Buying an independent broker dealer isn’t exactly the latest get-rich quick scheme. A glut of IBD’s on the market will likely cause asking prices to fall. As I’ve written previously, IBDs are a skinny margin business. Even smaller producers are on a 90% payouts and markups on ticket charges are an important source of profits. Now with unsympathetic regulators piling on new and expensive rules and with the looming mischief that will be caused by the adoption of a fiduciary standard, there’s real cause for concern in the IBD world.
Photo: Steve Harwood
