Broker Check
Does Your Broker-Dealer Make You Feel Like a Number?

Does Your Broker-Dealer Make You Feel Like a Number?

June 20, 2022

I work my back till it’s racked with pain

The boss can’t even recall my name

*       *        *

And I feel like a number

Feel like a number

Feel like a stranger

A stranger in this land

 

In “Feel Like a Number,” the great Bob Seger captured the doleful reality facing many financial professionals. When you need the help the first thing your firm asks is, "What's your rep number?" How can they elevate your business and provide the support you need to grow if they don't even know your name? We have heard advisors who are afraid of change justify staying in an unproductive relationship by rationalizing that their current firm is “good enough” or “not causing too many problems lately.” But if you are not getting state-of-the-art technology and the personalized support you need, then in reality you are just a number and your broker-dealer is actually impeding your ability to grow.

Far from the ideal partners, many firms throw seemingly endless fees and changes at advisors without sufficient communication or training. These changes are disruptive and often increase profits for the broker-dealer without any corresponding benefit to advisors in the field. These firms are far-removed from the realities advisors face in their business every day. For example, one firm remarkably boasted on social media recently that advisors can occasionally "get access to" the CEO at conferences – as if spending a few minutes with senior management is some kind of rare and special privilege for which the firm's advisors should be eternally grateful!

At Farpointe, serving our advisors is our greatest personal and professional privilege. We will never ask for your rep number because we have deep personal relationships with our advisors and work closely with each of our offices to develop a growth plan specific to their practice. We listen first – and without judgment – to your goals and desires. We then work with you to develop a specific and actionable roadmap to get there. The Farpointe team is there every step along the way to provide support and drive accountability and success.

Importantly, our culture comes first and we are deliberate about protecting it. We only affiliate with advisors who are willing to share and participate in our Farpointe community. Advisors who have made the change will attest to the difference Farpointe has made in their careers and lives. As one advisor put it:

Our practice was founded over 45 years ago. Over the course of decades providing tax preparation, planning and wealth management services to our clients, never have we had such a powerful resource in our toolbox. The level of support and service we receive from Farpointe has elevated and energized our firm. We are privileged and most thankful for our partnership with this group of distinguished professionals.  We genuinely believe that our firm will undoubtedly reach its fullest potential directly due to our partnership with Farpointe!

          - Lane M. Johnson. EA, Johnson Financial

Through Farpointe’s affiliation with Cetera Financial Specialists, we currently are able to offer very advantageous transition packages. But advisors who join Farpointe do not do it just for incremental dollars; they do it because they are tired of being just a number and want a true partner to transform their business and pave a better path for their clients.

You too can choose a better path. For more information or to schedule a consultation contact Farpointe's President, Brian Stern, today at (972) 616-4595 or brian.stern@farpointewealth.com.

For Use With Financial Professionals Only