Are you an independent financial firm looking to understand more about OSJs (Offices of Supervisory Jurisdiction) and what working with a large enterprise could do for you? If so, please read on. 

We’ll be exploring what an OSJ/Large Enterprise is, highlighting various key characteristics, and exploring how they can benefit your firm. With this knowledge, you’ll be better equipped to determine if working with an OSJ/Large Enterprise suits your practice.

This article discusses the following:

  • What is an Office of Supervisory Jurisdiction/Large Enterprise?
  • The potential to grow your business without taking on overhead
  • Why a family environment means you don’t have to go it alone
  • Leverage human, personalized, and friendly customer service

What Is an Office of Supervisory Jurisdiction/Large Enterprise?

An OSJ oversees financial firms’ activities and reviews their practices to ensure that everything adheres to applicable regulations and laws. That’s why “OSJ” stands for “Office of Supervisory Jurisdiction.” They oversee financial professionals of all kinds, including those who do advisory and commission business, independent RIAs, and more.

OSJs are typically staffed with one or more principals licensed by FINRA and state regulators approved by their state regulator. Usual business days will include reviewing and approving client transactions for affiliated financial professionals while working with those financial planners to ensure that the transactions are in the client’s best interest.

They may also verify that customer accounts are appropriately managed, procedures are followed correctly, and employees are adequately trained and educated. 

What is the Difference Between an OSJ and a Large OSJ? 

An OSJ is primarily responsible for overseeing the activities and ensuring the compliance of financial advisors and brokers. The primary function of an OSJ includes reviewing and approving new accounts, overseeing transactions, and ensuring adherence to regulatory requirements.

A Large or Super OSJ takes on more significant responsibilities and offers additional support services than a standard OSJ. These enhanced roles include providing a broader range of back-office and business services, such as marketing support, technology platforms, and administrative assistance. 

Large OSJs also tend to support a larger number of affiliated independent financial professionals, offering them the benefits of scale, such as enterprise-level pricing and enhanced payouts. 

This allows financial advisors to streamline operations and reduce overhead costs, focusing more on their core competencies and client service.

In a nutshell, a large OSJ typically offers a broader array of services and support to a more extensive network of advisors, helping them to manage their businesses more efficiently.

Now that you understand what we mean by “OSJ/large enterprise,” you’ll see how selecting the right one can help you better serve your clients, while also making your operations as efficient as possible.

Growing Your Firm Begins With Getting Clients and Prospects To Think of You, First for Financial Services. Here’s How To Get Them To.

The Potential To Grow Your Business Without Taking On Overhead

As an independent financial firm, you know the importance of managing overhead costs. But what if there were ways to grow your business without adding extra duties or staff? Working with an OSJ/Large Enterprise can provide the support and resources you need to do just that. 

This can mean, for instance, gaining access to enhanced customer service systems and marketing platforms without investing in them yourself. That, in turn, can free up your time and energy for other tasks related to running your business. It can also help to keep you ahead of industry changes. As a result, you don’t have to worry about developing new protocols on your own.

The world of finance is constantly changing, so staying compliant is never a one-and-done job. However, when working with a large enterprise, all your compliance oversight tasks are handled by experienced professionals with the training and expertise necessary to keep you in step with the regulatory requirements. 

OSJ/Large Enterprises also tend to have more access to firm capital than smaller firms. This allows them to connect financial professionals with merger and acquisition opportunities that may be challenging.

Why a Family Environment Means You Don’t Have To Go It Alone

It can be easy to feel like you’re independent when you’re an independent financial firm. That’s where another aspect of the beauty of working with a well-selected large enterprise comes into play. At Evolution Financial Advisors, we take pride in cultivating a family feel in a non-competitive environment where your peers are not your rivals.

This means that you don’t have to worry about feeling isolated. If you work with us, your expanded team has got your back. In fact, one of the most significant benefits of working with an OSJ can be access to a much more comprehensive network: We encourage our financial professionals to network to help one another with referrals and such when appropriate. 

Another advantage of working in a family environment is the experienced support you can receive from our partners and personnel. We’ve been in the same trenches you inhabit (and we remember them well). That’s why our seasoned, personalized support can potentially help you stay ahead in the industry.

Leverage Human, Personalized, and Friendly Customer Service

financial professionals

Personalized customer service has always been important to us—because it’s important to you. It’s not enough for a large enterprise to offer generic solutions that don’t consider their individual needs. That’s why neither you nor your clients are ever just a number to us. 

When it comes to something as important as asset management or making decisions involving clients’ financial future, few people prefer automation over high-touch services. We don’t even like it much when we’re off the clock, patronizing businesses in other industries ourselves. 

It screams, “Your wallet’s all we care about,” it’s a bad look. It’s something no financial firm looking to attract new clients and keep existing ones wants to adopt, either. That’s why, when we welcome affiliates into our network, we mean the “family” part. 

Your firm stops being isolated the minute we start working together. From that moment on, you’ve got the backup you need on a far wider variety of products and services you could probably provide on your own. Technical resources are only the tip of the long-term iceberg, however. 

We, meaning our staff, come along with the deal. Again, signing on with us means allying with a team that’s walked in entrepreneurial shoes very similar to yours. It can mean recommendations from neighbor affiliates in other niches (if all goes well, vice versa). 

Contact us to see how profitable working with an OSJ can be.

Large Enterprise/OSJ

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in March 2023 and has been completely revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

Victoria Bach

More about the author: Victoria Bach

As president of a super OSJ branch of Securities America, Vikkie works with advisors interested in joining the firm and maintains close relationships with current advisors. Her passion is workshopping ideas to help them grow their businesses.