mistake, even a small or innocent one can cost you a great deal of money, perhaps even your career. My advice is that you come to terms with this new reality and take steps to align yourself with people you can trust and organizations that can provide you access to not only the resources you need but also intelligence that will help preserve your practice.
You may have experienced part of our organizations working with Upstate but our fully integrated financial services structure can offer you so much more.
I invite you to examine our complete value proposition and if you would like to know more about how we can help you grow and prosper in these challenging times, give me a call at 800-828-4415 ext 3001. I'd love to hear from you!
Andy