Continuing its drive toward individual financial advisor membership, the Financial Services Institute announced Friday that more than 700 advisors will become members of the independent broker-dealer association, thanks to the contributions of two BDs.
Berthel Fisher & Co., the IBD based in Marion, Iowa, will pay the dues for all 385 of its representatives, while WRP Investments, based in Youngstown, Ohio, will subsidize FSI membership for a year for its 350 reps. (WRP was voted an Investment Advisor Broker-Dealer of the Year by its reps for this year.)
According to FSI, those broker-dealers that subsidize rep membership for a year, with subsequent membership the advisor's own responsibility, receive a steeply discounted rate of $99/year for bringing in those members. BDs that sign up their reps, who must specifically opt out of membership if they do not wish to join, also receive the $99/year rate.
As for other membership rates, FSI said they were:
- $129/year: for advisors whose BD is part of FSI's opt-in campaign, and for advisors whose BD is an FSI member but is not participating in any of FSI's various membership campaigns (fully subsidized, opt-out or opt-in)
- $199/year: for advisors who join on their own and their BD is not a member
With the addition of those 735 advisor members, FSI now has 35,000 individual advisor members and more than 100 broker-dealer members. FA membership growth has been an avowed goal for FSI and its leadership, including President and CEO Dale Brown (left) and Chris Paulitz, senior vice president in charge of membership and marketing.
