Life of a Brokerage Firm
“If it were easy, everyone would be doing it,” is the old adage when it comes to commodities trading and brokerage. Our work can be very rewarding but at the same time comes with a unique set of challenges that we all must overcome in our own ways, all the while trying to keep our sanity. The trading and brokerage business has changed greatly over the years as regulations have increased and technology has become a part of everyday life. The current state of the futures industry is quickly changing and this article series is intended as an educational and informational resource for the industry.
Commodities brokers and brokerage firms have been attempting to adapt to new environments from a regulatory and technology perspective for a number of years now. Some have done so very successfully and others have struggled to make the necessary transitions.
The demographics of the futures industry is also changing as veteran traders and brokers are beginning to reach retirement age. Some brokers stand firm by the thinking that brokers never retire, yet others would like to retire but are unsure how to go about doing so and some have created and executed succession plans for their business resulting in well-timed and executed exit strategies.
The life of a brokerage firm is very interesting and of course cannot be captured in one article series. What has been done is to conduct a series of interviews with brokers and firms at various stages of their careers as well as industry professionals that provide consulting or professional services to the futures industry. The Q&A sessions have been very enlightening and we believe will provide at the very least an interesting topic for discussion and could perhaps lead to the formation of a plan or strategy that could benefit you or your firm. We all love our disclaimers so just for the record, we are not providing any advice here rather presenting interviews with industry professionals and participants for educational purposes.
We have broken out the series into three parts, (1) Entering the Business; (2) Established in Career; (3) Exit Strategy. The series will be published in that order over the course of three consecutive newsletters. At the conclusion of the series the NIBA will post a “Best Practices Guide” using the information we have gathered from the research conducted to serve as a reference guide. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or comments.
