Independent broker dealer recruiter Jon Henschen featured in "'Upfront Money Should Be a Spice, Not a Main Course'"

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- "To a large extent, [broker-dealers] are just forgivable note peddlers. That's their primary sales pitch when they talk to advisors — what we'll give you if you move," argues recruiter Jon Henschen, in an interview on December 30, 2021 with ThinkAdvisor.com.

Based in Minnesota, near St. Paul, Henschen started out in the 1990s as a broker with Merrill Lynch and Prudential Securities. After that he became a mutual fund and annuities wholesaler. By 1998, he was recruiting for National Planning, a broker-dealer. ThinkAdvisor recently interviewed Henschen by phone.

During this interview, Henschen shares his very strong view about the firms who mark up outside money managers' fees, which are paid by the client. The advisors typically aren't aware of "the manipulation," he says. "Some of the firms are getting downright abusive in their markups. The broker-dealers certainly make things opaque and hidden," he notes.

Henschen, who opened his firm in 2001 and is nowadays focusing more and more on helping advisors to become RIAs, either starting their own advisories or joining existing ones. "The RIA channel is the fastest growing. The channels losing advisors the fastest are wirehouses, captive insurance BDs and banks," he says.

In the interview, the recruiter discusses what he expects to be "a fast-growing part of the industry": larger RIAs who take independents under their umbrella but let them run their practices independently.

A "frustration point," he says, is that when speaking with certified financial planners, some seem dismissive of the fiduciary standard, to which they must now adhere on plans and investments. "They make comments like, 'Yeah, fiduciary standard — what's that?'" he says. But others are "very careful to adhere to it."

"Opening your own RIA or joining an outside RIA is appealing because it offers more choices and gets rid of a lot of layers of broker-dealer costs. It also gets rid of the conflict of interest."

"When you go to an RIA that isn't affiliated with a broker-dealer, you get away from [many] fees and get much lower administrative fees on the advisory assets. So it's a much lower-cost, transparent, fiduciary-friendly environment."

When asked about why he is focused on the RIA channel?
Henschen replied, "Because RIAs can have huge savings for clients since they're [required to adhere to] the fiduciary standard on investments. You can either go to a broker-dealer that pays you a big upfront check — that's [actually] going to be paid for by your clients — [or go RIA]. It's a matter of: Do I do what's best for the client, or do I do what's best for me?"

Henschen says his own business is moderate right now. "It was quite busy over the summer. Also, markets have been good. And when markets are good, reps focus on business. It's usually a flat market, when it isn't going up or down, that's the best environment for recruiting."

Jon Henschen is founder of http://www.henschenassoc.com, an independent recruiting firm focused on independent broker dealers and RIAs based in Marine on St. Croix, MN. With more than 30 years of industry experience, Jon is a staunch advocate for independent financial advisors, and is widely sought after by both advisors, broker dealers and RIAs for his expertise and insight on industry topics. He is frequently published and quoted in a variety of industry sources, including Wealth Management, ThinkAdvisor, Investment Advisor Magazine, Wealth Management Magazine, Financial Advisor IQ, Financial Advisor Magazine, Investment News and others

Media Contact

Cristi Barkley, Henschen & Associates, 7578464107, [email protected]

SOURCE Henschen & Associates