Broker Dealer Firm Acquires The Producers Choice In A Move That Will Boost Control Over Annuities

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Brokerdealer.com blog update profile broker dealer firm, Raymond James Financial Inc, making big moves in the industry as it announced Friday, that it would acquireing The Producers Choice. This move made Friday will help  the broker dealer firm gain greater control over the way annuities are wholesaled to advisers. This brokerdealer.com blog update is courtesy of InvestmentNews’ article, “Raymond James bolsters indexed annuities and life wholesaling with acquisition“, by Darla Mercado. With an excerpt from the article below.

Looking to step up its indexed annuities and life wholesaling game, Raymond James Financial Inc. announced Friday it would acquire The Producers Choice, an insurance marketing organization.

The deal is expected to close mid-summer, and Producers Choice will act as part of Raymond James Insurance Group. Sixty Producers Choice employees will join the firm.

The acquisition addresses two major objectives for Raymond James, which has partnered with Producers Choice for nine years: It gives the broker-dealer greater control over the way annuities are wholesaled and marketed to Raymond James’ advisers, and the firm will have the opportunity to work with Producers Choice’s client base of independent insurance agents, broker-dealers and banks.

To continue reading about Raymond James acquistion of The Producers Choice from InvestmentNews, click here.

Finra Focuses On Educational Communication With Investors In New Compensation Proposal

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Brokerdealer.com blog update profiles a new proposal from Finra that has educating investors as their main focus. This proposal is a revised version of the one Finra filed last spring with the SEC. In the previous filing, brokers would have required brokers to disclose to investors recruiting incentives above $100,000 they received for switching to a new firm. This new proposal requires firms to send “educational communication” to investors when a broker moves to that firm. This educational communication proposal is drawing a lot of backlash as critics believe it watered down the original idea for compensation disclosures. This brokerdealer.com blog update is courtesy of InvestmentNews’ Mark Schoeff Jr.  and his article, “Finra releases revised broker compensation proposal“.

Finra released a revised proposal Wednesday for a rule designed to help investors understand the financial incentives their brokers had for switching to a new firm.

Under the rule, brokerages would have to send an “educational communication” to investors working with a broker who is moving to their firm. The document customers receive would outline questions they should ask their broker about the compensation and other inducements the broker is getting to transfer to the new firm.

The questions would help investors determine whether the broker’s financial incentives create a conflict of interest and whether investors would incur costs by following the broker to a new firm.

The broker-compensation proposal is a revised version of one the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in March 2014 but later withdrew amid industry resistance.

To continue reading about this investor educational communication focused Finra proposal, click here.

What’s Best For The Customer Doesn’t Matter According To Finra CEO Ketchum

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Brokerdealer.com blog update profiles Finra CEO, Richard Ketchum has come back at the Department of Labor (DOL), as it proposed to raise invesment advice standards for broker dealers. Ketchum claims this could cause firms to discontinue sales of individual retirement accounts as it would force there be a bias against products with higher fees, regardless of what’s best for the customer. This brokerdealer.com blog update profiling the implications of this new DOL proposal is courtesy of InvestmentNews article, “Finra’s Ketchum criticizes DOL fiduciary rule“, with an excerpt below.

Finra’s CEO Richard Ketchum criticized a Department of Labor proposal to raise investment advice standards for brokers Wednesday, saying it might cause firms to curtail — or even discontinue — sales of individual retirement accounts.

Mr. Ketchum said the DOL proposal would create a bias against financial products with higher fees, even if they’re the best recommendation for a client, and that it could force firms to move to a fee-based rather than brokerage business model. He also said it’s not a good idea to regulate retirement products, such as 401(k)s and IRAs, differently than other investments.

The Securities and Exchange Commission should take the lead in drafting a fiduciary-duty rule “across all securities products,” Mr. Ketchum told reporters on the sidelines of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc’s annual conference in Washington. SEC Chairwoman Mary Jo White favors such a rule, but has acknowledged it’s not clear whether she has the support of the five-member panel to make a proposal.

To continue reading about Finra CEO Ketchum and his take on the DOL proposal and his opinion on the SEC acting on this issue first, click here.

 

Brace For Impact: China Nuclear Firm Plans For Explosive IPO

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Brokerdealer.com blog update profiles an explosive IPO coming from a top China nuclear power giant, China National Nuclear Power Corp. The nuclear power giant is hoping to raise as much as $2.16 billion, making it China’s largest IPO in the last five years. This IPO follows China’s recent efforts to move away from coal as power source. The China Securities Regulatory Commission approved the IPO on Friday, 22, 2014, and the launch date for CNNPC’s IPO is scheduled for June 2, 2015. This blog update is courtesy of the Wall Street Journal’s article, “China Nuclear Firm Plans Biggest Domestic IPO in 5 Years” by Yifan Xie, with an excerpt below.

To find an international brokerdealer to help you invest in this huge new IPO, click here.

China National Nuclear Power Corp., one of the top two state nuclear-power giants, will raise as much as $2.16 billion in what is set to be the country’s largest domestic initial public offering in five years.

CNNPC plans to sell up to 3.89 billion new shares, or a quarter of its total, in the sale, according to its IPO prospectus, filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Monday. The offering’s expected launch date is June 2.

The share float is poised to be the largest in the domestic market since China Everbright Bank Co. raised $2.6 billion in Shanghai in August 2010, according to data provided by Dealogic.

China National Nuclear Group holds a 97% stake in CNNPC. About 40% of China’s total nuclear energy is generated by operators controlled by CNNPC. Excluding issuance-related fees, the firm will raise 13.4 billion yuan ($2.16 billion), according to the prospectus. CNNPC will allocate 4.18 billion yuan of the raised capital to replenish its holdings of cash, and will invest the rest in the construction of projects in Fujian, Zhejiang, Hainan and Jiangsu provinces. Citic Securities, UBS AG and China Securities are the underwriters for the deal.

To continue reading about this explosive new IPO about to hit the markets, click here.

International Fraud Lands New York BrokerDealer In Hot Water

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Brokerdealer.com blog update profiles New York broker dealer, Robert Depalo, being charge with several charges after a year long investigation discoverd Depalo was running a highly sophisticated international fraud scheme. Depalo schemed more than 20 wealthy London investors with the help of 37 year old associate, Joshua Gladtke. Both are being charged by the Manhattan DA as well as the SEC. This update is courtesy of the Wall Street Journal’s article, “Manhattan DA Charges NY Broker-Dealer in International Fraud“, with an excerpt below. The Manhattan district attorney’s office charged New York broker-dealer Robert Depalo with running a sophisticated investment fraud, following a yearslong investigation that the office nearly dropped after hitting a dead-end. Prosecutors alleged in court documents that Mr. Depalo duped more than 20 high-net-worth investors in London into pouring $6.5 million into a fraudulent investment vehicle called Pangaea Trading Partners LLC. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed similar civil charges Wednesday afternoon. The alleged scheme involves a complicated trail of money and sham entities that not only befuddled investors but prosecutors as well, the people said. It also highlights the efforts of the district attorney’s office to pursue increasingly complex and international cases that are more frequently handled by city prosecutors’ federal counterparts blocks away at the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office.

To continue reading about the international fraud scheme, Depalo’s charges, click here