BROKER AWARD
BROKER AWARD
Available Categories for 2018 are:
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
This award aims to identify winning brokers that are licensed to implement investment planning and management for clients. We are looking for winners with a stringent process to find the least costly, complex, or risky products and can demonstrate best practices in mitigating investors’ risks and losses.
Contestants will be judged using the following criteria:
Management Commitment – There is senior management participation from business units, legal, compliance, risk management, and operations on new product offerings, vetting, and ongoing monitoring.
Customer protection – The company has established a mandatory, standardized process that governs internal “ownership” for issues. It has developed a training program that is comprehensive, transparent, and easy to understand based on investor suitability profiles and risk profiling that is conducted to map investment classes selected by the team.
Due Diligence – The company has undergone a stringent and rigorous process for on-boarding and off-boarding investments that goes beyond standard checkboxes. Please provide a workflow and screening process for fund/securities selection and under what circumstances they are off-boarded from the recommended list.
Product viability – Please explain how new products are offered and whether risks associated with the products include their structure or legal and credit risks. Also tell whether the products’ complexity impairs investors’ understanding and the product’s transparency.
Technology – Please explain what tools are being used to help with risk profiling and product mapping, how your portfolio is managed, and whether there is an alert system on risk-level breaches.
Appendices – Please provide any visual aids that may help illustrate your claims.
FINANCIAL PLANNING
This award aims to identify winning brokers licensed to implement financial planning and management for clients. We are looking for winners who possess the best knowledge and implementation for clients with financial planning needs.
Contestants will be judged using the following criteria:
Due Diligence – The company has undergone a stringent and rigorous process for on-boarding and off-boarding investments that goes beyond standard checkboxes. Please provide a workflow and screening process for fund/securities selection and under what circumstances they are off-boarded from the recommended list.
Process – The firm has a clear and transparent financial planning process and protocol, and its licensed representatives have undergone a stringent training process that is not tied to product selling but to identify customers’ true underlying concerns, such as soft and hard risks, tax status, estate planning requirements, financial management, investment requirements, and suitability.
Product viability – Please explain how new products are offered and whether risks associated with the products include their structure or legal and credit risks. Also tell whether the products’ complexity impairs investors’ understanding and the product’s transparency.
Technology – Please explain what tools are being used to help with risk profiling and product mapping and in the areas of life insurance, medical insurance, disability insurance, goals-based savings, retirement savings and draw-downs, etc.
Appendices – Please provide any visual aids that may help illustrate your claims.
IFA OF THE YEAR (UNDER 100 SEATS)
Success in being an independent financial advisor (IFA) under the current stringent regulatory environment and market volatility is harder than ever. We are looking to award a small broker with 100 seats or less that has stringent processes to find the least costly, complex, or risky products to achieve its objectives.
In less than 1,500 words, please explain to the judges why you should win this award based on the following criteria:
- Range of Investment Classes – The brokerage has the appropriate licensing to provide advice on various investment instruments, including mutual funds, equities, ETFs, debt instruments, etc., while offering the client a cost-efficient trading platform.
- Range of Services – The brokerage provides a variety of wealth management services to clients, including research and advice, retirement planning, tax and estate planning, etc.
- Portfolio Management – Does the broker have a process of building and maintaining an investment portfolio that properly addresses the strategy to achieve the investor’s objectives and meet particular constraints? Also, does the brokerage use sophisticated tools to monitor the client’s mandates against current risks and performances?
- Administration – Is there a sophisticated and streamlined administrative process for all the trading, clearing, and reporting activities and functions required to effectively execute the portfolio management processes?
- Client Support – How is client servicing being delivered and measured, and what are the firm’s complaint policies and turnaround time? Please specify how client communication and reporting are executed and their frequency.
IFA OF THE YEAR (OVER 100 SEATS)
Success in being an independent financial advisor (IFA) under the current stringent regulatory environment and market volatility is harder than ever. We are looking to award a small broker with 100 seats or more that has stringent processes to find the least costly, complex, or risky products to achieve its objectives.
In less than 1,500 words, please explain to the judges why you should win this award based on the following criteria:
- Range of Investment Classes – The brokerage has the appropriate licensing to provide advice on various investment instruments, including mutual funds, equities, ETFs, debt instruments, etc., while offering the client a cost-efficient trading platform.
- Range of Services – The brokerage provides a variety of wealth management services to clients, including research and advice, retirement planning, tax and estate planning, etc.
- Portfolio Management – Does the broker have a process of building and maintaining an investment portfolio that properly addresses the strategy to achieve the investor’s objectives and meet particular constraints? Also, does the brokerage use sophisticated tools to monitor the client’s mandates against current risks and performances?
- Administration – Is there a sophisticated and streamlined administrative process for all the trading, clearing, and reporting activities and functions required to effectively execute the portfolio management processes?
- Client Support – How is client servicing being delivered and measured, and what are the firm’s complaint policies and turnaround time? Please specify how client communication and reporting are executed and their frequency.