Sii Investments

SII Investments, Inc.

SII Investments, Inc. is a daughter company of National Planning holdings, Inc. It is a mid-size independent broker-dealer whose business model is similar to a franchise operation. SII Investments is headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin and reportedly has over 600 registered representatives across the United States (Pearce).

A little history about SII, “SII Investments, Inc. was developed in 1968 when SECURA Insurance Company made a decision to add a securities channel to its existing business. SECURA Investments, Inc. gave property and casualty insurance agents the flexibility to sell securities to their clients” (siionline).

“In the mid 1990's, two of SECURA's top representatives and one home office employee purchased SECURA Investments, Inc. from SECURA Insurance. Under new ownership, the firm was renamed SII Investments, Inc. This group expanded operations at an amazing rate by focusing the broker/dealer on its niche - delivering outstanding service to highly successful and experienced independent financial representatives” (siionline).

“In March of 1998, SII Investments, Inc. (SII) was acquired by Prudential plc. and affiliated with Jackson National Life Insurance Company, one of the largest life insurance companies in the United States of America. The vast resources available through these affiliations ultimately enabled SII to enhance its technology and services for its registered representatives” (siionline).

So what does an Independent broker-dealer do? Investopedia describes a broker-dealer as a person or firm in the business of buying and selling securities, operating as both a broker and a dealer, depending on the transaction. The term broker-dealer is used in U.S. securities regulation to explain stock brokerages, because most of them act as both agents and principals. The brokerage will act as a broker (agent) when it makes orders on behalf of their clients, whereas it acts as a dealer (or principal) when it trades...