Through the eyes of a recruiter

Ok, welcome aboard...

Which wire is actually trying the hardest to improve their workplace experience?

Which indy "gets it" the most right now, and why?

Who should go from firm to firm, and who should really go indy instead?

What is the ideal profile of a rep that a "firm" is looking for? Likewise for indy? 

No flames here, Bigfirepower is only for smacking a ball with 390 something dimples...

Does Wells Indy offer a recruit package?

Cheers!

I just private messaged you. 

Sent you an email.

Hey Rycruiter, check your messages under the Profile tab, I sent you one.

Ryc, nice answers, interesting. Clearly you know the biz. I'm Indy, with one of the firms you mentioned. Being indy is really rewarding for my group. I'd agree that it isn't for everyone. You need to be a multi tasker, be able to do your own books, basically mind the store along with doing production. Boredom is also an issue, as the transition cuts out the "busy work" of your life. Finding 15-25 hrs per week can actually be a mixed blessing. Right now, we're trying to fill that gap by creating strategic alliances with a local insurance company, and me doing more in the way of networking.

Ryc, do you know anything about what is going on in legal battles these days? How prone to arbitration are folks making transitions, what are some of the new tactics and strategies being employed by folks that are leaving, and the firms that were left behind?

I have always wondered how your compensation as a recruiter is determined...

1. AUM that transfers?

2. t-12 of broker

3. Does it matter what firm? i.e. does Wells Fargo PCG pay more than LPL

4. If a check is offered do you get paid based on the upfront money negotiated?

Just curious

Does Wells Indy offer a recruit package?

Yes! One of the best in the biz!

RYCruiter, I am trying to get in touch with you, I messaged you.  Go to your profile and check new messages.

edited

Good stuff Rycruiter

I have sent Rycruiter a few PM's this week and have probably learned more from him than 6 months of reading this forum in terms of the switching firms/recruitment side of our business.

Good question palmpre, I have always wondered how recruiters were compensated as well. 

Ryc, do you know anything about what is going on in legal battles these days? How prone to arbitration are folks making transitions, what are some of the new tactics and strategies being employed by folks that are leaving, and the firms that were left behind?

To answer question #1 in a nutshell: Yes. Which is why I am going to respectfully decline from answering questions #2 and #3b.

As far as tactics/strategies by FA's leaving, the best ones would involve hiring an attorney.

Oh come on, not this sh#t again...

Ryc, if you're going to punt on an area that important, legal,  I'm not sure what kind of value you bring with your "eyes"...

You can clearly share thoughts, experiences, stories about that, without playing attorney.

Reminds me of an old old Byrds song,  " I wanna grow up, and be a politician ... ".

If anonymous recruiters have become PC, "Ameerrka" is forked. The advisor change industry is such a racket.

Ryc, do you know anything about what is going on in legal battles these days? How prone to arbitration are folks making transitions, what are some of the new tactics and strategies being employed by folks that are leaving, and the firms that were left behind?

Rep's are prone to having a TRO slapped on them or being sued by their firmer BD if they violate the provisions of their contract. Normally one is not allowed to solicit clients for up to 1 year form their previous firm. The beauty is, your clients have the right to work with the advisor of their choice. If you send out announcement letters, very generic and no solicitation, the client will normally call you to ask what's going on. If a client calls,  you can answer all of their questions and if they want they can open an account at your new BD and transfer the assets over. It's the decision of the rep how aggressive they want to be. Follow you contract to the letter of the law and you'll stay out of harm's way, violate it repeatedly and disregard any cease and desist letters and pay for it.

There are contracts that forbid even announcing your presence... even in an all inclusive zip code mailing. So, what about that?

Alright, I'll go to bat here. My experience is that about 15% of advisors at W/Hs will seriously have to worry about TROs. It TRULY depends on your individual circumstance; how big your accounts are, who your branch manager is, what state you're in and what firm you're at.

It's a crap shoot if you're coming from a bank. Because they operate on thin margins, they obviously want their business.

Being independent means not dealing with these f***ing headaches.

Is that good enough for you?

Bully60 gave a decent answer. I would emphasis the "generic" part. Sometimes including your phone number in the body of the letters can be enough to make your ex firm go to battle.

Good enough?

Sounds like you know more. Lots more...

We're all ears.

What I do know is that back in 2001 or 2002, many of the W/H's just stopped trying to enforce their non-competes on most small to mid size brokers. I'm not sure on the exact reasonings, but I do know it had to do with some sort of Utah Supreme Court decision against Smith Barney and the proceeding adoptance of new policy by NASD. (NASD was the precursor to FINRA) Most of the time it simply wasn't worth their time or money to litigate against small to mid size producers.

During late 2008, early 2009 the frequency of TRO issuance increased because of the huge exodus of business from the wirehouses. However, hardly any of these ended up in arbitration or litigation.

I think most firms have simply accepted the fact that brokers are coming and going and taking their business with them. It's part of the evolution of business, in my opinion.

There have been rulings in federal courts that sort of outline what you can and can't say in a letter of announcement to former clients. As long as there is nothing in these letters that could be misconstrued as solicitation, they're generally ok. You can even tell your clients why you're moving. You just can't ask them to follow you. Giving them a phone number number they don't already have on record can be construed as soliciting, however. I've seen this one happen first hand. 

All this being said, I;m not a lawyer and I don't want to go giving incorrect advice and end up screwing someone over. That's the reason I'm not willing to give much information here. So, my advice is to always hire a good lawyer after you decide to make a switch, to pour over your non-compete and tell you exactly what you should do to maximize client retention.

One thing that comes to mind, however, is to plan in advance and really turn up you personal contact with your clients. Build as much value as you can with them prior to moving and you can expect a fair amount will want to stay with you.

It is strictly forbidden for firms to interfere with the perceived "well being" of your clients.

So if banks generally don't pay recruiting bonuses (or I really have not found one that would) and they are generally not part of protocol and enforce non-competes....you don't own your book....., how do they attract decent reps?

They attract brand new reps or reps that were previously "disenfranchised" and no longer have a book. Or they attract reps by lying to them ;-)