Moraen,

You are exactly right.  The net present value is the sum of the discounted future cashflows (pretty suspect on the brokerage world right now eh?).  Problem is that GP\LP awarded (in the future) is an asset and a liablility.  I am going to make one prediction.  All of us here are much more interested in his divorce than he is.  Question for you Moraen....Why is divorce so expensive.  Because it is worth it!!!!  I know.  Lame over used joke.  I would love to hear about your experience testifying in divorce court.  On the one hand I think I could be a great asset to the side I "represent".  On the other hand I can imagine one hell of a fight.  Not sure I want in other peoples' personal business.  Your opinion?

I left EDJ last year after 11 years as a segment 5 LP to go Independent. They never pushed any fund. If anyone thinks different, I would welcome proof.

  However, they are a bunch of slow witted brokers, with fat wives and lame stories about "family" and "the free trips". Not so free when you pay taxes on a so called free trip. To think that someone can't afford to buy a plane ticket when they net $30k per month and have $8k in expenses is ridiculous.

I left last year. This is standard practice for many people who leave. I would take it on a person by person basis. The guy who replaced me has been quiet and hasn't said anything bad; I've done the same in return. I also think  EDJ goes after the guys who leave later more aggressively than the early departures.

No matter, you'll do just fine. I wanted them to leave me alone to go my seperate way and they did. I now see how much smarter and better equipped LPL is to handle clients needs and the advisors in my new peer group outshine what I left behind.

[quote=ytrewq] Moraen,

You are exactly right. The net present value is the sum of the discounted future cashflows (pretty suspect on the brokerage world right now eh?). Problem is that GP\LP awarded (in the future) is an asset and a liablility. I am going to make one prediction. All of us here are much more interested in his divorce than he is. Question for you Moraen…Why is divorce so expensive. Because it is worth it!!! I know. Lame over used joke. I would love to hear about your experience testifying in divorce court. On the one hand I think I could be a great asset to the side I “represent”. On the other hand I can imagine one hell of a fight. Not sure I want in other peoples’ personal business. Your opinion?[/quote]



ytrewq,



The first time testifying was hell. There wasn’t much to fight over and when it was over, there was even less. About 95% of divorce cases don’t go to court, but when they do, it is nasty. The first time I testified, the attorneys I was working for didn’t prep me. The opposing counsel tore me to pieces.



The second two times I prepped myself (with a little help from the attorneys. The key is to make sure your exhibits are ironclad and attractive (Huge charts help the judge).



The first time, it was actually the client who hired me (I know I said I was working for the attorneys, but technically I was working for everyone at that point). You should only have the attorney hire you. That way, you don’t have to talk about anything and everything, just what the attorney wants you to.



Because you are at Jones and can receive no compensation for this (correct me if I’m wrong), I’m not sure exactly how it would work. Experts are supposed to be paid, but it may help you out a little because then you have no bias one way or another on the outcome of the trial (no conflict of interest from wanting the larger share of the 401k for instance). Opposing counsel will certainly nail you there.



Anyway, it’s fun, interesting work. I have been getting about one every two months or so and it’s pretty lucrative as an RIA (about $10k a case).

iceco1d:

I’m confused.  Am I more or less credible than I was before this conversation?  Actually, I’m most interested in discovering how I became part of the discussion; is it because of my big, um, “post count?”  

  Your name got brought into the conversation because you post a lot.  I know it is because you spend a lot of time in teacher's lounges and have nothing else to do if there aren't any teachers there.  You're credibility is still what it was before.  At least with me.      

[quote=BigCheese]Spiff-

  I am not afraid or embarassed by numbers. They are what they are. Gross is difficult these days, but not impossible, I actually got a committment to place 200K in a couple of REITS today (14K gross) so I am feeling pretty darn good. - Congrats on a good day.  I'm not afraid or embarassed by numbers either.  If I was, I'd find myself another job.  You are exactly right, they are what they are and they are more difficult these days to make than they were before.  You got a committment for a $200K REIT order and I signed ACAT paperwork for a $300K Advisory Solutions transfer.  I guess we both had a good day.   I expect my revenue to jump to 500K by next year. I am doing marketing in a big way and referrals are starting to pick back up. My average household is now over 400K, without having any stated minimums. - I also expect my revenue to jump.  I'm doing a lot of marketing also, by way of some sporadic doorknocking of old prospects, phone calls, seminars, mailings, etc.  My average household isn't as big as yours, but all of the accounts I've brought in recently have been really good ones.  People that I should be able to work with for the rest of my career.    My numbers aren't outstanding, but they are definitely clients for life that generate it. 25% is recurring (Reits are not recurring revenue). So while I am no superstar, I am building my business and will look forward to the day that you and I can go toe-to-toe. Until then I have to assume you are struggling like alot of my friends at Jones grossing 18K per month. Putting on a good face, but in reality, you are struggling to survive ( I know I don't know you...but I know others like you in Segment 3 and they are struggling to make it).   When you net 200K, let's talk. I think today that would be 600K gross in your lonely world. So far, all I can find are articles that talk about how dirty Jones was during the revenue sharing debacle. Since LPL also participates in revenue sharing I will refrain from posting those wonderful reminders of how great Jones is. - So, there's no documentation about how bad the Jones business model is?  Hmmm...what do you think that means?    Maybe I should post your 10K showing all the ways Jones Financial makes money on your revenue and doesn't trickle a dime down to you or should I remind you of the haircut you get on annuities or C shares. Oh lets talk about the bonus system...you aren't receiving any yet because your revenue isn't high enough to matter. - You can post the 10-K link if you want.  I've read it already.  I understand how the EDJ model works and what the pros and cons are.  I don't work for an indy firm.  It's an apples and oranges comparison.  I'm comfortable with the way Jones works.  There may be some day that I decide to leave EDJ.  You'll probably be one of the first guys I PM with questions.        You are smarter than most Jones brokers, maybe that's why I keep trying to get you to see that there is another viewpoint.  -  At least we can agree on something.   I know there is another viewpoint.  But it's your opinion that your situation is better than mine.  I would guess that if you asked any of the Jones vets on this board you'd find that we all stay at Jones for different reasons.  I may like the culture.  Rankstocks may be so comfortable that he doesn't need to do anything different to be happy.  Money isn't everything.  You are more than welcome to voice your opinion.  You are more than welcome to continue to believe what you want about me.  We will probably have this discussion again someday.  [/quote]

[quote=sd_broker]

I left last year. This is standard practice for many people who leave. I would take it on a person by person basis. The guy who replaced me has been quiet and hasn't said anything bad; I've done the same in return. I also think  EDJ goes after the guys who leave later more aggressively than the early departures.

No matter, you'll do just fine. I wanted them to leave me alone to go my seperate way and they did. I now see how much smarter and better equipped LPL is to handle clients needs and the advisors in my new peer group outshine what I left behind.[/quote]   Hey SD, congratulations!  Last year when...before, during, or after last fall's global meltdown?   I think we could say it was a pretty freaked out market last year- how did you assuage your client's freakedoutness and get them to transition with you?  How were you able to minimize EJ's aggressive hired gun attorneys from pursuing you with TROs etc?  Did they send you the standard threat letters?   Care to share your transition percentages and how happy you are with your transition?  As always, what would you have done differently? thank you JP

I left during October on a day the market fluctuated 10%. Thankfully I had exchanged most client stock MF’s into MMK’s the previous couple of months. This allowed clients time to decide what the wanted to do. People were still freaked out and wanted to know why I had left and if the firm was going down in flames. I said no, but that I had found a better opportunity and that I had come to the decision over a period of 5 or 6 months. I went through the reasons (tired of volunteering, recruiting, training newbies who failed). I also wanted more investment choices and platforms to help protect their savings. Even though I did not know what specifically I would be implementing, I wanted choices.

  Every night was hell and I felt very unsure about everything including my choice and our profession. Through all of this I just kept calling people to explain why I left and telling them what their options were. I did myself a couple of favors; talking to my KRC's the day I left, taking my awesome assistant with me and having a fantastic new office.   I received no TRO's and only a single letter. I did not make any of the mistakes people do when cutting corners (copying sensitive client info...). I was prepared a week ahead. Of the 70 clients I asked to transfer with me, 65 came over within 2 months. A couple are still considering it, but I am not actively calling them. You don't want everyone and the relationship is more important  than the assets. I didn't even mail tombstone letters to some $1m plus accounts because they were difficult to deal with.   The best thing I ever did for my career was joining EDJ, and the second best was leaving them. I've never been happier with a decision (although moving that $$ into cash before Lehman Brothers ranks a close second). The only thing I would change was the VOIP service we tried to use for outgoing faxes. Get a regular phone line and a good fax machine. I fixed this problem within 5 days, but it created a lot of double work...