Case Study: Registered Representative

That’s when he turned to an investment banker he’d known for several years and had talked with periodically at professional meetings. He dug her business card out of an avalanche of business cards and called.

“I was looking for two things,” he says about that meeting. “Number one was, did she check the boxes in terms of FINRA requirements and broker-dealer licensure. And number two, did she understand the nuts and bolts of my business.”

When Registered Representatives seek out a broker-dealer to hold their FINRA licenses, they look for a professional with a broad array of FINRA licenses themselves, including the Series 7, 79, 24 and 28. But they also look for a financial professional with an intimate knowledge of the rules and procedures required for compliance, and someone who stays ahead of the regulations. Most of all they look for someone who has their back so they can get down to business without any distractions. As an added requirement, this registered rep wanted an investment banker he could work with. “I really wanted someone who was an investment banker, but more importantly, I wanted someone who understood the complexity my deals.”

Soon he came to understand that knowing the regulations and procedures didn’t help much if they didn’t know the investment banking business. The problem then, was where to find that needle in a very big haystack.