As the markets have turned turbulent, recruiters generally remain upbeat on the movement of advisors — at least in the first half of 2019. "I see firms gearing up, committing dollars and hiring staff," said Jon Henschen of Henschen & Associates in an interview. "And some firms are making other changes and getting their ducks in order."
The recruiter points to Kestra Financial, First Global, ProEquities and SA Stone as some of the many broker-dealers looking to do more recruiting in the year ahead. "The midsize firms are spending money and getting [their recruiting infrastructures] together to attract advisors," he said.
Other firms that seem to have been adding to their recruiting budgets are large firms like LPL Financial and Cetera, according to Henschen. The ideal recruiting environment is when the stock market is flat, the recruiter says.
"In a good market, advisors don't want to disrupt the gravy train," he said. "And in a down market, they generally don't want to hurt their client relations" by making a move to another BD.
The past 10 years of a bull market have put the pressure on smaller broker-dealers, some of which have lost registered reps to other firms. "Some of these firms are struggling with what to do now," Henschen says. This situation could lead to more buying and selling of firms that are "stressed out," he adds.
