I don’t know about you, but for me it’s that same feeling at the beginning of each New Year….you know, “Get your butt in the office, clear up your desk and get going again!”

It’s kind of a nagging thing (or an inner voice that tells me I have to get certain tasks completed before anything else can happen).

Well, last week I came across some very good advice which I am trying to practice. It was in a “Life Makeover” column by Cheryl Richardson, and I think it applies to anyone who wants to maximize production and still have the time to give themselves permission to relax and enjoy life.

Simply stated, “Move when the energy moves you.” Rather than force yourself to do something your body and mind aren’t ready to do, honor your own natural flow of energy and wait for the motivation or desire to get a certain task done. Do other things, give it some time; it will happen, so move only when the energy moves you!

Ok, so now with that bit of philosophical advice, I need to get back to my baseline: financial industry recruiting… NOW, I feel the energy!

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UBS’s CEO of wealth management, Robert McCann is calling it “Growth Plus”, a new retention program to reward brokers who have been with the firm for more than five years and produce at least $500,000 in annual production starting in 2010.

Forced to compete with MSSB , BofA, Merrill, and Wells Fargo, all of whom are offering significantly more in retention packages, how is this being received? Well, it’s probably too early to say, but speculation from a number of recruiters is that it will be a tough uphill battle.

Matt Ackermann’s insightful reporting in his article USB’s Deal: Too Little, Too Late? for OnWallStreet on Dec 11 has the details. Check it out.

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As in “fiduciary” that is.

SEC Chairman Mary Shapiro has reiterated her commitment to create a “strong fiduciary standard” for all securities professionals.

Her pronouncement to the Consumer Federation of America on Thursday, December 3, stressed the need for a uniform across the board standard with the same licensing and qualification standards for all financial services professionals.

The problem with this of course is that most brokers today are a little bit of this and a little bit of that…part time broker and part time investment advisors, holding licenses for each. If, or when the new standard goes into effect, (and that probably won’t happen until Spring, 2010, at the earliest given the debate over the legislation in Congress.) it will definitely be more difficult for advisors to continue to wear both hats–broker and fiduciary.

I’ve heard some firms are already reviewing and revamping internal procedures separating advice from product.If you want more info on this, a good source is the RegisteredRep December 1, article:

“It’s not good news for the traditional model of the retail brokers, and it probably makes the job substantially less fun,” says Brad Hintz, Sanford & Bernstein analyst and former CFO of Lehman, speaking of proposed reforms. “Because, if your job is to bring in assets, you’re going to be very limited in your ability to provide advice to clients.”

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I agree on one thing – it was bound to happen.

Merrill Lynch’s financial advisors are being asked (pressured?) to sell Bank of America’s checking and savings account products! Advisors’ clients are even receiving mass e-mails to promote the bank’s products, although advisors do have the option of crossing off their clients from the e-mail list.

What happens to Merrill’s CMA? (Cash Management Account, which links the securities account to checking, Visa and money market accounts.) I kind of think it is all about “one stop shopping,” so it will be interesting to see which products win over the clients.

How do Merrill financial advisors feel about all this? Not sure…another interesting week in financial services!

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Scrutiny beyond greed – are you looking for a top drawer candidate?

As financial institutions are rushing to go global, the new markets will mean new challenges along with the need for new talent. How to find those new advisor recruits will depend on calling in the right financial services job recruiter.

We pride ourselves in providing financial services firms with the best contacts and resources.

In addition to the new global market, the current shake-up and takeovers on Wall Street will certainly provide new pools for talent as financial institutions reorganize, restructure and redefine their need for top executives….and by top executives, I mean those possessing strong business ethics?

We need to be able to scrutinize our candidates and clients as the financial services industry moves beyond the recent greedy era.

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