Deals & People June 17, 2010

Brewer Brings in Four Advisers

June 17, 2010 - Brewer Financial Services, the full-service broker dealer division of Brewer Investment Group, an independent wealth management firm, announced the addition of four advisers to its national network.
Reported by

A news release said joining Brewer are Tony Coccarelli in Richardson, Texas and Erik Wyse in Plano, Texas. Both were formerly with Ameriprise.

Meanwhile, David Pankiw in Hagerstown, Maryland, and John Slater in Wayne, Pennsylvania, join Brewer from Spire Investment Partners.

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Combined, the advisers have approximately $100 million in assets under management and a broad client base, according to the announcement.

More information is at http://brewerinvestmentgroup.com.

Products June 17, 2010

Schwab Unveils Advisor University for RIAs

June 17, 2010 – Charles Schwab has launched Schwab Advisor University, an interactive online training program to help registered investment advisers (RIAs) improve operational productivity and performance.
Reported by

Located on Schwab Advisor Center, Schwab’s Web site for its RIA clients, the self-paced classes have been designed to train RIA operations and support staff how to efficiently conduct business with Schwab.

The site now includes 12 courses and reference materials, including a New Employee course series designed for first-time users of Schwab Advisor Center tools. The online curriculum covers the four categories of Schwab tools – New Accounts, Account Servicing, Move Money, and Trading & Research – and includes classes on:

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  • Client account opening
  • Online cashiering
  • Transfer of assets (TOA)
  • Monitoring client transaction status
  • Investment research
  • Back office processing for fixed income trading
  • Back office processing for equity and mutual fund web trading

Improvements in back-office staff productivity will be a benefit for the firms that use the tools highlighted in the classes, but Schwab Advisor University will also help advisers realize time and cost savings because of the efficiency inherent in online training, Schwab said in a news release

“Advisers tell us that maximizing productivity and efficiency to enable growth is one of their top business priorities,” said Julie Sunwoo, vice president of business consulting for Schwab Advisor Services, in the news release. “Schwab Advisor University is designed to provide a flexible and practical environment for staff to sharpen skills and improve performance in a range of operational areas so team members can spend more time serving clients and doing their part to help their firms grow.”

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