The Atlanta-based service launched in May allows reps to post anonymous information about themselves free of charge. This information is entered into a database. Brokerage branch managers and other firm executives can examine the current pool of candidates by criteria including location, production, assets under management, and rates of trading turnover. The service says the fee is half the rate brokerages currently pay executive recruiters. Instead, Brokerhunter tells the reps the names of the firms that are interested in them.
Reps then can choose to respond to the inquiries.
So far, more than 2,000 individuals have posted information about themselves, says Steve Testerman, president of the firm. Since the type of broker sought by brokerage firms generally big producers without compliance problems is not thought to be the type of broker who would actively seek a job online, some have wondered about the qualify of the candidates to be found on the site. And I know that those numbers are only going to continue to get better, Testerman adds. Currently, he says, most candidates like most brokers overall are in the mid-range of production and assets. Michael Magat, a broker in Pasadena, Calif., recently joined the independent contractor firm of Interfirst Capital after he received 20 inquiries in two months through Brokerhunter.