Woodbury Financial is a big firm, with nearly 2,000 producing reps, and a big corporate parent in the form of The Hartford. But a simple comment on a Broker/Dealer of the Year ballot from one of Woodbury's reps was instructive on the firm's personal appeal to reps, an appeal that might sound more appropriate for a much smaller firm. When asked which broker/dealer he'd affiliate with if he couldn't be with Woodbury, the rep named another "smaller, regional firm," arguing that it would be "most like Woodbury. Woodbury is a relationship-based broker/dealer, which is what I like about them. You can get any B/D to process your business, but Woodbury seems to CARE [his emphasis] about the rep and tries to assist in my success." That's the kind of sentiment that will not only win Broker/Dealer of the Year honors, but also cement a rep's long-term commitment to the firm.
Brian Murphy, president of Woodbury Financial, admits that the firm is big, but points out that Woodbury reps and their clients are not big-time in the traditional sense. "We focus on independent reps. I distinguish that by saying we are really going after Main Street type-reps as opposed to Wall Street, wirehouse-type reps."
Murphy says Woodbury likes to focus on growth–"We've been growing at a compound annual growth rate of over 20% since we became Woodbury in 2001," though he says that the "seeds of Woodbury go back to 1910 and we've been a broker/dealer since 1949." Murphy projects growth "north of a 35% increase in revenue this year," fueled by helping reps grow their practices and being active and successful in recruiting.
