Money Magazine is a Joke then, I guess

As usual, it depends upon who the editors of the magazine polled.

For example, ask a broker who's three years out and in a rough patch and he'll tell you that the job stinks.  Ask the same broker after he's been out ten or fifteen years and has a sizeable, annuitized book, and he'll tell you it's the greatest business in the world.

It's all about perspective, really.

Oh and by the way.....You're right.  Money Magazine IS a joke.

Why, for example, doesn't Money Magazine ever say, "The advice we printed last month worked so well that you can save the cover price THIS month and just do the same thing again"?

Money Magazine, as well as Smart Money and all the others, becomes even more of a joke when you realize that they attempt to replace readers financial advisors. I wonder how much money people need to lose before the ditch the publication and hire a professional? That would be a very interesting study.

Understand that magazines need to sell both subscriptions and ads to make money and that they are not always so particular about the quality of the content that they offer.

For example, how many of those publications continue to put out "Best Mutual Fund" lists or "Top stocks to buy now" lists?   Yet those lists change often and prove the worthlessness of such recommended lists.  (Mutual funds should be thought of as long term investments, as such, the best fund for you today should also be the best choice tomorrow, and quite frankly the cost to readers who choose to change their choice every year or so based on such lists is HUGE).

Being a financial professional carries a lot of perks that most in the profession will tout including flexibility of hours and theoretically limitless income.   That doesn't mean every person is suited for it.

There is a high failure rate because barriers to entry are low (hence some of the arguments on the thread) and because a lot of firms have little cost to hire a bunch of rookies and see who survives.

That doesn't make it less of a desirable career.  It just means that it isn't for everyone.

Oh..and the first few years in any true profession require hard work and can be very stressful.  What do you think life for an entry level lawyer or doctor is like?    Imagine the stress of residency on a medical intern?

For those that make it, they get to determine their path, how much they work and with whom they get to work with.   How many other professions give you THAT flexibility?

I appreciate the posts.  It seems to me that there are so many threads in the "avoid this industry unless you've already got a million dollar book or an angel" vein that it seemed strange that this career path would be one of the top rated in the US, at least according to Money.  Here are the top 5, by the way:

1. Software engineer
2. College professor
3. Financial advisor
4. Human resources manager
5. Physician assistant

It is clear that none of these positions are for everyone, but the message here is that this is a top opportunity for a great job, something that many (most?) here seems to disagree with.

Opie,

I guarantee you they polled people with 5 or 10 years of experience as a minimum.  This job gets easier and easier every year.

[quote=bankrep1]

Opie,

I guarantee you they polled people with 5 or 10 years of experience as a minimum.  This job gets easier and easier every year.

[/quote]

Yet it remains intellectually stimulating?

BEF,

My wife stimulates me. I go to work to make money.

[quote=bankrep1]

BEF,

My wife stimulates me. I go to work to make money.

[/quote]

I'm sorry, I forgot that guys of your ilk think with their little head.

What I have to say will only appeal to guys who think with their big head.

I can see the support your gathering from others.  Wait, I haven’t seen one person support your ideas… that should tell you something…

[quote=bankrep1]I can see the support your gathering from others.  Wait, I haven't seen one person support your ideas... that should tell you something...[/quote]

That I am smarter than everybody else who has read it?

That it's Sunday and most people have better things to do than read this forum?

That they can't stand to hear the message but know it's right anyway?

What's your point?  Right and wrong is not decided by a vote.

Yes, Money Magazine is a joke...so much so, that we used to call it (Show Me the) Money Magazine in honor of the top 100 funds list, which appeared to show an unusually high concentration of regular advertisers....  Between money mags, CNBC (which someone...I think Don Conrad...used to call financial pornography), and Suze, a lot of damage is done to investors looking for the easy (and cheap) way out.

I'd be interested if there is anything beyond the WSJ or Barrons that advisors think is OK for clients to read...anyone?

Don't forget that Worth magazine is owned by Fidelity.

I'll never forget something that Aim mutual funds (remember them?) did in the late 90's.  They performed a study that basically entailed following Money Magazine's recommendations (i.e. "The Top 10 funds of 1996"; "The Ones to own for the next 20 years; etc) Anyways, after 4 years you owned like 62 different funds.  And the performance was something like a 4% average return, with the S&P 500 up 16% during the same time frame.

I like to read these magazines, Suze, CNBC, etc., just to see which direction the investing public (i.e. my clients) is being misled.  I helps to prepare for there “questions”. 

… their …

[quote=exEJIR]... their ...[/quote]

Atta boy, enough pride to catch a mistake and correct it.

[quote=The Judge]

Don't forget that Worth magazine is owned by Fidelity.

[/quote]

Nope.  When it was orginally issued it was a transition from a magazine that Fidelity published that was so popular it was thought that it would sell as a newstand magazine.

But Fidelity soon dumped it and it has bounced among a lot of publishing house owners ever since.

Ocassionally, Kiplinger’s will have some decent stuff and I don’t sense the “you don’t need an advisor, EVER” message as much.  I think a month or two ago they actually had an article about a couple looking for a good advisor, which I recall as being well done.  They seem to get out a lot of info that the attentive individual could use to manage their own financial lives.

[quote=exEJIR]I like to read these magazines, Suze, CNBC, etc., just to see which direction the investing public (i.e. my clients) is being misled.  I helps to prepare for there "questions". [/quote]

I can't even watch Suze.  She is such a moron that she often makes mistakes a first year rep would catch (I once heard her misquote the amount you could put in an IRA).  I used to write NBC every week asking them if they felt it was editorial responsible to put on such an idiot.  Never got a response!

Remember Mutual Funds Magazine?  I wrote in once asking how their "Top 100 Value Funds" could be missing Davis' New York Venture fund (along with its no load sister Selected American) when that exact fund topped their "Top 3 Mutual Funds of All Times" list just 9 months earlier.

Well i got a phone call and they were sending a photographer as I was going to be the featured reader the next month.  At least I was until I told them I was an advisor.  They cancelled that feature. 

In the end they did print an edited version of my letter saying that they had indeed overlooked NYVenture but...that Selected American was really a growth fund (both funds are invested identically).

Tells you how much the folks at Mutual Funds Magazine knew about mutual funds!

As to whether or not this career remains stimulating, I guess that depends on which direction you choose but I would say yes. Maybe even more so because with experience, you get to deal with more HNW clients who bring more complicated cases for you to master plus you begin to see the success of your advice.

It can be very rewarding to see a family reach its goals or receive a payoff from a life or disability policy they might not have bought without your help.

My Rep usually uses Money mag in seminars to demonstrate to clients and prospects & differentiate against the ads run in mags like Reg Rep / Financial Advisor Mag etc. primarily the following which we all know but most investors don't:

The ads run for mutual funds in Smart Money mag boast 12% (etc) returns in 1 yr, but don't say WHICH year. Because they don't HAVE to.

Then she opens up Reg Rep mag and shows ad for Federated Kauffman Fund () which shows rate of return in specific year.

She will ask people "what do you suppose the difference is between THIS magazine and THIS is? Well THIS magazine is Registered Rep and it is for industry professionals only, and they know when I see this ad, I'm going to look up the performance of the fund so they SHOW the year and rate of return. THIS is why YOU need ME to help you."

This is the big "ta-da" part of the seminar. You can use magazines like Smart Money to your advantage in this manner. (do the same thing with their "Ten Stocks you MUST own" issue they publish every year - hold a seminar the following year and see where their picks have ended up!)

[quote=Devoted SA]

My Rep usually uses Money mag in seminars to demonstrate to clients and prospects & differentiate against the ads run in mags like Reg Rep / Financial Advisor Mag etc. primarily the following which we all know but most investors don't:

The ads run for mutual funds in Smart Money mag boast 12% (etc) returns in 1 yr, but don't say WHICH year. Because they don't HAVE to.

Then she opens up Reg Rep mag and shows ad for Federated Kauffman Fund () which shows rate of return in specific year.

She will ask people "what do you suppose the difference is between THIS magazine and THIS is? Well THIS magazine is Registered Rep and it is for industry professionals only, and they know when I see this ad, I'm going to look up the performance of the fund so they SHOW the year and rate of return. THIS is why YOU need ME to help you."

This is the big "ta-da" part of the seminar. You can use magazines like Smart Money to your advantage in this manner. (do the same thing with their "Ten Stocks you MUST own" issue they publish every year - hold a seminar the following year and see where their picks have ended up!)

[/quote]

This is a good idea.  I'm stealing it.

Ditto for me Babs.

I’ll tell her so guys, she’ll appreciate that.

A year's subscription to Money Magazine is also an eye-opener at a seminar. Simply lay out the 12 issues side-by-side and the contradictory covers speak for themselves. For example, one cover says, "You can invest in (X) and forget it". Two months later, "Don't miss the boat, buy (Y)". 

Money Magazine is a discount broker's dream.

[quote=bankrep1]

Opie,

I guarantee you they polled people with 5 or 10 years of experience as a minimum.  This job gets easier and easier every year.

[/quote]

I agree with Bank Rep1.  Hey, nothing this lucrative is easy.  If it was everyone would be doing it.  This is like having your own business, course it is tough to make it.  If you fit, you will have the best job you can imagine.  If not, you will be miserable.  Try to determine if your personality, work ethic, sales techs. fit.  If not, don't start.  Realize it is a sales job and that you will have to bring in assets and generate revenue.  You will have to ask people for their money.  Friends, family, and strangers.  Are you still with us?

OK.  So when you fit, you can make your own hours.  You will make upwards of $250k per year.  Take vacations when you like and get paid for how hard you work.

Tough, yes.  Incredible opportunity-YES

But, take a hard look at yourself.  Don't start if anything I said makes you quiver. 

For me, this is not hard work and it is not any more stressful than other jobs I have had.  I love what I do and I am excited to come to work every day.

[quote=maybeeeeeeee]

For me, this is not hard work and it is not any more stressful than other jobs I have had.  I love what I do and I am excited to come to work every day.

[/quote]

And she's been doing it for several weeks now.  She's an absolute expert on everything and anything.