How much should an SA be paid?

That’s about what mine is paid (rural midwest).

We have 6 advisors, one SA.



She’s paid $60,000 per year + benefits.



I’ll say that she’s very well compensated and as a result she’s been more

than willing to go above and beyond.



Good luck,



C

I work in the rural midwest and my SA has a $24,000 salary and I pay her $200 / bucks a month out of my pocket. 

I am in the midwest and my assistant gets about $32k plus benefits, I
bonus her about $6k more.  She seems happy.  She recently
told me that if I ever moved on to another firm she would want me to
take her along.

Mine did follow me from the bank and she was there a lot longer than I was.  I wouldn't have had half the success I have without her.  She moves a ton of paperwork for me and that allows me more time to do what I do best.

I pay just below the average (as I see it), for SA's in my immediate area. However, I also offer incentive bonuses for reaching certain milestones that put their total pay well-above average. The incentives are relatively easy to reach, but require that they be "on the ball".

My point in developing my pay plan was to make sure that they didn't "coast" in their job. They could earn more money in "brain-dead"-type jobs. But if they're motivated in this job, they can earn a lot more than anyone else pays around here.

[quote=doberman]

The incentives are relatively easy to reach, but

require that they be “on the ball”. [/quote]



What are the incentives?



C

The incentives are both monetary and time-off, and are rewarded monthly. I believe that monthly rewards help them focus day to day. Whereas, quarterly rewards offer the temptation to slack-off for a few weeks, before “getting down to business” to make their bonus. That slacking-off, for those few weeks, might mean the difference between landing or not landing a whale.

[quote=doberman] The incentives are both monetary and time-off, and

are rewarded monthly. I believe that monthly rewards help them focus

day to day. Whereas, quarterly rewards offer the temptation to slack-off

for a few weeks, before “getting down to business” to make their bonus.

That slacking-off, for those few weeks, might mean the difference

between landing or not landing a whale.[/quote]



My apologies. I asked the wrong question.



I’m looking for the magical hoops, benchmarks, etc., that your assistant

needs to meet. What are those items…



I knew what the rewards were, I just would like to know what hurdles she/

he needed to cross. Curious to know.



C

My SA's compensation is divided into 2 parts: standard pay for standard performance and bonus pay for extraordinary performance.

Standard pay for standard performance benchmarks generally include just doing their job: showing up on time, being helpful to clients, completing work assignments / paperwork (grunt work), etc. This type of pay alone is just below the average for my area (South Georgia).

Bonus pay for extraordinary performance benchmarks include going above and beyond their basic duties. This includes being compensated for qualified prospect referrals with an additional bonus when the account is opened. (A referral means that they are acquainted with the prospect, they mentioned my services to the prospect, and the prospect is interested in setting up an appointment.)

My SA also gets compensated for uncovering special prospect situations. However, this is harder to quantify for the bonus, as each situation is different. In any case, I try to be generous enough, so as to encourage this behavior in the future.

What's a "special prospect situation"? It varies, but here are some examples: Billy Bob, my SA's husband's cousin is friends with the HR head at a manufacturing unit employing 500 people. They're laying off some middle management and I can get in to see the HR head before anyone else. Or sometimes, my SA uncovers special situations simply by reading the paper or watching the media, putting 2 and 2 together on situations I totally overlooked.

I'm sorry, I can't too specific with the examples given above or else I might be "outed" by someone who should be prospecting, but you get the picture.

No magic formula here, just make it fun and rewarding. And soon, it will become second nature to your SA, even when they're off the clock.

SA's/CA's/CSA's whatever you wanna call them...in southern cali

UBS is around 35+bonuses

Merill is around 35-40+bonuses

Morgan is around 35+bonuses

and SB ranks LOW 30's+bonuses

(keep in mind this is for new entry level candidates who are unregistered)

I’m currently a registered CSA in NY. I have heard rumors lately that our discretionary bonuses provided to us by our advisors may end and we may be bonused on different criteria. I currently make more via bonus than my annual salary based on an agreement between me and my advisor. If the firm allowed to stop the advisors from compensating us? Are they allowed to change this without warning?

it really depends on your production.

I made a decision early that I would pay my assistants a good base, then if I had month that was greater than 10% of the previous year she would get an extra paycheck. Since I pay them twice a month, that was up to a 50% bonus for a huge year…but more importantly in a year like 08-09, I didn’t have to lay them off because they’re base was low enough for me to cover in a bad market.