Platform bankers tend to sell relatively more annuities than the full-time brokers, and annuity sales tend to involve larger amounts of dollars invested as well as higher commission rates on the investment. Faced with having to work harder to maintain their incomes, no wonder some brokers might be tempted to vote with their feet and move on when the bank starts a hybrid program. But broker turnover is actually lower in hybrid programs than in traditional broker-only programs. That's because well-managed hybrid programs restructure the broker's compensation so that the broker participation is larger than the fee income generated by the hybrid program. Moreover, with the licensed bankers handling the workaday investment needs of many bank customers, the broker can focus on customers with more complex investment or financial planning needs.
Brokers often complain about the whole idea of licensing bankers in the first place.
I eat and sleep investments, while the banker is focused on all those banking products and servicing customers. Q-Group's research illuminates both the strengths and weaknesses of selling investments through licensed platform bankers. In 33 mystery shopping studies, the licensed platform bankers did not perform as well as the full-time brokers, but the performance gap was relatively small. The Q-Group shoppers also tested for sales and service skills. This despite the fact that the banker is more likely to have an established relationship with the customer.