Sometimes changing broker-dealers doesn't work out the way you expect. Just ask Wayne Maier, a financial advisor in Bay City, Mich.
Five years after leaving Securities America for National Planning, Maier's firm reversed course; late last week, Maier & Associates Financial Group moved back to Securities America.
We met with our clients. We told them, change doesnt always work the way you want ... The grass isnt always greener on the other side, Maier says.
Maier and his team first joined Securities America in 2002 and worked with the firm for five years. In 2007, drawn by the asset management programs that National Planning was offering, Maier decided to move his planning practice to the Santa Monica, Calif.-based broker-dealer.
CULTURE CLASH
The change meant a cultural shift, Maier says now. We just felt like it was a different culture," he explains. "We are a Midwest company and theyre a West Coast culture. We are more homespun, not as fast-paced. ... With Securities America I knew everybody at an individual level, from the top to the bottom, whereas with [National Planning] there wasnt really any inner-working relations.
After interviewing several other broker-dealers, Maier decided it was time for a U-turn to the La Vista, Neb.-based IBD. We came back to Securities America because of the relationships we built while we were there, Maier says. Management [includes] people we knew and were comfortable with, he adds.
Securities America was ready to embrace Maier's firm, which has $414 million in assets under administration, includes six advisors and five staff members, and generates annual revenue of $3.2 million.
We are proud to welcome Wayne Maier back to the Securities America family," Gregg Johnson, Securities Americas senior vice president of branch office development and acquisitions, said in a press release announcing the move. "Advances in technology and advisory platforms ..., coupled with a culture that we value greatly, seems to have become a trend that can draw an advisor back to our firm.
Read more:
