Brokers Rate Brokerages in PRIMEDIA's Registered Rep. Magazine 2004 Broker Report Cards
December 09 2003 - 12:17PM
PR Newswire (US)
Brokers Rate Brokerages in PRIMEDIA's Registered Rep. Magazine 2004
Broker Report Cards Edward Jones Takes Top Honors Two Years
Running; UBS Rounds Out Bottom of the List NEW YORK, Dec. 9
/PRNewswire/ -- What do stock brokers really think about their
firms? PRIMEDIA's Registered Rep. magazine, the source of
information for investment professionals, announced today the
publication of its 13th annual 2004 Broker Report Cards in which
brokers at seven leading US firms offer candid opinions on their
own brokerages. Except for two notable exceptions, most brokers
polled think their firms are somewhat stingy and ethically
challenged. It's true that reps at the larger firms were pleased
that their public images had bounced back from the lows brought on
by the conflict-of-interest research scandals of a year ago. And
many polled thought their firms had successfully brought ethics to
the forefront. But, besides A.G. Edwards and Edward Jones, whose
broker employees ranked themselves as nearly perfectly honest, the
other firms had given themselves imperfect ethical scores. (It
should be noted that advisors from all but Edward Jones thought
their public images were poor, despite a bounce-back from last
year's poll.) Perhaps as a result of the conflict-of-interest
scandals, most reps polled felt they had less pressure to sell
certain investment products over others. The advisors polled
thought their firm's research and products have improved. Now the
bad news. Reps, whose incomes had been under pressure from the
three-year bear market, groused about the cut backs that their
brokerages had implemented to boost corporate profit. This resulted
in what they described as lack of administrative support,
particularly in sales assistant support. Proving Wall Street is no
match for Main Street, St. Louis-based Edward Jones edged out the
competition yet again to land top honors with an impressive average
of 8.99 in employee satisfaction (out of a possible 10). It
received the highest ranking in 15 of 19 categories. Only two firms
-- St. Louis-based A.G. Edwards (from 8.21 to 8.31) and Smith
Barney (from 7.70 to 7.71) -- made improvements to climb higher in
this year's ranks. Rounding out the bottom of the list at 7.21 was
UBS, a firm plagued by lingering branding issues and the Report
Cards lowest marks in public image. Reps' complete rankings are
detailed in the December issue of PRIMEDIA's Registered Rep. In
order of overall rank: * #1 -- Edward Jones: Still On Top -- Rank:
8.99. The pom-poms at this St. Louis-based firm can't be ignored as
reps here had fewer complaints and more praise than any other firm
polled. The firm was singled out for its strong ethics, unvarying
approach to business and overall support of its reps. Far from the
pressures of Wall Street, there is a real appreciation among Jones
reps for the sense of independence and sales support. Said one
enthused employee, "it's like having your own franchise and not
paying the upfront costs of running it." * #2 -- A.G. Edwards: A
Nice-Guy Firm Steps Into the Spotlight -- Rank: 8.31. Another St.
Louis contender rises through the ranks. The line on A.G. Edwards
is a familiar one: Sterling reviews on ethics, a low-pressure
atmosphere that investors also applaud and happy financial advisors
-- but a public-awareness rating down there with that of the backup
catcher for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. As one rep states, "Those who
know us, love us. But not enough people know us." Management is
aiming to fix the "quiet problem" with the launch of its first-ever
national ad campaign. * #3 -- Smith Barney: A Steady Recovery --
Rank: 7.71. The hiring of Sallie Krawcheck as CEO and the firm's
focus on wealth management seems to have put most reps in good
spirits about the company's forward direction. Although reps say
the Grubman affair still haunts them, they tended to see research
and image problems receding. * #4 -- Merrill Lynch: Belt-Tightening
Works -- Rank: 7.54. Perhaps no firm has cut costs more
successfully. And the price, say reps, is a blow to their
effectiveness. Chief complaint included Merrill's attempt to be
"all things to all people" and management at the local level. High
marks in ethics and quality show that even in the face of scandals,
Merrill remains one of the most respected names in the business. *
#5 -- Wachovia: A Firm in Flux -- Rank: 7.41. Of primary concern is
whether Wachovia's addition of 3,000 brokers in a merger with
Prudential Securities will result in a less personalized approach
to firm management. While the survey showed many laud the firm's
ethics and commitment to a regional focus, some wonder whether the
desire to be larger will end up rendering it "just another
wirehouse." * #6 -- Morgan Stanley: Losing Ground -- Rank: 7.38.
Praised for sidestepping the worst scandals of 2003, Morgan Stanley
enjoyed the highest ranking among wirehouses in last year's Rep's
survey. But this year, a few problems arose, including
controversies about the firm's reliance on proprietary product
sales. Additionally, its view on "ethics" collapsed and there is a
poor outlook on "hiring and recruiting practices." Said one rep
lamenting over massive job cuts, "I'm actually amazed they're
hiring at all. The problem is that it's a revolving door around
here." * #7 -- UBS: Oh, the Paine of Re-Branding -- Rank: 7.21. A
hundred years of brand identity is not easily replaced. That's the
message from UBS brokers about the firm's re-branding effort now
that it has completed its digestion of the former (household-name)
PaineWebber. According to one rep surveyed, "It doesn't matter how
great we are, no one knows us. They know Paine Webber."
"Interestingly, given the mutual fund trading scandal, many brokers
ranked their ethics fairly high, although not perfect," said David
Geracioti, editor of Registered Rep. "Brokers gave their firms
rankings a minimum of eight out of ten on the issue. But on a
public image basis, they scored their firms quite low. Until
brokers score their firms 10 out of 10 on ethics, Wall Street has
some work to do." Rankings are based on a poll of 350 brokers at
seven firms during September and October, 2003. All those surveyed
had -- at minimum -- one year of production at their respective
firms and were asked to rank their employers in 20 categories,
based on a 1-10 scale, with 10 representing the best. The brokers
were drawn from a random sample of the subscriber list of this
magazine. About PRIMEDIA's Registered Rep. magazine Registered Rep.
is the preferred magazine of retail investment professionals. Its
experienced financial journalists provide readers with unbiased
insight on trends, regulatory concerns, practice management and
investment advice that assist them in building their practices.
Each monthly issue reaches more than 93,000 direct-request
subscribers who control trillions of dollars of assets for more
than 30 million investors. These powerful financial advisers are
licensed to sell a broad range of investment products and rely on
Registered Rep.'s rich portfolio of timely features, articles,
departments and columns. Integral to this coverage are the weekly
Wealth Management Letter e-newsletter and daily postings on the Web
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