Frequently Asked Questions: Solutions
This is one of our competitive advantages. With the proper licenses our Advisors are able to offer mutual funds, fee based accounts, life insurance, long term care insurance, disability insurance, annuities, mortgages, home equity loans and business loans. By partnering with us you will be able to meet just about any of your clients’ financial needs.
We have direct selling agreements with over 180 fund families. Included in that number are most of the major fund families in America. If you use brokerage accounts, our clearing firm WFI has selling agreements with over 350 fund families. If you plan on doing mutual fund business you can count on us to have the solutions you’ll need.
No, and that is an advantage of going with an independent broker/dealer like H.D. Vest. As long as we have a selling agreement for the fund, you can offer it.
We have eleven mutual fund sponsors that we call our Educational Partners. They all offer a broad range of funds, competitive performance and have committed to supporting H.D. Vest and our Advisors in growing their businesses. The eleven Educational Partners are Invesco Aim, Delaware, Hartford, John Hancock, MFS, Oppenheimer, Phoenix, Putnam, Scudder, Van Kampen and Wells Fargo
Our Educational Partners are chosen using three criteria. First, they must have a broad product offering so that an Advisor can fully diversify a client within their fund family. Second, they have to have competitive performance relative to their peers. Last and most important, they must commit to supporting H.D. Vest and our Advisors in growing their businesses.
Because they’ve made a commitment to supporting you. They help us offer all of the conferences, support programs and training that make us the broker dealer of choice for tax and accounting professionals. There are many great fund families out there, but it’s our Educational Partners that have made the commitment to supporting you.
We offer our Advisors the flexibility to do either. We have agreements for over 180 fund families on the direct side and over 350 on the brokerage side with our clearing firm Wells Fargo Investments (WFI). It’s this kind of flexibility that makes us an excellent choice for you to partner with.
Absolutely. Many people in the industry feel fee-based programs are the way to go and in many cases they are. For that reason we have four world class fee based programs available for our Advisors to offer their clients. Each of the programs fits a niche so that you have the flexibility to meet all of your clients’ needs. The minimums start as low as $25,000 and they give the Advisor the ability to manage the money themselves or have a professional money manager manage it. If you see yourself offering fee-based services we’re the partner for you.
In order to offer our fee-based programs, you will need to become an Investment Adviser Representative. Depending on your state, this may require a small fee and an additional exam.
That depends on your state. However, in the states that do charge a fee, it is usually a small one. When you look at the potential for fee-based business, the state fee is a minimal expense.
We do not allow our Advisors to register as independent RIAs. This is due to compliance and liability reasons. By becoming an Investment Adviser Representative with us, you are able to charge for services on an hourly basis and you also have access to our four world class fee-based programs. There really is no need to take on the increased liability and compliance hassles of being an independent RIA.
Our Advisors who are properly insurance licensed can offer life, long-term-care and disability insurance. In addition to these, they can offer immediate, fixed and variable annuities. The insurance companies we work with are among the best in the industry. Again, if you are looking for flexibility and choices, we’re the partner for you.
No we don’t. Health and Property & Casualty insurance products are very labor intensive. We feel your clients will be better served by an insurance agent who specializes in those unique areas of insurance.
In order to offer insurance products, you will first need to be an effective H.D. Vest Advisor on the securities side. Then you will need to get a state insurance license. Our Insurance Licensing department can assist you in finding out what is required to get insurance licensed in your state.