FSI Adds 500 Advisor Members

The collective voice of independent financial advisors just got a little bit louder. 

The Financial Services Institute (FSI), an advocacy organization for independent financial services firms and advisors, today announced the addition of 500 new independent financial advisor members.

The new advisor members, from independent broker-dealers IEP Financial and Cetera Financial Group, will receive a complimentary first year of membership from the firms.

Dale Brown, FSI president and chief executive officer, said numbers and grassroots engagement are critical to the organization’s advocacy success. “Regulators and lawmakers pay attention when constituents are engaged in the policy making process,” Brown said in a statement.

He added that the collective industry voice is getting stronger and becoming more influential. “Our members are choosing to say ‘Yes We Will’ reform regulation through education and representation.”

Valerie Brown, chief executive officer of Cetera Financial Group and a member of the FSI board of directors, said it’s an important time for the industry to become engaged in advocating for effective regulation.

Last year, Cetera supported new memberships of more than 3,500 advisors to help increase FSI’s impact. “We are proud to continue that support adding more than 400 additional advisors to FSI’s membership ranks,” Cetera’s Brown said in a statement.

John Simmers, the co-vice chairman of IEP Financial, added that his firm is pleased to provide support to FSI as well as other independent broker-dealers. “Having served as past Chairman of the Board for FSI, I know first-hand the passion and commitment this fine organization offers with respect to thought leadership and industry advocacy,” Simmers said in a statement.

In addition to FSI’s advocacy efforts, members receive access to regulatory and legislative proposal analyses, FSI’s Financial Advisor Summit and exclusive FSI publications. Advisor members also have opportunities to engage with legislators through visits to Capitol Hill to educate lawmakers and through FSI’s Advocacy Action Center.

FSI, established in 2004, has over 100 financial services firm members and over 35,000 financial advisor members.

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