Is Waddell and Reed still so bad?
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Hi All,
I have researched the boards with regard to Waddell and Reed, but everything is at leat two years old. Want to re-ask the question: How is Waddell and Reed for entry into the financial industry, specifically financial advising? I have been offered the job, but still have cold feet.
I got an offer but decided to go with EJ. I wasn’t comfortable being brand new with what seemed like so little support. I have a very successful W&R FA in my town, but for me, I went with the firm getting awards for training.
You made the right decision. W&R is not good for training and they “like” you to sell proprietary funds. EJ is a good place to learn the business.
The thing about only being able to sell W&R funds is false. Talk to the people who work there if you want more information on that. They are able to sell tons of funds from all kinds of families - not just their proprietary funds, W&R and Ivy.
By all means do not go to Waddell & Reed. The only income that you will get is what you earn. If you are transferring money or doing insurance yo may do business but wait to get paid. All 1st year Advisors are on a quarterly quota. If you do not make the quota you are demoted to an Advisor Associate who gets your book of business. You have to buy all the sme licenses to match the person you are working under. You cannot be a Financial Advor again for 12 months. You will not see any advertisements for W&R Advisors. They advertise IVY Funds instead. W&R also charges a high Technology fee which is subject to increases. They do have good Managed accounts but they only use W&R and Ivy funds. Yes you can use other funds otherwise. However in 2013 technology fees were increased and Advisor fees on the Managed accounts were reduced. There is a high failure rate there also. I would look for a better situation.