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Wednesday, February 14, 2001 Final Words TD Waterhouse is trying very hard to win over advisors, and it shows. During last week's annual conference in San Diego, the firm bent over backwards to show advisors that it was willing to, well, bend over backwards. TD Waterhouse started off with keynote speaker Lawrence Kudlow, the brand-name economist, and feted attendees on Friday night with another elaborately-plated meal and comedian Jim Morris. A conference is more than the sum of its parts, however, and no amount of filet and cheesecake can replace the underlying intent of the firm hosting the event and, more importantly, hallway chat among advisors. So, what is the buzz? Many advisors feel that TD Waterhouse represents a safe haven and that the firm is not proffering a pretty set of toys with one hand while trying to steal their wallets with the other. Furthermore, advisors do sense that technical and service-oriented difficulties that have plagued the firm are being addressed. Is it enough to sway advisors who are contemplating switching from other platforms? "I don't know that it helped us 'make that decision.'" said Brooks Slaughter, president and chief executive officer of Richard P. Slaughter Associates, an Austin, Texas registered investment advisor. "It made us more comfortable with Waterhouse, that they've improved over the last year, in their levels of service, to be able to accommodate our clients. We have a warmer fuzzy, but what we do with that warmer fuzzy is still up for debate." For those who already used TD Waterhouse for the bulk of their business, the conference served as validation. Christopher N. Brown, president and founder of CommonWEALTH Advisory Group in Gaithersburg, Maryland, started off his advisory career with TD Waterhouse. "It's like deciding to marry someone: pick your partners carefully," he said. "Advisors are becoming more and more leery of companies they think are competing with them." While Brown remains loyal to the firm in part because it has supported him from ground zero, he also feels that TD Waterhouse continues to win his business. "I thought the conference was wonderful," he said. "I think Waterhouse is really committed to working with advisors, and I don't think I have to worry about them marketing to my clients, and I think they're a very responsive organization." * * *
Session Lowdown: the Good, the Bad, and the UglyFor everybody who went to the conference and didn't go to any sessions but still has to pretend they did. Here's the skinny on the highs and lows so you can sound like you're in the know at the water cooler. The Good:
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