When Less Is More

It appears that the best broker/dealers limit the number of investment vehicles on their approved list. That's one of the findings of The Art of Efficiency: A Holistic Approach to Operations, the new study by Moss Adams and sponsored by Pershing LLC affiliate iNautix (USA).

While one of the noticeable findings of the study was a link between operational efficiency and greater profitability, it also found that cutting down on the number of products and putting some discipline into product strategies also produces bottom-line benefits, according to Mike Nesspor of iNautix.

"Having 50 annuity providers seems excessive to me," Nesspor says. It happens, he suggests, "when someone thinks they have to have a certain product on their platform, but they haven't factored in the cost of delivering" the product onto the platform.