If you’re going to work with investments, and you need help right NOW, I wouldn’t go the CFP route.

  I'd study CFS or CMFC.  They're much quicker.   One of the largest RIAs in the country has both of those designations.  (Manages several billion dollars and no, he doesn't have a CFP either.)   Also, I'd look at FSS from The American College.  It's a SALES designation with plenty of techical information.  The FSS is taught in an online classroom setting or through your local NAIFA chapter - so you might have some built-in networking opportunities there.   Certified Funds Specialist: http://www.icfs.com/   Chartered Mutual Fund Counselor: http://www.cffp.edu/portal/alias__Rainbow/lang__en-US/tabID__3354/DesktopDefault.aspx   FSS program: http://www.theamericancollege.edu/subpage.php?pageId=250   The Investments Course as part of the LUTCF/FSS curicculum: http://www.theamericancollege.edu/subpage.php?pageId=265#FA264   Live online classes through The American College: http://www.theamericancollege.edu/subpage.php?pageId=460

[quote=JAXSON]My CPA has 12,000 customers during tax time and over 750 year round clients. I think I have a very good potential to build a book from him alone. Working for him in the past and watching some of the elder clients come in clueless with their brokerage statements is why I left accounting for this. He has plainly told me when he feels I can handle his clients, he will refer me more business then I can handle. He has known me long enough to see monetary rewards do not motivate me.

  Here is a basic example about what I didn't know...   I pitched the advantage of muni bonds to a prospect. He was really interested about them considering the market recently. He said he would like more info. I asked my outgoing (left for RJ) FT about them and how to tell which one was best. He said it did not matter because if EJ had it in inventory it was the best. That answer is not good enough for me. So I asked a newb a little further along then myself and he said he just rolls thru the screen and picks the one with the highest commision. The commision is my last concern when chosing the right investment. I called my RL and explained my delima and he said I was thinking to much and just go sale something. I understand this is a sales job and I don't have an issue with that. If I believe it is in the clients best interest. I can sale all day. But if it is my business, my prospects, my relationships then it will be done my way.   CFP is one way to gain what I need. After that i will concentrate on a CFA. Not because I want to brag but because it is the only way I know to get what I feel I need.[/quote]

Why stop there? Go get an MD and a JD, while you're at it.  Whatever you do, try your best to avoid prospecting and selling.

HAAIC:

Why stop there? Go get an MD and a JD, while you’re at it.  Whatever you do, try your best to avoid prospecting and selling.

  Yeah, I was wondering why I was sitting at a table for a dinner seminar last night with a client and their friend, combined net worth of $50MM and they weren't asking about the letters after my name.

If your plan is to build your business off of this CPA, ask him if he'll pay for you to get your CFP, CFA, CMFC, or whatever letters you think might be valuable when you're sitting in front of his clients.  Work out some sort of split with him on revenues that come from referrals by him to you.  While the two of you are at it, go out and find an attorney that wants to be a part of your practice.  The three of you could team up and take over the town. 

But...what if you still suck at sales? 

[quote=Spaceman Spiff]

If your plan is to build your business off of this CPA, ask him if he'll pay for you to get your CFP, CFA, CMFC, or whatever letters you think might be valuable when you're sitting in front of his clients.  Work out some sort of split with him on revenues that come from referrals by him to you.  While the two of you are at it, go out and find an attorney that wants to be a part of your practice.  The three of you could team up and take over the town. 

But...what if you still suck at sales?  [/quote]   Then at least he'll still have the CFP, CFA, and CMFC after his name for two more years until the continuing ed expires...

You all are dumb asses.  I enjoy reading the diverse responses this forum brings.

  The cfp cfa or xyz or whatever is not to impress clients. It is only for me. I have no idea how to properly sit down and azalyze a clients portfolio or particular situation and recommend anything. I do know how to sale 30 year munis and GE stock. But that has nothinig to do with where I want to be. I have been with EJ for nine months now and all I am told is to continue pushing these two particular products. I can continue down this path or stop and go down another. So, I have decided not to run my business that way. (if I prospect them it's my business)   I can sale and have with EJ. I actually turned some business away so to only meet the minimum requirements for each of the 17 weeks because I did not feel I would stay. For example, One prospect I door knocked has 500m in his 401k and he would like to set up a trust for his autistic son. He also has 50m in cd's at a bank. I was told not to worry about the 401k unitl he reached 59.5 and to sale him munis when his cd's came due. I had him sold on tax free munis here and he said he would buy them. He also asked about the trust. I put him off three times and asked FA's in my region and the help desk. All I was told was not to worry about it until 59.5. Thats not good enough for me or my clients period!    I suppose your model works fine for you bunch of washed up old school car salesmen! I on the other hand will try a way that I feel is best.  

Spiff- I only used the CPA as an example to another post. You can just think of it as a raise on your LP.

Thanks for the info Ominous, I will look into these options. I chose the CFP because I applied for and received scholarship money and our state University offers CFP prep courses. I would prefer to learn on the job but maybe I was impatient after nine months. My RL said that since I studied and passed the S7 that I knew more then 90% of the population and thats all I needed to know.

[quote=HAAIC] [quote=JAXSON]My CPA has 12,000 customers during tax time and over 750 year round clients. I think I have a very good potential to build a book from him alone. Working for him in the past and watching some of the elder clients come in clueless with their brokerage statements is why I left accounting for this. He has plainly told me when he feels I can handle his clients, he will refer me more business then I can handle. He has known me long enough to see monetary rewards do not motivate me.

  Here is a basic example about what I didn't know...   I pitched the advantage of muni bonds to a prospect. He was really interested about them considering the market recently. He said he would like more info. I asked my outgoing (left for RJ) FT about them and how to tell which one was best. He said it did not matter because if EJ had it in inventory it was the best. That answer is not good enough for me. So I asked a newb a little further along then myself and he said he just rolls thru the screen and picks the one with the highest commision. The commision is my last concern when chosing the right investment. I called my RL and explained my delima and he said I was thinking to much and just go sale something. I understand this is a sales job and I don't have an issue with that. If I believe it is in the clients best interest. I can sale all day. But if it is my business, my prospects, my relationships then it will be done my way.   CFP is one way to gain what I need. After that i will concentrate on a CFA. Not because I want to brag but because it is the only way I know to get what I feel I need. [/quote]

Why stop there? Go get an MD and a JD, while you're at it.  Whatever you do, try your best to avoid prospecting and selling.[/quote]

[quote=JAXSON]You all are dumb asses.  I enjoy reading the diverse responses this forum brings.

  The cfp cfa or xyz or whatever is not to impress clients. It is only for me. I have no idea how to properly sit down and azalyze a clients portfolio or particular situation and recommend anything. I do know how to sale 30 year munis and GE stock. But that has nothinig to do with where I want to be. I have been with EJ for nine months now and all I am told is to continue pushing these two particular products. I can continue down this path or stop and go down another. So, I have decided not to run my business that way. (if I prospect them it's my business)   I can sale and have with EJ. I actually turned some business away so to only meet the minimum requirements for each of the 17 weeks because I did not feel I would stay. For example, One prospect I door knocked has 500m in his 401k and he would like to set up a trust for his autistic son. He also has 50m in cd's at a bank. I was told not to worry about the 401k unitl he reached 59.5 and to sale him munis when his cd's came due. I had him sold on tax free munis here and he said he would buy them. He also asked about the trust. I put him off three times and asked FA's in my region and the help desk. All I was told was not to worry about it until 59.5. Thats not good enough for me or my clients period!    I suppose your model works fine for you bunch of washed up old school car salesmen! I on the other hand will try a way that I feel is best.
[/quote]

Your posts raise so many issues - too many to bother with right now - but I wanted to share a couple thoughts with you.

First, it's good that you recognize how little you really know at this stage about helping people with their money.  Simply by recognizing that and wanting to do something about it you are ahead of many rookies who intentionally or otherwise think a few months of training and passing a FINRA exam or two means squat.  Read some of BiLo's posts if you want to see a prime example of someone who is too arrogant to even realize how clueless he is.  Unfortunately, he has lots of company. 

The good news (for you) is that those who have the experience to help are much more likely to take the time and effort to help those who are big enough to humbly seek help than someone like poor BiLo whose pride will forever remain an effective barrier against the risk of anyone caring even to give him a minute of their time.

Your challenge is to come up with a way of gaining that knowledge without hurting any clients or washing out of the business.  That's not easy.  But if you are too distracted in the short run by pursuing whatever credentials - even for the right reason - it won't really matter anyway, because you'll be out of the business.  You HAVE to focus on bringing in business now, or you won't be around long enough to use whatever knowledge you might eventually pick up.  That may suck, but it is reality.  So stop wasting energy being mad at those who are pushing you to sell. 

Use the resources within your firm to help clients.  There has to be some department or person who can help do something other than sell GE or Munis - you have to find them, and use them.  By leaning on them, you can avoid screwing up your clients too badly, and hopefully you'll suvive long enough and learn enough along the way that before you know it, you'll know it.  If you catch my drift.  And then you will have the luxury of deciding if you really want all those designations, because by then you may not need them so much.

Case in point: your prospect asking about a trust for his autistic son.  Someone should have told you that you cannot expect to be an expert on every issue that prospects or clients might have, and setting up a special needs trust definitely falls into that category.  In point of fact - and law - you CAN NOT do much to help him set up such a trust.  By law, only an attorney can do that. 

What you can do is learn to recognize when certain technical tools or tactics (such as a special needs trust) are called for, and how to help your client get the expertise he needs.  In that way, you'll act more as a GP doctor rather than a specialist.  Handle the normal stuff, and know when to call in the specialists.  The client gets a solution, and you get a loyal client, because he knows you can help him solve problems.

Look at it this way: maybe you think you were more ethical in refusing to sell that prospect munis, but so what?  He still has the same problem he had when he started.  And you still have no client, or production.  Who is better off after that?

All for now - too much time on this already.  Read and absorb.  Recalibrate your mindset. Survive the short term so you can learn and do what you want in the long run.   You can do it.

[quote=JAXSON]You all are dumb asses.  I enjoy reading the diverse responses this forum brings.

  The cfp cfa or xyz or whatever is not to impress clients. It is only for me. I have no idea how to properly sit down and azalyze a clients portfolio or particular situation and recommend anything. I do know how to sale 30 year munis and GE stock. But that has nothinig to do with where I want to be. I have been with EJ for nine months now and all I am told is to continue pushing these two particular products. I can continue down this path or stop and go down another. So, I have decided not to run my business that way. (if I prospect them it's my business)   I can sale and have with EJ. I actually turned some business away so to only meet the minimum requirements for each of the 17 weeks because I did not feel I would stay. For example, One prospect I door knocked has 500m in his 401k and he would like to set up a trust for his autistic son. He also has 50m in cd's at a bank. I was told not to worry about the 401k unitl he reached 59.5 and to sale him munis when his cd's came due. I had him sold on tax free munis here and he said he would buy them. He also asked about the trust. I put him off three times and asked FA's in my region and the help desk. All I was told was not to worry about it until 59.5. Thats not good enough for me or my clients period!    I suppose your model works fine for you bunch of washed up old school car salesmen! I on the other hand will try a way that I feel is best.  

Spiff- I only used the CPA as an example to another post. You can just think of it as a raise on your LP.

[/quote]   At least we know when to use "sell" and "sale" in our sentences.   You say you've been doing this for 9 months!  Show me your clients and let me tell them what you wrote: "I have no idea how to properly sit down and azalyze a clients portfolio or particular situation and recommend anything."   Wow, please don't "help" anyone new.

Snags you stole what I was going to say… I just didn’t understand why he kept using the wrong one…

  Go read some info on what you are looking for.. there is info everywhere you just have to find it..

Thanks Morphius. Your input is always appreciated and respected. <?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />Sometimes it is difficult to respond to so many various posts with minimal points and making sure my grammar suits snaggletooth's expectations. Most posts end up far from the initial topic. As far as the example I used, the prospect was leaning torwards someone to look after his son financially (pay bills etc). I spoke with my FT's BOA and she said that was more of a pain in the ass then it was worth. So I never returned with positive feedback for his initial concern. Just another muni bond and we had a trust dept that I didn't know how it worked but he could call them.

  Snag- I proofread the post and thought about changing them but really didn't give a sh*t.  Or maybe it was because I didn't sell these items because they sold themselves being that lately they seem to be on sale...... sail sell cell snail pail oh hell piss off.   Chef- I used it twice wtf ever. Also thank you for the advice. I am trying to do that and use this forum as a resource. Notice I didn't ask someone on here to teach me, but did ask what I needed to learn. Depending on who you ask the answers are as diverse as the people's concerns we come across. One thing I did find from an FA was an old flyer describing the heirarchy of needs. She said EJ didn't use it anymore and gave me a couple. I asked my new FT about it and he said I didn't need to worry about that stuff.   P.S. I apologize for the many long posts lately. I guess I let some of this build up a little too much.    

I went back and read my old posts. Snagg and Chief, you are correct. I have used the wrong words multiple times and will try to refrain from doing so in the future.

  English Professor's-1 Jaxson-0  

[quote=JAXSON]I went back and read my old posts. Snagg and Chief, you are correct. I have used the wrong words multiple times and will try to refrain from doing so in the future.

  English Professor's-1 Jaxson-0  [/quote]   Thank you.

[quote=JAXSON]

Thanks Morphius. Your input is always appreciated and respected. <?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />Sometimes it is difficult to respond to so many various posts with minimal points and making sure my grammar suits snaggletooth's expectations. Most posts end up far from the initial topic. As far as the example I used, the prospect was leaning torwards someone to look after his son financially (pay bills etc). I spoke with my FT's BOA and she said that was more of a pain in the ass then it was worth. So I never returned with positive feedback for his initial concern. Just another muni bond and we had a trust dept that I didn't know how it worked but he could call them.

  Snag- I proofread the post and thought about changing them but really didn't give a sh*t.  Or maybe it was because I didn't sell these items because they sold themselves being that lately they seem to be on sale...... sail sell cell snail pail oh hell piss off.   Chef- I used it twice wtf ever. Also thank you for the advice. I am trying to do that and use this forum as a resource. Notice I didn't ask someone on here to teach me, but did ask what I needed to learn. Depending on who you ask the answers are as diverse as the people's concerns we come across. One thing I did find from an FA was an old flyer describing the heirarchy of needs. She said EJ didn't use it anymore and gave me a couple. I asked my new FT about it and he said I didn't need to worry about that stuff.   P.S. I apologize for the many long posts lately. I guess I let some of this build up a little too much.    [/quote]   There is tons of information available, PIMCO has some quarterly  or even monthly stuff that Bill Gross puts out...   Problem is don't try to learn everything because then you will be jack of all trades, but master of nothing..   Find out what you want to do (mutual funds,etfs, managed accounts, stocks, bonds..etc) then focus on that..  Don't try to learn everything,because chances are you might never come across it..

This is where the team approach can be so effective. Most lawyers pick an area to specialize in and refer their clients to other lawyers when a separate need arises. There are so many aspects to financial planning/investment advice that most of us end up stretching ourselves thin and only knowing a little about a ton of stuff.

I began yesterday talking to clients about munis...then UITs...then an UTMA account and then tried to remember all the details of a Safe Harbor 401(k) when a local business owner cornered me with questions.   During field training at Jones, I was amazed at how much incorrect information my FT gave to clients when they had questions during appointments, and he's been in the business 15+ years. It really wasn't all his fault, though, because he was being hit with such a wide variety of topics.    I believe that having a few partners - who specialize in a few areas and are all working toward the same goal - is the best way to provide the highest level of advice and service to clients.

Borker, good point.  This happens not just at Jones, but everywhere.  We try to be all things to all people.  Most of us are afraid to specialize for fear of turning away business.  And as you know, we have all read the stats that say specialists or “niche” providors earn more.  It’s just the “jumping off” point that’s hard.

  I am attempting to really specialize in one area, but I find it hard sometimes to not want to "know" everything.    

You’re right B24 - it’s hard because if you don’t know things, or offer them, any knucklehead can come along and try to blow holes in your niche.

  For instance, what if you were Bernie Madoff, just doing your thing, huddled in your niche, cranking out 13% returns year after year, making nice change for your clients and not doing so bad for yourself and some guy named Harry Markopoulas comes blowing holes in your system? How would you defend yourself and keep your clients......................................