SICOR Securities, Inc.

Business Practice Notice

March 8th, 2010 by jamesk

Transfers in Kind from Account A at X institution to Account B at Y institution is NOT “new business”. There is no transactional related “event”. Where the customer chooses to “custody” his/her assets does not matter.

However, if “NEW MONEY” is added to the account in either institution, then, that IS a transactional event IF that money is used to purchase additional assets (even a money market mutual fund). But, if it is only added as CASH without the purchase of a security it still is NOT “new business”.

At any time that CASH, either 1) newly added to an account or 2) already existing as cash in the account or 3) generated from a “sell” transaction(s), is used to purchase a security(ies), then, it IS a “new business” event. (Also, note that the “special circumstance” of a mutual fund “exchange” transaction IS a “new business” event. Think of it as being both a “sell” generating cash and a “buy” using that cash)

A “new business” event MUST be reported to the firm for supervisory approval prior to execution (either in a brokerage account or via direct application way paperwork).

IF, the representative is recommending that the customer execute the transaction, then the recommendation must be approved by a supervisor before being made to the customer. “Unsolicited” transactions are initiated by the customer without discussion prior with the representative, otherwise, it is a SOLICITED transaction and needs to be identified as such (either on the “order ticket” or the new business request) for regulatory examiner review!

To Tweet or Not to Tweet? by Judith A. Hasenauer

February 5th, 2010 by Greg Merrick

Below is an article that I recently recieved and felt that I needed to share with you. We understand that social networking sites are becoming more and more popular and while even I have a personal Facebook and Twitter account, that’s just it, they’re personal. If you have a social networking account, please just use it for personal purposes and be careful with what you post. Take care, Greg

Computers and similar electronic miracles enable instant worldwide communications have revolutionized our civilization. There is little doubt that the advances in communications have facilitated the transmission of financial information and, thereby, made all of us involved in the financial world better able to contact our clients to provide our thoughts on developments in the marketplace. At the same time, these advances in communication present challenges in assuring that the information provided is accurate, complete, and in compliance with the plethora of laws, regulations, and corporate rules applicable to modern business in the financial-services world.Since the Internet has become so universal in its use, legislators, lawyers, and the courts, as well as regulators and compliance personnel, have wrestled with the proper place of the communications revolution in the world of financial services. The so-called “social networking” facilities that have been developed in the past few years have made this challenge even more daunting. For years we have worried about the use of personal computers–particularly the more-mobile ones–to subvert the various rules applicable to sales communications between financial planners and their clients. We first developed concern with the use of “free-form” software for life insurance illustrations. As the genre has expanded, we grow ever more wary about how much latitude should be available with these new communication tools–particularly since many social-networking services have spotty or nonexistent archiving capabilities.Lawyers and the courts have had great difficulty coping with the evidentiary requirements posed by the Internet in general. Dealing with social networking in evidence is still a developing area of the law. It is pretty well settled that e-mail communications are admissible in evidence, subject only to the generally applicable rules of evidence. Judges have long required litigants to provide adverse parties with “relevant” e-mail files in pretrial or pre-arbitration discovery. These requirements presume that e-mail files are, in fact, maintained. The difficulty arises over the word “relevant.” Determining what is relevant becomes a particularly difficult task in the spam-infested Internet world and is exacerbated by the availability of multiple e-mail addresses. Many investment advisory and brokerage firms have installed complicated software to archive e-mail communications so that messages can be made available for litigation and regulatory purposes. These software packages, in order to accomplish their goals, must restrict business e-mail to business purposes and must have sophisticated spam filters to separate the “relevant” business communications from the junk. Otherwise, the e-mail files would be useless because of their very volume. Despite these well-established rules, we see regular reports of litigants being sanctioned because “lost” e-mail files containing embarrassing admissions were “found” that had not been provided to the opposing parties.FINRA appears to have liberalized sales communication rules with respect to social-networking applications like Twitter. The distinction seems to be whether such a social networking application is used for real, spontaneous communication like what would be contained in a telephone call or it is used as a true sales presentation. Obviously, the difference is in the eye of the beholder, with no clear boundaries. Lawyers and compliance officers will cringe at the thought of being presented with copies of social-networking communications during arbitrations or at trial when it is the first time they have seen them. There is a dramatic difference between someone relating the substance of a telephone call in oral testimony and someone presenting an exact copy of a written social networking communication. Either form of communication may include difficult admissions, but there is a much stronger “truth” in the written communication than there is in an oral recollection of a telephone call.The easiest way to avoid this problem is to forbid business communication via social networks. If we keep business communications to business formats and business Internet sites, we can have a much better chance of controlling what is said and of being sure that we know for sure what embarrassing information may be in existence. We recognize that social networking is the communication method of choice for a large segment of our society–particularly among the younger generations. Nevertheless, the potential for abuse and for unpleasant surprises is so great that we question whether the business use of social networking is worth the risk. That being said, making a broad prohibition work in the real world may be easier said than done, particularly when many people use these forms of communication without thinking. Moreover, policing social networking communications may be virtually impossible without new technology that can give broader access and permanence to this presently ethereal technology.

Regardless of the decision that the management of advisory and brokerage firms may make regarding the use of social-networking facilities for business communications, it is necessary for everyone in the financial-services industry to be aware of the technology, the risks involved and the uses to which our people put this new communication development. Rules need to be established and to be enforced.

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Judith A. Hasenauer, JD, CLU is an attorney with the law firm of Blazzard & Hasenauer, P.C. She devotes her practice exclusively to the financial services industry, developing sophisticated financial products. She also advises clients on broker-dealer and investment advisory activities and on technological developments in the use of electronic processing of financial services transactions.The author is not an employee of Morningstar, Inc. The views expressed in this article are the author’s. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Morningstar.

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E-marketing

January 22nd, 2010 by admin

“Once you have established contact with these remote buyers, you pepper your contact with value-added content through your value-added sales technology once or twice a week. Send tools and content that you know the prospect will appreciate based on your inquisitive telephone calls.

Follow up each value-added delivery with a phone call to seek buying signals and solidify the relationship. Tie performance-based selling concepts versus transactional selling methods into your weekly conversations with the buyer with increasing intensity. Draw a distinction between what you and your agency have to offer versus their current broker without being negative about that broker. Repeat this process for about four weeks. In each follow-up phone call, note the differences and emphasize what you can provide. After a few weeks, you’re ready to attempt closing the sale.”¹

¹ http://eba.benefitnews.com/news/e-marketing-to-remote-buyers-2682048-1.html

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Knowledge, Information and Revenue

January 20th, 2010 by admin

In organizations where information is not tracked, all knowledge walks out the door when an employee leaves.

Technology is transforming from a “nice-to-have” strategy to a “must-have” factor. Mosts businesses claim they provider “superior service” as a reason for why they are different from their competitors. However, they are unable to quantify the service they provide. Typically, documentation is done with paper notes or simply by typing notes into some database-type system. Most cannot produce a report on the type of calls, response times, or which customers are having the most or least issues with which type of business line.

What happens when your contact (employee) leaves the firm? That is when your value comes into question because you don’t know the history of the customer relationship. Alleviate the issue by retaining knowledge within your organization.

For those of us in regulated businesses we have some experience with document retention requirements. But benefits could be gleaned by documenting the whole process. Documentation analyzed and utilized can add value to the customer’s experience and put more revenue into your pocket.

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Innovate; Be Different

January 13th, 2010 by admin

Try new pricing models. Target customer groups and hit the sweet spot.

Offer choice
Stair-step differentiated products (good, bettter, and best versions)
Tailor
Ask
Spell it out
Motivate

Don’t sell; create an environment that motivates customers to buy. All motivation must appeal to the customer’s fears or sense of greed. Ultimately, know your market and sell products with the right lifestyle emphasis, image and/or price.

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Target Marketing

January 13th, 2010 by admin

The “average customer” does not exist.

It’s the job that the customer is trying to accomplish that’s the correct “marketing segment” to target.

When you mail the job with your solution, competitors will have a very hard time copying you. Your customer will then need you to provide them your services.

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IBD 10 Secrets to Success

January 7th, 2010 by admin

1 How you think is everything
2 Decide upon your true dreams and goals
3 Take action
4 Never stop learning
5 Be persistent and work hard
6 Learn to analyze details
7 Focus your time and money
8 Don’t be afraid to innovate; be different
9 Deal and communicate with peopel effectively
10 Be honest and dependable; take responsibility

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Selling 101

January 6th, 2010 by admin

Sales Rule No 1: Everything that you say to your customer must appeal to fear or greed.
Sales Rule No 2: Do not practice consultative selling. Sell your capabilities.
Sales Rule No 3: Do not let your prospect forget your message. Pepper your prospect with high frequency, high value, high touch communications.
Sales Rule No 4: Close the sale.

Presentation: The “sweet spot” is 20 minutes. Longer and you get the “deer in the headlights” syndrome. Shorter and you aren’t providing enough “meat”.

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How Gratefulness Destroys Negativity by Jeremie Kubicek

December 8th, 2009 by Greg Merrick

Thanksgiving in America is over, but I hope for all of our sakes that gratefulness is not. It is the boundary that keeps negativity at bay.

For example…
- Being grateful for the freedom we have in America gives us perspective to handle frustrations we have with administrations or bureaucracy.
- Gratefulness toward having a job or career we love gives us patience to handle short term seasons of animosity or worry.
- Being thankful for our families allows us to put up with any pettiness that naturally exists in day to day living.

In my experience, when gratefulness is turned up to its highest level in a person’s life, then areas of selfishness, greed, and unnecessary worry and frustration get pushed out of that life.

It makes sense, doesn’t it? When a person spends more time being grateful to our Maker, thankful for the people in their life, or appreciative for their job, then their perspective will produce a different spirit that is attractive and helpful. This cumulative thankfulness spreads like wildfire in a person’s mind and heart and inevitably spills over onto other people around them.

Being grateful is a great way to live.

Where do you start? Well, for me, I start with my journal and begin making lists. Try it.

What are you grateful for? Really. Don’t just list the obvious, but give detail like…

“I am grateful that I have a job in this period of time that is life-giving.”
“I am grateful for a wife that not only loves me, but supports me in who I am.”
“I am grateful for kids that are healthy and fun and who respect us the way they do.”
“I am grateful for…”

You get the picture. Now start painting your new perspective.

A second list is required to go along with the first. Make a list of the things you are ungrateful for and watch your perspective change after you have made the first. Once you realize the number of things you are grateful for I suspect that your levels of frustration will diminish before your eyes.

Here is why… Most of the things that we are grateful for have longevity. Most of our frustrations are short term, and are usually caused by ourselves.

Once you have finished your grateful list, share your thankfulness with those on the list. Live a life of gratefulness and watch your negativity begin to wash away in the flood of new perspective.

SICOR Securities, Inc.

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Business Practice Notice

To Tweet or Not to Tweet? by Judith A. Hasenauer

E-marketing

Knowledge, Information and Revenue

Innovate; Be Different

Target Marketing

IBD 10 Secrets to Success

Selling 101

How Gratefulness Destroys Negativity by Jeremie Kubicek

Thankful at Thanksgiving

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