Bac

Where are you going?  What did management say?

If you left today, I certainly hope that you are not surfing the net and posting here by 6:33.  You need to shut off the computer and start calling your clients

Can I have your “spirit points” ?

That is how the FAs at BAI are paid now - If you refer $3.5mm to premier, Put all your bull Sh-- notes into client connection - kiss up to the Market Director, Bow to the Premier Client managers - you will get paid in Spirit Points... (Wow! you can buy a washer and dry).

NOFX that was funny 

more importantly can have your bonus. so many reps left in texas (30%) market that the manager said if you stay till feb you will get all of your bonus even if you did not hit all your targets

More and more people are leaving.  Wait until they start holding back the 25% in the 3rd quarter.

I checked off all my boxes and referred all my widgets and got 500 shares.  While I didn't want BAI to manage my cash flow,  I am happy that I have this LT stock.  I guess it's a forced savings plan ...

I guess if I got the cash from my trailers, I probably would spend it soooo - I guess it is nice to accumulate the shares over time.  If I could  get 500+ shares for the next ten years, with growth of 10% or so and hopefully I would be qualifying for more each year, the stock just might put my kids through college ...

We used to call that "looking for the puppy in a roomful of sh1t"

5 bucks,

did you really leave or u still thinking about it?

let us know where and % that come w/you. Should be an interesting experiment.

Not yet, but you'll all be glad to know I have made up my mind to leave and go indy. I have not decided which firm, but it is between RJ and LPL. I'll be visiting both in the next several weeks.

Good luck with BAC. I'll keep in touch with my experience.

Start calling the deep part of your book - renew those relationships.  He who calls the client the most keeps the relationship.

[quote=$$$$$]

Not yet, but you’ll all be glad to know I have made up my mind to leave and go indy. I have not decided which firm, but it is between RJ and LPL. I’ll be visiting both in the next several weeks.

Good luck with BAC. I'll keep in touch with my experience.

This POS BAC is only going to get worse. Believe me it’s true.

why

ITs all falling apart.  Not only has BAC lost Brokers and Managers - Now the Florida Regional Director just resigned!  The place is falling apart.  Stay away or leave.

good guy in Fla.

FL Director was “asked” to resign.  He was too disagreeable for managment (at his level, there were only three people above him, including the CEO). 

Asked to resign or resigned on his own... Who cares.  Its falling apart!  No one is staying!  Look at any one who joined the firm in last five years.  I am talking about real producers.  They are leaving left and right.

If he was asked to resign because he was to disagreeable for management - Its because he was probably fighting all the BS that the bank was trying to push down.   He spoke his mind and got canned!

You're actually right about that.  He was very vocal against the trailer grid when it was first rolled out and so got transferred back to Florida because of it (he had been sent to the Northeast to manage the Fleet/Quick & Reilly territories). 

I heard he was an a$$ and was fired.

He was not an A$$ - He fought for the FAs! 

I don’t know of many in the SE reion that thought too highly of him. Most thought he was a joke.

Our big producers aren’t leaving. It’s like they’re content with the lousy payout they get. They are also very lazy.

what’s the latest rumor at BAC?

No rumors - FAs are leaving, Market Directors are leaving, Regional Directors are leaving.  Everyone is leaving.  There is no direction on the brokerage side except they are trying to focus everything towards the bankers.  Compliance sucks, technology sucks, leadership sucks.

[quote=nope]No rumors - FAs are leaving, Market Directors are leaving, Regional Directors are leaving.  Everyone is leaving.  There is no direction on the brokerage side except they are trying to focus everything towards the bankers.  Compliance sucks, technology sucks, leadership sucks.[/quote]

Boy, that attitude must really help your day to day business! 

btw the place still sucks

[quote=$$$$$]btw the place still sucks[/quote]

  No reflection on you - right?  It's all someone else's fault...  Funny - if you were kickin' a$$ you would claim it was all about you.  Get over it.  Move already.  The only thing holding you back is your fear.

I'm not sure if the two reps in my office who just had their best month ever (after having their best month ever in 10/06) would agree with you.

NOFX - what's a best month ever at BAC??? 15K....

The average producer at BAC is under $300k!

this is true. if your a 300+ producer at bac you’re a superstar. i work at one of the top regions in the u.s. and we only have one million $ producer. 

Way off. 5$, don’t you get the monthly production runs for the Nation? If you do you know that 300k is not a big producer, more like 500k. If you need the rankings pm me, I’ll try to get them to you. I did 22k last month and I was #20 out of 22 guys, you need to do @ least 500k to show up on the radar screen.

who cares if its 200 or 600k. the payout sucks and you dont own diddle squat. I did 22k last month and I will take home 16k after expenses. When i was at bac I might get 6k or maybe 4k for a month like that. I left bac in Nov and have moved about 80% of what i targeted. Had 30MM book took about 15MM the rest was mostly crap but I did leave about 4 MM that I would have liked to ACAT (2-3MM may still move).



start prepearing to move. the legal landscape has really turned in favor of the rep. BAC is very unlikley to do anything unless you owe upfont money (diff story)



You need to consider joining a office with another indy rep and spliting expenses or paying an override. That is what i did and it has worked out great. You have someone who knows the system.

btw i did 40k last month.

we have only a hand full of reps that do north of 300k. that’s a fact.

[quote=nope]

NOFX - what's a best month ever at BAC??? 15K....

The average producer at BAC is under $300k!

[/quote]

Have you noticed that those people are being forced out? RE: FA1 program.  This is getting boring.  Go Indy - you will be happy.  But don't make it about BAC sucking - make it about your commitment to succeed.  

 I  echo what the previous poster said : join an indy office to share those expenses - at your asset level and the possibility of some not coming - lumpy production will affect the payout grid from the BD.  I have a friend who  went from SB to Wachovia FiNet who got awfully close to that happening.

Incidentally, the two I am talking about did $150 (5 years in biz) and $85 (10 years in biz).  Just because you cant make it work doesn't mean noone else can.

[quote=$$$$$]btw i did 40k last month.[/quote]

Did someone ask?

part of my motivation is to let brokers looking at BAC that it is a terrible place to work. its not about whining. The bac program is under the full control of bankers now. 7 yrs ago it was mostly brokers managing brokers. When i left I got a call from my manager (former bank lobby manager)wanting to know why i would not refer a 2mm client in cash to a CD. if you want to be expendable and not have any control over your destiny go work for bac

you’re correct bankfa10. it is a terrible place to work. i’m glad you had the balls to leave. i’m gone as well. good for you for not putting up with their crap.

Exactly - its about getting the word out.  If your are being recruited and they tell you about all the referals and access to the bank clients - its all a lie!  If you are still there - solidify your relationships and leave.

NOFX,

those friends of yours i'm sure are doing the majority of that biz in fee based. let me know what they do in feb.

[quote=$$$$$]

NOFX,

those friends of yours i'm sure are doing the majority of that biz in fee based. let me know what they do in feb.

[/quote]

In neither case was it more than 50% but it IS a large % -   is that somehow bad?  You did $40k including fees (as did I )  -  is that not good, clean business? 

I just want to second the situation. Not only is it a poor payout, but one that’s impossible to actually receive. You will constanly have errors in pay that no one is accountable for. In order to get anything fixed you’ll have the buck passed several times in what will become a beaurocratic nightmare.

The technology is just a joke! This is somewhat different depending on what state you’re in but a lot of the computer systems are command line garbage that won’t allow you to change something without starting from scratch and don’t work half the time anyway. 

The spirit point nonsense is just embarassing. Managers are trained at BAC to make the empoyees “feel good” about themselves by “recognition” in team huddles for various accomplishments, etc. They do this specifically because most employees are too stupid to realize the reason is to make people happier with less pay. Don’t be one of them.

If you must be an FA at a bank (not a bad concept anyway), do it at a smaller regional player in which the manager has no idea what you’re doing and leaves you alone. If you must go with a larger bank try Wells Fargo. I know a couple people who have done their personal banker, assistant, then full FA program (usually in that order) and really had positive comments.

P.S., If you are a broker at BAC, you’re considered lower on the food chain than the “permier client managers.” Basically a glorified personal banker who manages about 120 clients and wants to try to take a lot of your business away by putting it into whatever garbage they’re also allowed to sell with a 6 and 63. 

it is clean busines, but at a 29% payout it’s crap in my pocket. starting in july it will be a 22% payout. not good.

[quote=xbanker]I just want to second the situation. Not only is it a poor payout, but one that's impossible to actually receive. You will constanly have errors in pay that no one is accountable for. In order to get anything fixed you'll have the buck passed several times in what will become a beaurocratic nightmare.

The technology is just a joke! This is somewhat different depending on what state you're in but a lot of the computer systems are command line garbage that won't allow you to change something without starting from scratch and don't work half the time anyway. 

The spirit point nonsense is just embarassing. Managers are trained at BAC to make the empoyees "feel good" about themselves by "recognition" in team huddles for various accomplishments, etc. They do this specifically because most employees are too stupid to realize the reason is to make people happier with less pay. Don't be one of them.

If you must be an FA at a bank (not a bad concept anyway), do it at a smaller regional player in which the manager has no idea what you're doing and leaves you alone. If you must go with a larger bank try Wells Fargo. I know a couple people who have done their personal banker, assistant, then full FA program (usually in that order) and really had positive comments.

P.S., If you are a broker at BAC, you're considered lower on the food chain than the "permier client managers." Basically a glorified personal banker who manages about 120 clients and wants to try to take a lot of your business away by putting it into whatever garbage they're also allowed to sell with a 6 and 63. 
[/quote]

You have no clue! CM's CAN NOT sell products! In Fact neither can Private. Bottomline @ BAC if you do more than 700k you are treated like a king. Less than 350k and you are gone like any other wire.

You have no clue. Very few do above 700k.

That’s exactly my point, get rid of the weak and feed the strong. If you can’t do 700k in a Bank program you should not be in this biz.

not our bank program.

Sorry to hear it.

There are FAs that a couple of years ago joined from major wirehouses doing north of $500k and now because of the compliance, client connections (contact system that you must enter notes on to get paid) and the complete focus on the Premier Banker - They are now struggling to do $300k.

Kinda funny! You can make it at a wirehouse but not at BAC.

being at bac is double compliance you do all the bank KYC AML rules stuff and witth a anal manager who could care less about production because your there to prvide a service BAC needs but cant make any money at.

pretty sad isn’t? Working at a bank and can barely get referrals.

in my bank program only about 4% or so are over 700K.  

Median is about 300K

5$,

#'s got posted today, are you in Naples, Jax or Broward?

200 guys did over 100k last month, your right I am a PIKER!!! Time to get back to work.

How do you see the #'s?

I could be a manager?

AMD

neither, just kidding around w/you.

being at bac is double compliance you do all the bank KYC AML rules stuff and witth a anal manager who could care less about production because your there to prvide a service BAC needs but cant make any money at.

  This is interesting to hear.  I have not had a KYC in over a year.  It is a thing of the past.  I am curious of where you are to be experiencing this.  I have heard horror stories, but not experienced it first hand

[quote=whalehunter]How do you see the #'s?[/quote]

My region emails them to all the FAs - she's right.  200 over 100. 

yep they may have 200 over 100 but remember jan is when fee based is paid for the whole QTR. most firms pay monthly



`

If you look at the monthly numbers of some of those brokers over $100K, you'll see that they'll do $10K in Feb. and March.

so they only annualize @ 440k…that’s pathetic.

badmove bac has around 2300 producers. only 2-300 will do over 440.

[quote=badmove?]so they only annualize @ 440k....that's pathetic.[/quote] Just curious why is 440K GDC "pathetic"?   I think most would be happy with that kind of production.

scrim

I was being sarcastic

My bad! 

badmove bac has around 2300 producers. only 2-300 will do over 440.

BAI has just over 1800 FA's with the plan to keep the number there.  MD's can only recruit to fill in for losses, either termed or recruited away.   

I thought mgmt had a headcount goal? Did that change?

So your saying they want to keep the headcount where it is now?

[quote=overhead]

badmove bac has around 2300 producers. only 2-300 will do over 440.

BAI has just over 1800 FA's with the plan to keep the number there.  MD's can only recruit to fill in for losses, either termed or recruited away.   

[/quote]

It is not that they CAN'T hire except to fill vacancies.  The goal is to maintain headcount.  That being said, if a manager finds good hires, they CAN add headcount.

Then why hire a loser chick like me?

BARNYARD!

There is no focus on growing the brokerage unit - However there is a goal on growing the Premier side.  BAC does not care about brokerage! They care only about the bank side.

[quote=nope]There is no focus on growing the brokerage unit - However
there is a goal on growing the Premier side.  BAC does not care
about brokerage! They care only about the bank side.[/quote]



Funny that a company called “Bank of America” would care so much about banking.

When you have a lawn full of weeds what do you do?

re-sod

Or lay asphalt!

I’m back man!!

[quote=$$$$$]I'm back man!![/quote]

were you gone?

where to?

LPL, RJ or Commonwealth?

Making up my mind next week. going to San Diego this weekend to check out LPL. Leaning towards RJ because of the name recognition and breath of services.

breadth…sorry

[quote=badmove?]breadth…sorry[/quote]

Showing off your dual personality?

Please, do us a favor and go to Ray Jay…

[quote=joedabrkr] [quote=badmove?]breadth...sorry[/quote]Showing off your dual personality?

Please, do us a favor and go to Ray Jay....[/quote]

...I noticed that schizophrenic moment also...even carried on a conversation with himself...I'll say it for MIC...how GAY!!!

I second the RJ motion...am sorry to see my 10% funding this trip...

Who is the BAC regional manager in Fla. and the Northeast?

[quote=gusdelaney]Who is the BAC regional manager in Fla. and the Northeast?[/quote]

I think his name is Michael Hunt.  He goes by Mike.

Regional manager in florida was fired - there is none at this time. 

I was correcting him, if you notice we don't agree on much

yes, we do

no we don't

etc,etc

you guys are a$$holes.

I would like to know why you focused on these two firms, and why you didn't ever even mention Wachovia Finet?

According to information LPL gave "Investment News" they have 6,940 reps, of which only 3,680 do over $100,000 in GROSS per year.

Ray jay (I assume they are just talking Indy here) total rep count 3,202. north of 100,000... 2,180

Finet, MUCH MUCH smaller, 515 reps, reps north of 100,000; 515.

Let's see, a major firm with a flea sized indy channel... All the good stuff of a major, with the small feel of a family reunion. And everybody in the family is pulling their own weight, and then some.

I just wonder, that's all.

Mr. A

But, it’s a bank.

I'll give you the BOTD that this could make a difference.

It's my impression that you work in a bank branch, am I wrong about that?

I don't. Never did, never would.

It's my impression that you are chaffing against a low payout, Am I wrong about that?

Wachovia Finet's average payout  is 88.1% (in the same ball park as LPL and RJ)

And yet the advantage that I have by letting my clients go into any teller at any Wachovia bank branch and make a deposit into their account at my branch or take money out, is a great advantage. So having a bank as my BD's corporate parent is not a disadvantage.

Finet is MUCH more analogous to working for a wirehouse without the imperialism.

Do what you want. I just wondered why you seemed to only consider those two (the two I personally immediately discarded.)

Mr. A

i have a buddy @ finet. loves it and has brand name recog, people don’t even know he’s independant.

[quote=mranonymous2u]

I would like to know why you focused on these two firms, and why you didn’t ever even mention Wachovia Finet?

According to information LPL gave "Investment News" they have 6,940 reps, of which only 3,680 do over $100,000 in GROSS per year.

Ray jay (I assume they are just talking Indy here) total rep count 3,202. north of 100,000... 2,180

Finet, MUCH MUCH smaller, 515 reps, reps north of 100,000; 515.

Let's see, a major firm with a flea sized indy channel... All the good stuff of a major, with the small feel of a family reunion. And everybody in the family is pulling their own weight, and then some.

I just wonder, that's all.

Mr. A

"There is probably a good reason why after 2-3 years of heavy duty recruiting with the richest financial packages in the "indy" world they still only have 515 advisors.  Maybe it's because they aren't really indy?"

It'd be great if you could back that up with some examples of the differences between the Finet platform and what is "really indy".

I seem to have a lot more freedom than the RJ FAs, but it's hard for me to know given that I don't know what it is that I don't know.

OTOH if you are going to fling around assumptions like that then you ought to be willing to present your case.

Mr. A

I’ve heard the term “pseudo-indy” used to describe Wachovia (I heard that several times when I was looking at firms to jump indy in the summer of '05), but someone on their platfom indicated that this is a reflection on how Wachovia used to run their indy channel.  Are you aware of significant operational changes that free up Wachovia indies compared to what used to be?  I’ll also say that while I have an excellent grasp of LPL and a pretty good grasp of RJ (did a due diligence trip before I landed at LPL), I know very little about wachovia, other than it sounds like that salty little fish you put on pizza…

[quote=mranonymous2u]Do what you want. I just wondered why you seemed to only consider those two (the two I personally immediately discarded.)

Mr. A[/quote]

So what ruled the other two out for you?  Maybe I picked the wrong one?!!!

BTW, I hope you convince five bucks to look at Wachovia...Joe & I don't want him at LPL...he thinks we're a**holes...

[quote=mranonymous2u]And yet the advantage that I have by letting my clients go into any teller at any Wachovia bank branch and make a deposit into their account at my branch or take money out, is a great advantage. So having a bank as my BD's corporate parent is not a disadvantage.[/quote]

"My branch"? You're working out of a bank building? How’s that work? Do you lease space there?<?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

 No offence intended towards people working in your part of Wachovia, which sounds interesting, but I've had two successes (that's 2 for 2) with moving accounts in from there. In both cases the individuals were upset not with their broker, but with someone on the bank side, a teller and a loan officer. That sword can cut both ways.

How true that is!

I do NOT work in a bank branch.

I private labeled my firm and I use Wachovia Finet as my b/d, I can fire them any time I want (as they can me) and switch to any other b/d that I can make a deal with (which, so far, means just about anybody). I could be an LPL office if I wanted to (I guess).

I did pause over the use of the word Branch, because I lacked the verbiage to make it clearer. I am in no way an employee of Wachovia. I hire them to perform certain back office and supervisory functions. I give them the right of refusal to hold the license of any registered employee that I may want to hire. They have to approve all my outgoing correspondence, in comming correspondence, advertising/marketing, etc etc... I have less "freedom" than I would have if I was my own B/D, but I don't know what a b/d that wants to avoid running afoul of the NASD/NYSE/SEC could let me do that this company doesn't (Wachovia DOES have some fairly restrictive nums on B shares though, so I guess that's one area...)

I run my own Branch of my own Firm, client accounts are able to be linked into the Wachovia banking system through the "CAP" account system which is available across their four platforms (Bank, bank broker, private client, indy) it's like the FMA at smith barney or the CMA at merrill except that it's integrated throughout the Wachovia systems.

As to the Teller issue, YUP! It CAN happen, but we're very careful to let the clients KNOW that WE are the firm and Wachovia is not. Meanwhile, we've taken more than our fair share of accounts from the local wirehouses because of terrible service too. AND when I was there I lost more clients due to bad service than any other single thing (now I lose clients because of ME, and that's one of the things about indy that sux, the buck stops here!)

Mr. A

still run by a bank

[quote=mranonymous2u]

I do NOT work in a bank branch. [/quote]

What sort of office space do you use, and what else is in the building?

[quote=mranonymous2u]I did pause over the use of the word Branch, because I lacked the verbiage to make it clearer. [/quote]

I'm still not sure it's completely clear, but ok.

[quote=mranonymous2u].... client accounts are able to be linked into the Wachovia banking system through the "CAP" account system which is available across their four platforms (Bank, bank broker, private client, indy) it's like the FMA at smith barney or the CMA at merrill except that it's integrated throughout the Wachovia systems. [/quote]

So when a client signs on to the Wachovia website, can they see their security holdings they have with you?

[quote=$$$$$]still run by a bank[/quote]

Do you figure your comment is accurate about every channel at Wachovia?

When I got here I was just about the only person in the entire bulding.  The building is an old four story office building of the late 1960's early 1970's style.

I leased the top floor corner space with a commanding view of the river valley and the mountains on either side. I got 2,400 square feet of office space on a floor of about 14,000 SF. (room to expand!)

Then someone new bought the building. I moved down to a 2400SF suite with my own elevator and a doctor's office the only other tenent on the floor (they are completely separate from me except that we share an emergency fire exit.

The new owner has done wonders with the building, but he rented out to a collection of county agency offices for the third and forth floors. Downstairs is a criminal atty (whenever I think I'm having a bad day, I look out the window, when I see people going in to see the Atty, I know THAT person is having a BAD DAY!) and an antiques emporium.

Point being that the building is filling up but not with the sort of folks that will bring me foot traffic or impress the clients that come by. (Clients at this point are impressed with the look of my particular suite of offices but...)  I'm thinking that I'll be looking elsewhere when the lease is up.

I built MY branch where I felt I got best value for my dollar, all things considered. That's part of the difference between working for yourself or working for someone else. For better AND for worse.

Can my clients see their accounts? Yes, on the Wachovia website they can access their accounts. It's generally yesterday's activity, but today's pricing (in other words, the client might not see the dividend check that went out today, until tomorrow).

$$$$$,

"Still run by a bank." Was sort of why I gave you the BOTD before. Run by a bank? What does the word "run" mean to you?

Aside from the Mutual fund routine (no more than $50,000 in B shares in a single fund family per household, which seems awfully low to me, but I don't do MF's so it's not a biggie) and the compliance dept alerting you to investments outside of the client's investment parameters, and flags on "excessive velocity" sorts of CYA's I don't feel the overly protective cloak of a bank telling me what I can and cannot do. Again, this is not so big of an issue to me in that I run a fairly plain vanilla business, so there could be people who have a different experience than I do. But I have gone to the meetings and spoken to lots of guys who tend to run the "Managed Money" paradigm, but then I run into the index options jocks too, and they don't complain, even when I open the door.

I don't know what to tell ya, I have a great back office that is constantly updating with the technology and the document service/paperwork reduction initiative. I can and do do supervision right from my desktop. I have a question they have general and specific help desks. I can call virtually anybody in the firm's headquarters and get responded to (not something I tend to like to do) if I have a problem, we can work it out.

We're small, with lots of capacity. We work and there's enough work to go around, but there are enough people to go around too, so that you don't run into the rubber stamp mentality.

I think that Wachovia is committed to the vision that this is the future of the Brokerage industry. The bank is willing to spend the money to do this right, to build their platform in the path of progress. Wachovia is not at all interested in the >$100,000 producer. They want producers and branch owners that want to build their own franchise, and want to hire Wachovia to be their back office.

Mr. A

Did I do that wrong?

I meant the < $100,000 producer. Less than $100,000.

I had in my mind's eye the line in Investment News detailing the number of brokers above $100,000 and, being the contrarian that I am, looked at that number (3,000 out of 6,000) as being a disasterous number.

Sorry.

Mr. A

a commanding view of the river valley and the mountains on either side.

Nice.

 I think that Wachovia is committed to the vision that this is the future of the Brokerage industry. The bank is willing to spend the money to do this right, to build their platform in the path of progress.

Yep

They want producers and branch owners that want to build their own franchise, and want to hire Wachovia to be their back office.

This is smart. I looked at going downtown to a nice big name office to serve that affluent, and I even looked at going to a strip mall for Ed Jones.

I ended up like you, maybe the view is not so sweeping, but being the neighborhood franchisee and providing custom service to the mass affluent.

But looking the Jones model influenced me to stay local and solo, of course, I am a franchisee.

The other thing about Jones, they are good generalists and they have a very frequency of contacts with existing clients.

As the urbanization of America's countryside continues, there are a lot of smart things we can learn from all the models, and incorporate them into our own franchises or RIAs for that matter.

Thanks for the glimpse into your world.

another market director leaving.

[quote=$$$$$]another market director leaving.[/quote]

Why in the world would managers at BAC leave when they have such smart, positive guys like you working under them?  I just can’t understand it!!!

 Very funny Joe.

Joe,

You going to answer my question or are you just going to be a washday hausefrau tossing gossip over the backyard fence?

Mr. A

[quote=$$$$$]you guys are a$$holes. [/quote]

a 2 buck hole? who?

[quote=mranonymous2u]

Joe,

You going to answer my question or are you just going to be a washday hausefrau tossing gossip over the backyard fence?

Mr. A

[quote=mranonymous2u]

Joe,

You going to answer my question or are you just going to be a washday hausefrau tossing gossip over the backyard fence?

Mr. A

Which MD is leaving?

[quote=nope]Which MD is leaving?[/quote]

Michael Hunt

Joe,

Thank you.

None of those things have been issues for me in the slightest. and as far as he resources thing... I can say it's a good concern, but the reality is that Finet is its own "profit center" and the group has the same sort of clout (at least) as a guy in a wirehouse would who headed a team of 500 brokers and 125MM in production (that guy would have a lot of influence at any firm).

He's not going to win every fight, but he's not going to have to fight most of the time.

Also, now I'm not perfectly clear on the shake here but... Wachovia owns FCC (First Capital Clearing) which does clearing for Finet and (apparently) a significant tonnage of other firms Summit comes to mind as one. As such, FCC brings bigger scratch to the top line than just Finet, and Finet is a way for Wachovia to have a presence in this market.

As to the corporate feel. Yeah, I felt that too (and I'm about as non corporate as you get, power to the people and all that) but then, this IS a business, and it is nice that someone somewhere in the organization is willing to show up in a suit every day.

Mr. A

[quote=mranonymous2u]

Joe,

Thank you.

None of those things have been issues for me in the slightest. and as far as he resources thing... I can say it's a good concern, but the reality is that Finet is its own "profit center" and the group has the same sort of clout (at least) as a guy in a wirehouse would who headed a team of 500 brokers and 125MM in production (that guy would have a lot of influence at any firm).

He's not going to win every fight, but he's not going to have to fight most of the time.

Also, now I'm not perfectly clear on the shake here but... Wachovia owns FCC (First Capital Clearing) which does clearing for Finet and (apparently) a significant tonnage of other firms Summit comes to mind as one. As such, FCC brings bigger scratch to the top line than just Finet, and Finet is a way for Wachovia to have a presence in this market.

As to the corporate feel. Yeah, I felt that too (and I'm about as non corporate as you get, power to the people and all that) but then, this IS a business, and it is nice that someone somewhere in the organization is willing to show up in a suit every day.

Mr. A

[quote=joedabrkr]

[quote=mranonymous2u]

Joe,

You going to answer my question or are you just going to be a washday hausefrau tossing gossip over the backyard fence?

Mr. A

[quote=joedabrkr] [quote=joedabrkr] [quote=mranonymous2u]

Joe,

You going to answer my question or are you just going to be a washday hausefrau tossing gossip over the backyard fence?

Mr. A

[/quote]

lol.....wtf is a "washday housefrau"?

Is that an obscure Nazi reference intended to prompt me to cite that law thingy that is supposed to automatically close the thread?
[/quote]

And btw you never answered MY question!
[/quote]

Yeah I guess we can claim Godwin's law! If we wanted to stretch it beyond all recognition! What they heck.

Mr. A

[quote=mranonymous2u][quote=joedabrkr] [quote=joedabrkr] [quote=mranonymous2u]

Joe,

You going to answer my question or are you just going to be a washday hausefrau tossing gossip over the backyard fence?

Mr. A

[/quote]

lol.....wtf is a "washday housefrau"?

Is that an obscure Nazi reference intended to prompt me to cite that law thingy that is supposed to automatically close the thread?
[/quote]

And btw you never answered MY question!
[/quote]

Yeah I guess we can claim Godwin's law! If we wanted to stretch it beyond all recognition! What they heck.

Mr. A

$800k producer left NE today.

What mkt?

350+ producer leaving soon

[quote=whalehunter]What mkt?[/quote

MA

most likely boston or newton.

any idea where they went?

wirehouse, indy

Citi

indy my friend

Atlanta market director quit today.

[quote=ezmoney]

Atlanta market director quit today.

They also lost another manager in Florida.  The place is being run by morons!

ezmoney:

Did you see this:   Malcolm Berko Blisters Bank of America...

Dear Mr. Berko: Way back in 1999 you told me that it would be in our best interest to have our account managed by U.S. Trust because they could give me and my husband the personal services we need. They managed our stock account, paid our bills, arranged our travel plans, took care of our properties when we were away, and assisted us with our bookkeeping and taxes. Now we learned that U.S. Trust is being bought by Bank of America. Please give us your thoughts on this large institution and please advise if we should allow them to manage our affairs.

W.P.

Boca Raton, Fla.

Dear W.P.: Yes, I remember our conversations and please tell your delightful husband that my sister followed his advice and the results were outstanding, awesome and magnificent.

Certainly you've heard that old axiom, "if your bank is bought out by a larger bank, then it's time to change banks." So race, run, rush, dash and fly like a bat out of Hades to Bessemer Trust in the U.S., or Butterfields or N.M. Rothschild in London or Pictec & Cie or Lombard Odier in Geneva, Switzerland.

If you allow your affairs to be managed by Bank of America (BAC-$50.53) you will most likely be swallowed up into the biggest black holes in the Orion or Trifid Nebula. Charles "Charlie" Schwab is selling its wealth management subsidiary of U.S. Trust to BAC for $3.3 billion so Charlie can concentrate its expertise on the "do-it-yourself" investor. Charlie bought U.S. Trust in 2000 hoping it would be a natural fit for its customers as they began to accumulate wealth. However Charlie's independent, do-it-yourself clients had no use for the venerable 155-year-old U.S. Trust, whose white-shoe clientele is accustomed to personal pampering and red carpet treatment.

Compared to U.S. Trust, Bank of America is a hillbilly dressed in a three-piece pinstripe suit. So if you prefer martinis to moonshine, I suggest you move your account soon. The merger should close this spring and most of the good folks who assisted you at that blue-blood blue-chip bank will be out of a job soon. Last year, U.S. Trust's managed accounts produced about $835 million in revenues and BAC's green eyeshade bean counters intend to reduce U.S. Trusts costs by $200 million and plop its 13,000 clients into BAC's 115,000-account cesspool. The change will be like moving from the polo fields of Palm Beach to the cock fights in Miami's Little Havana.

At U.S. Trust you and your husband were known by name and you enjoyed a warm, personal relationship with your representatives. They actually cared about you and that's what made them so special. At BAC, no matter what you're promised, you will be a cold, hard, impersonal number among their 128,000 managed accounts . I've heard good things from folks who have wealth management accounts at U.S. Trust, Bessemer Trust, Rothschild, Butterfields, Pictec, Lombard, even Union Bank of California and UBS Switzerland. I've also been privy to the investment results from each of those private banks and as cautious as I can be ... I am not unimpressed!

However I know several couples who have wealth management accounts at BAC and as cautious as I can be, I am not impressed. Bank of America is a huge retail institution; soon to be the largest as well as the most profitable retail bank in the U.S. That huge size can be protective and comforting, sort of like having an elephant in your bed. But only heaven can help you if that elephant sneezes and rolls over.

Frankly, I've not heard one word of praise from several folks whose substantial accounts (and personal services) are handled by the Bank of America. The reason behind BAC's recent account management success is that it is able to attract the coveted customer who is not demanding or sophisticated and is satisfied with mediocrity. And how would you regard a bank that puts Braille on its drive-through teller machines?

I recommended U.S. Trust to you folks because I knew some of the folks there personally and by reputation. I recommended U.S. Trust way back then because I also knew a few of their accounts who couldn't say enough good things about their professionalism, their services and their account management. And for the same reasons I am recommending Pictec, Lombard, Rothschild, Bessemer, and Butterfield. There are certainly other private banks equally as capable in this country and across the pond. However, I cannot recommend them because I lack the necessary personal information to do so.

Please address your financial questions to Malcolm Berko, P.O. Box 1416, Boca Raton, FL 33429 or e-mail him at [email protected].

great piece. BAC is a horrible place to work at and do business. For once I agree with Clark Howard, move your accounts to a community bank.

[quote=daytradah]

ezmoney:

Did you see this:   Malcolm Berko Blisters Bank of America...

[/quote]

Not that I disagree with this guy about BoA, but it's hysterical that a guy with his record would talk about anyone or any firm being low-rent.

[quote=ezmoney]great piece. BAC is a horrible place to work at and do
business. For once I agree with Clark Howard, move your accounts to a
community bank.[/quote]



BAC sucks, I tell all my clients to move their deposit accounts over to a local community bank. Better rates and service.

BAC does suck. I feel sorry for the friends I left behind.

[quote=ezmoney]BAC does suck. I feel sorry for the friends I left behind.[/quote]

lol…I feel the same way about UBS!

The Bank of America announced yesterday that U.S. Trust Corp. CEO Peter Scaturro will not come on board when it completes its acquisition of U.S. Trust later this year, dealing what the Wall Street Journal calls "a setback to the big bank's ambitious push to become the leader in the lucrative business of managing rich people's money." Scaturro was supposed to continue leading the exclusive private bank, which requires a $2 million deposit to open an account and has about $93 billion in client assets. Announced in November, the deal was supposed to allow U.S. Trust clients to continue to enjoy their preferred treatment, while benefitting from the giant bank's broad reach. People familiar with the situation say that after numerous disagreements over how the integrated unit would be run, Scaturro decided to step down this summer. Differences of opinion include the big bank's insistence that U.S. Trust switch over to its computer platform, Scaturro's reluctance to cede his autonomy over guiding the unit, and BoA's failure to appreciate the high-cost methods private banks use to lure clients and keep them happy. The Journal says the setback is unlikely to derail the acquisition, but that it highlights the difficulties big banks have in changing their mass-market strategies to suit the ultra-wealthy. Frances Aldrich Sevilla-Sacasa, U.S. Trust president, is likely to replace Scaturro, a person close to the matter said.

Yeah, BAC does suck.

Mucho  you beat me to it......

Appearantly Berko knows exactly what he is talking about. Would like to see how many accounts Scaturro pulls with him to his new employer.

Looks like another expensive arbitration for BAC..

LOLOLOL

[quote=ezmoney] BAC does suck. I feel sorry for the friends I left behind.[/

QUOTE]



Why feel sorry for them? You left, didn’t you EZ? They can find the door if

it’s as bad there as you say.