Study Predicts Consolidation Will Spark Turf War for Brokers.Consolidation among brokerages and stagnation Stagnation A period of little or no growth in the economy. Economic growth of less than 2-3% is considered stagnation. Sometimes used to describe low trading volume or inactive trading in securities. Notes: A good example of stagnation was the U.S. economy in the 1970s. in pricing in the commercial insurance industry are contributing to a turf turf: see lawn. turf In horticulture, the surface layer of soil with its matted, dense vegetation, usually grasses grown for ornamental or recreational use. war among brokers of all sizes, a new study says. A survey of 294 large, medium and small independent agent and broker firms shows that brokers increasingly are venturing into each other's territories. The study was conducted by Conning & Co., Hartford Hartford, city (1990 pop. 139,739), state capital, Hartford co., central Conn., on the west bank of the Connecticut River; settled as Newtown 1635–36 on the site of a Dutch trading post (1633; abandoned 1654), inc. 1784. , Conn. "Tensions are definitely on the rise among the various sectors of the market with smaller brokers most vulnerable to losing business," said Nancy Carini Carini is a town in the Province of Palermo, Sicily, 13 miles by rail WNW of Palermo. It has a population of 25,752. Notable References- Drew Carini, and Kamryn Carini , vice president at Conning and author of the study. "Brokers realize that in order to survive, they must look for new business beyond their traditional base. As a result, we expect more small and midsized brokers to band together, in one form or another, to try to hold on to market share." Less than 2% of the broker population controls 60% of the premiums, a consolidation trend that has made new business growth difficult, the Conning study says. It used to be that the size of a brokerage BROKERAGE, contracts. The trade or occupation of a broker; the commissions paid to a broker for his services. typically paralleled the size of an account. But competition for business has changed that. Now, small independent agents and midsized agents and brokers are trying to capture larger accounts, while national brokers seek to reach out to smaller accounts, the study says. The survey also found that increased competition may force brokers to use the Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the to streamline sales operations and could end up broadening their roles from distributors to consultants, valued for their expertise. Only 20% of brokers surveyed said they saw no need for the Internet in their operations; only 6% said there would be no need for the Internet within the next two years. Carini predicted that the Internet soon would become as common as the telephone in executing broker sales and service transactions. |
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