American Portfolios Vice President of Service Quality and Process Excellence Dalchand Laljit Aids in Positioning Company for Growth

HOLBROOK, NY--(Marketwired - December 09, 2015) - American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc. (APFS), a privately-held, independent broker/dealer that serves financial advisors throughout the country, made significant inroads in 2015 to fulfil the goals outlined in its ambitious, long-term growth plan with the addition earlier this year of Vice President of Service Quality and Process Excellence Dalchand Laljit to its senior management team.

Part of APFS' five-year roadmap has focused on strengthening the organizational structure; it has done so with strategic leadership at executive and senior management levels to drive top-tier performance companywide, essential for creating a self-sustaining and profitable business in financial services. "In order to move the company to a place of greatness, I need to widen the bench with strong leaders supporting me," said APFS CEO, CIO and President Lon T. Dolber. "As we are among a small segment of broker/dealers defending our position to conduct business -- and the businesses we serve -- the way we choose, with consolidation in recent months proving not to be the panacea for overcoming obstacles in the space, we've become even more resolved in building a company to last."

One of the growth plan's major areas of concentration is the firm's aim to deliver world-class service quality. To that end, earlier this year Laljit was brought into APFS' operations area, headed by COO Dean Bruno, as a strategic teammate and leader to implement broker/dealer-wide continuous service quality improvements. He sets the organizational direction in identifying process improvement opportunities to create operational efficiencies. Said Bruno, "Dalchand's years of experience in process change management has been instrumental in raising the bar on service and process excellence throughout the organization, more specifically in such areas as business services and the advisor support center. The processes he develops and helps to implement shows its way through to our customer, the investment financial professional, each and every day."

Laljit is committed to supporting the firm with another aspect of the firm's growth plan -- performance culture. His vast knowledge of Lean Six Sigma methodologies was introduced to APFS staff via Yellow Belt training projects, which were established with the intent to drive process excellence; the firm has resolved to complete 10 such projects for this year, and 50 over the next five years. The adoption of these principles has helped APFS staff to firmly establish the Voice of the Customer, resulting in the ability to exceed client needs and expectations. "When people are empowered, they serve our customers well," said Laljit. "And, when we serve our customers well, we enable them to do their business better."

Prior to joining APFS, Dalchand was the senior vice president of global Lean Six Sigma and operations council at Momentive Specialty Chemical. In this role, he was responsible for Lean Six Sigma global deployment, productivity, people development, sharing of leading practices and manufacturing excellence. He also worked for Honeywell, where he spent 20-plus years in various leadership roles in service, manufacturing and Lean Six Sigma deployment.

Moving forward on its path to greatness, APFS will continue to deliver highly-valued services, programs and products to its affiliated financial advisors and their clientele. The firm looks forward to fulfilling its brand promises and value proposition(s) as a leading industry service provider for independent financial professionals.

About American Portfolios

Headquartered in Holbrook, N.Y., APFS is a full-service, independent broker/dealer and member firm of FINRA and SIPC, offering a complete range of financial services, including personal financial and retirement planning, securities trading, mutual funds, access to investment research, long-term care planning, insurance products and tax-free investing. Fee-based asset management is offered through its sister subsidiary, American Portfolios Advisors, Inc., (APA), an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Both entities, along with technology division American Outsources, LLC (AO,) collectively reside under the legal entity American Portfolios Holdings, Inc. (APH). Full-service securities brokerage is available through a clearing firm relationship with Pershing, LLC, a BNY Mellon firm, the securities of which are held on a fully disclosed basis. The company currently serves 811 independent investment professionals located in 368 branch locations throughout the nation, and was named Broker-Dealer of the Year* (Division III) by Investment Advisor magazine in 2015.

*Based on a poll of registered representatives conducted by Investment Advisor magazine. Broker/dealers rated highest by their representatives are awarded "Broker/Dealer (B/D) of the Year."

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