Registered reps at wirehouses saw a 17% decrease in their average production between 2007 and 2008 according to a recent report released by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.

SIFMA’s 2008 Production & Earnings Report of RRs collected data from 17 of its member firms. One wirehouse and a number of major regionals participated. The firms collectively employ 24,000 Series 7 reps and report a combined $11 billion in gross production.

According to the report, registered reps generated an average of $441,356 in production in 2008, down from $532,394 in 2007. Moreover, average earnings fell 8% from $211,427 in 2007 to $194,262 in 2008. 

Rich Schwarzkopf, a New York-based recruiter who works with a number of regional firms, says he expects the downward trend to continue this year. “Eight out of 10 brokers I speak to say their production is lower this year than last,” he says.

It is also having an impact on their recruitment packages, Schwarzkopf adds. Packages are usually based on an advisors trailing-12 production figure, but as production has dropped, some firms have based packages on an annualized calculation of their previous three or six months of production.  “They’re trying to put caps on the deals,’ he says.