(August 14 – 12:45 ET) – The Street.com says that Salomon Smith Barney is looking to make an acquisition to boost its retail sales force.
The story cites two unnamed sources at the firm confirming that SSB is looking to make a deal to expand its 12,000-broker retail division. It suggests that the high cost of acquiring individual brokers has the firm looking to swallow an entire firm. Veteran brokers are reportedly now commanding 12-months trailing commissions to switch teams in the U.S.
The UBS-PaineWebber deal is tipped as the catalyst for sparking renewed interest in retail brokerage acquisitions. One SSB branch manager suggests that the firm needs another 3,000 brokers to compete, although it lags only Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter now.
Possible targets include St. Louis-based A.G. Edwards; Edward Jones, also of St. Louis, which has operations in Canada and the UK; and Baltimore’s Legg Mason, which recently acquired Toronto’s Perigee Investment Counsel Inc.
An SSB spokesman refused to comment on rumours.
-IE Staff