March B/D Briefs: News & Products

Commonwealth Financial Network announced in late January that Wayne Bloom, its managing principal of wealth management, will succeed Chairman Joseph Deitch as CEO effective immediately (see IA Interview on page 30 for more on Bloom’s priorities). Deitch will continue as chairman of the firm, which is based in Waltham, Massachusetts, and San Diego and celebrates the 30th anniversary of its founding this year. In an interview, Bloom stressed that “Joe is not going away,” and that Deitch had “been training me to do this job for years.” The broker/dealer has about 1,300 representatives and 400 employees. Bloom, one of the 11 principals of the firm, joined Commonwealth in 1989 from Fidelity Investments….

Tom Wirtshafter has been named president of American Portfolios Financial Services (APFS) and American Portfolios Advisors Inc. (APA). As president of APFS, Wirtshafter succeeds Frank Tauches who will remain with the broker/dealer as executive vice president and chief legal counsel. Wirtshafter also succeeds Thomas LoManto as president of APA. LoManto will remain with the firm as senior vice president of Advisory Services. In an interview, Tauches noted that Wirtshafter had been on American Portfolios’ board since 2004, and that he “brings to our firm a whole other level of expertise.” Tauches said revenue at the broker/dealer increased in 2008, especially due to the new reps American Portfolios added during the year, including several from wirehouses like Merrill Lynch, which brings the firm’s total rep force up to 560. “There’s more glamor on being an advisor on Main Street,” Tauches says, “than there is a wirehouse rep from Wall St. …