The Financial Services Institute (FSI) announced Wednesday that it has added 500 new individual advisor members to its 35,000-member organization.
Representatives from Geneos Wealth Management and Kovack Securities will have their first-year memberships subsidized by the two firms. In a statement, FSI president and CEO Dale Brown said "Once again, our collective voice is growing stronger and more influential. The momentum our members are creating speaks loudly that every independent financial advisor should join the fight to protect their business by becoming an FSI member."
Denver-based Geneos' president and CEO Russ Diachok said in the same statement that "We are delighted to offer our advisors a one year trial membership so that they can see firsthand the wonderful job FSI provides on their behalf." Geneos had 272 producing reps as of year-end 2012. Ft. Lauderdale-based Kovack Securities' president, Brian Kovack, said: that "to protect our business, membership in FSI, in my viewpoint, is a necessity." Kovack has about the same number of reps as Geneos.
Geneos is one of the 2013 Broker-Dealers of the Year chosen by their own registered reps through the 23rd annual voting conducted by Investment Advisor magazine.