Need help

He is probably making 160-200K.  Does he pay you or does the bank??  This is just a guess since usually in a bank situation the bank is getting paid as well.

yes the bank is getting paid,, and yes techinically I get paid by the bank... Thanks so much for your feeback!

so,, the question is,, what should he be paying his registered assistant?  if I walk out the door tomorrow, he is in a world of hurt.. I don't think what I am being paid reflects that.   I work for the nicest man in the world who has more integrity than all the other brokers I have ever worked for but I still don't think he is being completely fair to me with compensation.   any feedback is greatly appreciated.

[quote=acojo79]

so,, the question is,, what should he be paying his registered assistant?  if I walk out the door tomorrow, he is in a world of hurt.. I don't think what I am being paid reflects that.   I work for the nicest man in the world who has more integrity than all the other brokers I have ever worked for but I still don't think he is being completely fair to me with compensation.   any feedback is greatly appreciated.

[/quote]

first, are you hot?

oh totally funny!!! all the 80+ clients think I'm totally hot, and maybe a few under 40 but that's a limited few. 

It depends what you do for him and what your agreement was with him.  You agreed to accept your current salary correct?  Did he promise raises or commission sharing and not follow through. 

oh this is great.... he promised me NOTHING,,,   but i am instramental in the progress of his business.  As a producer, which I can assume that you are,, how can you employ someone who helps you achieve the income that you do, and without this person you know your income would be compromised, and then pay them less than a quarter of what YOU HAVE EARNED TOGETHER...  riddle me that.    Sorry, but I think this is inhumane and wrong,, but then again that is the American way.. screw who you can along the way to make a buck.   maybe this is too harsh, sorry, you caught me at a bad time,

[quote=acojo79]

oh this is great.... he promised me NOTHING,,,   but i am instramental in the progress of his business.  As a producer, which I can assume that you are,, how can you employ someone who helps you achieve the income that you do, and without this person you know your income would be compromised, and then pay them less than a quarter of what YOU HAVE EARNED TOGETHER...  riddle me that.    Sorry, but I think this is inhumane and wrong,, but then again that is the American way.. screw who you can along the way to make a buck.   maybe this is too harsh, sorry, you caught me at a bad time,

[/quote]

This business sucks.    Building a successful business is so freaking hard. 

cold calling, getting someone to give you their money, making people money, keeping them happy is so darn hard.    no joke.    2 out of 10 make it.

AFTER people are clients, the things that an SA does IS extremely important BUT it is NOTHING to how hard it is to GET clients.    We earn every penny in this freaking business.   Ihave made a ton of money over the years but, if i was starting over...........i would NOT go inthis buesiness.  no way.  was not worth it

So......you should NOT be paid anywhere near what a FA makes.    Just reality.   Go cold call for a while and get back to me

IF you want to have the opportunity to make big bucks.......get hired as an FA trainee.  go for it.   then the sky is the limit.

As far as your pay with your FA now....my advice is honesty and openness.   go to him or her and state how you feel.     

okay I get your frustration, but you obviously haven't done the "assistants" job. I am not saying we should get paid what the advisor gets paid as he assumes all the risk, but we SHOULD get paid more than a quarter of what the advisor is making.  A good assistant or bad assistant can make or break the advisor's business, that's just the way it is.  We need to be compensated FOR THAT. 

Your independent broker is somehow beholden to the bank, how can anyone here understand that compensation arrrangement?

He has the stress of being beholden AND navigating the market for clients. You should be looking at the opportunity cost of you working for someone else, not trying to figure out your relative take on cash flow and expectations structured into a business arrangement you or anyone here does not understand.

If you like your work and feel secure, count your blessings.

Otherwise you sound like the greedy calculating spouse (who makes the wrong assumptions) in some candle-lit fireside tale.

Measure the worth of your work by researching real wages and salary and benefit situations for similar work, and the perspective of friends who reside (objectively) outside of this once happy relationship.

My good assistant is well compensated but cannot make or break my business, to which I have dedicated my career, creative energy, cash flow which looks smaller to me than to you perhaps, many silver hairs upon my head, countless restless sleep, and other things you don't know.

[quote=acojo79]

oh this is great.... he promised me NOTHING,,,   but i am instramental in the progress of his business.  As a producer, which I can assume that you are,, how can you employ someone who helps you achieve the income that you do, and without this person you know your income would be compromised, and then pay them less than a quarter of what YOU HAVE EARNED TOGETHER...  riddle me that.    Sorry, but I think this is inhumane and wrong,, but then again that is the American way.. screw who you can along the way to make a buck.   maybe this is too harsh, sorry, you caught me at a bad time,

[/quote]

So he promised you nothing?

You accepted the job and the pay?

If you think you are underpaid, become an advisor and make the money.  

I think you are being a little unfair here unless you prospect for the FA.  Do you cold call??  Do you do seminars?  Do you give investment advice?  The answer to all of this would be no I believe.  I could get along fine without my assistant since I make sure I know how to do everything myself.

If you want a raise, ask for it and if he says no quit or keep working for him.  The choice is yours, but you agreed to work for him for a rate of pay and he hasn't promised you anything that he hasn't delivered on.

Its pretty much all been said here, but I'll say it anyway. Your situation is pretty simple and straightforward, and not unlike that of many employees in our industry who feel they are worth more than they are getting paid.

Ask for a raise. Make your case in a professional manner. If you get it , great. If not, and you don't want to continue to work for what you are getting paid, then start looking for another job.

As far as trying to find out what your FA makes, through this website, i find it a bit offensive. If you think its your buseinss, then you should ask him. Otherwise, focus on you and your worth, not his or her earning.s

Thank you everyone for your input.  it was helpful.   sportsfreak,,, it you think me trying to find out what my boss is making offensive through this website, well just assume me to be a resourceful person who has questions that need to be answered, but not directly by the people who can answer them.  To "I am legend"... you obviously are a true representative of you gender.  and maybe just maybe you can do it all on your own,, but I DOUBT IT.   your production will stop buddy, and you will not make bank,,   Again, thanks everyone for your input.    And to "Times 7"... I especially loved your referenced to me be a greedy spouse.  So funny.   And I especially appreciated all the typos-- you all are truely above the rest of us.

Coincidentally, gender represents a substantial marketing opportunity:

http://www.financial-planning.com/fp_issues/2010_3/untapped-market-2665922-1.html?zkPrintable=true

sports freak bob:

see youre jumping on the Rex ryan bandwagon since they won a few games?

acojo79, just a little FYI, a friend of mines B/D offers a virtual assistant (a real licensed person that does EVERYTHING) for 36k a year. I don't know who you are with but I would guess that this type of B/D support is at other places too. From what he said the virtual assistant can do everything but sit in his office. I can get you more info if you so choose but that is the reality of this business and the value of an assistant these days. So unless you are bringing in new clients personally or you are getting clients to TAKE ACTION on YOUR advice, then your value is limited. Sorry and I mean this in the nicest way.

Also, an OSJ takes an average of about 10% override from a producer. Not to offend you but a producer needs an OSJ more then they need an assistant.

I hope you find the answers you are looking for and make peace with your FA. Good luck to you both.

[quote=acojo79]

Thank you everyone for your input.  it was helpful.   sportsfreak,,, it you think me trying to find out what my boss is making offensive through this website, well just assume me to be a resourceful person who has questions that need to be answered, but not directly by the people who can answer them.  To "I am legend"... you obviously are a true representative of you gender.  and maybe just maybe you can do it all on your own,, but I DOUBT IT.   your production will stop buddy, and you will not make bank,,   Again, thanks everyone for your input.    And to "Times 7"... I especially loved your referenced to me be a greedy spouse.  So funny.   And I especially appreciated all the typos-- you all are truely above the rest of us.

[/quote]

I said I can because I know I can from experience.  The first 4 years I was in the biz, I didn't have an assistant.  I think it was actually helpful to me not to have once since it taught me not to rely on anyone else for my success.  I see some other guys who can't seem to do anything for themselves and I am actually thankful now that I had the experience of no assistant.  You have never answered the questions that were posed to you concerning do you bring in clients or sell for the FA.  If you do those things I think some sort of commission sharing could be in order. 

wow that virtual assistant is def the way to go, I will suggest this to my boss.

I emailed my friend and asked for some more info. He said this link should offer enough information. He also said there are several levels and price points and the 36k was for the "platinum" package. If you are serious about sharing this with your boss let me know and I will give him my buddy's contact info. If you guys are close to Atlanta he can just go meet him personally.

https://www.investfinancial.com/public/joininvest/join/VIP.html

Unfortunately for you this business is becoming so competitive that the only real value is the person that finds new clients and the person that gets clients to take action on the recommendations. Everything else is just a commodity. So if you do one of those two things then you can argue your point. If you just do everything but these two things then not so much.

" the only real value is the person that finds new clients and the person that gets clients to take action on the recommendations. "

Good analysis. I seriously doubt this has anything to do with gender.

I think your primary mistake is equating your worth/value with some % of your boss's pay.  It is not.  You are an assistant.  Important, yes, but also replaceable.  It is his business, and you are an employee.  You desire to be paid like a part owner, but you are not one.  I can understand why you would want to be compensated like a partial owner without being one, because we all have our greedy streaks time and again, but it just doesn't work that way. 

If your compensation is out of line with other assistants in this field, then you have a case, and deserve a raise.  It sounds like you may even deserve to be at the higher end of the assistant range.  But if my assistant felt entitled to 25% of my pay, it would quickly be the end of her/him. 

[quote=Times7]

" the only real value is the person that finds new clients and the person that gets clients to take action on the recommendations. "

Good analysis. I seriously doubt this has anything to do with gender.

[/quote]

Correct, it has nothing to do with gender and everything to do with relationship management. IMO the future of this business is going to be in an advisor's ability to just manage the relationship and facilatate the data trasfer to the back office and back to the client. Everything else can be done from anywhere in the world by anyone. The only difference is what level of support and what price is the advisor/relationship manager willing to pay for it.

Yeah, it's tough, they live in big houses, drive expensive cars, their wives don't work,  and they take expensive vacations. You, OTOH, do all the real work, drive a four year old Kia, and save all year for a week at the beach. it's just not fair!!!!

Maybe it's not, but things are they way they are for a reason.

Rain makers make the money because they take the risk. They exchange risk of not making any income for the opportunity to make an exceptional income. In our business that risk is taken another step by how difficult the business is. Selling any product in the face of heavy competition is not easy. Selling one that you can't see, touch, or smell makes it that much more difficult.  The high pay is there for a reason. There are much easier ways to make a living. In fact, you've found one of them. While the long term survival rate for FA's is less than one in ten, the long term success rate for sales assistants is nine out of ten. That being the case, considering how much it costs to find or train a successful FA, the position demands high pay.  There is a reason that companies are offering successful FAs multi million dollar recruiting packages. That those packages are available and being offered should tell you that successful FAs are not only hard to come by, but very valuable to the company.

 Would a competitor offer you a six figure signing bonus? They would to your FA.

It is not smart from a business POV for a producer to underpay a key assistant. If that's the case, you've got a legitimate issue. That said, regardless of how well the assistant works and the value they provide, there is a set level of pay for assistants.  And, that level will not approach that of a  successful FA. You have to live with the fact that while they're eating at Delmonicos tonight you have to settle for Applees. Or you can change that and get yourself into a training program. Either way, find a a way to reconcile the pay parity issue within yourself. Resenting someone you like working for, for something that isn't his fault or doing isn't conducive to a healthy long term relationship.

Common ground.

We sure do live in interesting times, ladies and gentlemen.

I was talking to a volunteer at the airport today (there are about 150). Retired from white collar career there - this fellow is standing out there at arrivals, tirelessly helping folks. He quickly sums up his volunteer experience, saying, " the biggest takeaway at the end of the day is, many folks should consider taking a look at themselves in the mirror".

Seems like America is actually in the process of doing that, I'm sure it bodes well for 2011. What we've been through seems more like creative destruction, and I'm confident we'll be  an even more compassionate people who take more responsibility going forward.

79, you should be proud of your accomplishments and I am grateful for this thread. I'm sure you have inspired perspective on the relationship between personal responsibility, entitlement and compassion.

(edit server dup.)

Times7, there is no common ground here.  While there is no doubt that the OP has sufficient ego to pat him or herself on the back for a job well done, this is a money issue, nothing more.

Roger, captain. I think I understand.

okay, folks - so this is very insulting, basically you are saying that the services I provide, (ie, place trades, take all phone calls, process all paperwork, help clients when FA is away, manage all areas of compliance, etc, etc, etc,) has little to no value to the FA?   I just can't accept that.  YOU are the greedy ones-- Relationship management, sorry, that does not soley belong to you FA's. We assistants are key in that area.  Ya'll need to tame your egos.   And yes, you are correct, I do need to find something else to do.  I find this environment replusive- this little blog proved that.   You can all "pat yourselves on the back" for a job WELL DONE,,,  you are so very special and entiltled and the people that work for you, well, they are just not worth much,, and REPLACEABLE!   Any average person off the street can certainly sit down at my desk and perform my functions- know the ins and outs of the business-AND--without an interruption in YOUR production,, Fer shure, -- go for it... may all of your assistants quit on you tomorrow!

You sound uneducated.

You are a dime a dozen.  There is another middle aged woman that would gladly take your job.  If you walk, your clients stay with the FA.  Assistants always over estimate their worth to a practice. Sure you add value but your like a boob job on a 40 year old.

holy cow superman! you are one mean sob!  and Times 7 was it the "ya'll" or "fer shure" that gave away  the fact that I am uneducated?   you totally got me.,, BOY YOU GUYS ARE SO VERY SMART.  how do you live with yourselves?

The truth you seek is that happiness comes from growth.

Demanding more money for the same work is not the same as investing in your own education or starting a business and enjoying the fruits.

Even then, it is not the money that makes us happy.

You persist in projecting your own virtue and implying the faults of others, but it is only by taking personal responsibility for your own happiness that you will know the truth.

" If you know when you have enough, you are wealthy. If you carry your intentions to completion, you are resolute."

" If you find your roots and nourish them, you will know longevity. If you live a long creative life, you will leave an eternal legacy."

Verse 33, Who are You? - Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu

Your anonymous energy seems relevant and transcendent. What is it going to take for you to get what you want for yourself? This is about real change, which is actually personal growth.

" To obtain a diploma requires the storage of trivia. To obtain the Great Integrity requires their abandonment." - Verse 48

[quote=Counting Crows]

sports freak bob:

see youre jumping on the Rex ryan bandwagon since they won a few games?[/quote]

Dude, you know from the other site, i bleed green thru and thru. I'm a season tix holder since 1984.

If it was Ryan, or Mangenius, or even Edwards, I am diehard Jets. My daughter bought me a tee shirt for my Birthday - it said : EAT-SLEEP-JETS!

As far as Ryan goes, ya gotta love him. He lives on the edge with his mouth. Its all working out. I'm the first to admit that if he was losing he would be the fool we all loved to hate

Acojo79-

Nobody is saying that you have no worth. Calm down.

I think that msot here would agree that a good assistant is valuable to a practice. The thing we are taking issue with is, that there is a value placed on the assistant, and generally speaking, within certain parameters, it is not directly related to what their FA makes, which is really none of your business.

You know the FA makes a lot more than you, thats all you need to know. But you also need to understand that you keep the clients happy, the FA brings them in. And bringing them in is a much harder job than keeping them happy. If you don't see that then you really need to try to empathize - put yourself in the FA;s shoes when he/SHE is prospecitng.

So yes, you bring value to the practice, but you don;t build it, the FA does. You also get a guaranteed salary whether the FA has a good month or not. He/She doesn't. FA eats what they kill. Nothing more , nothing less. In any business , when you forgo reward on the front end, you have potential for more on the backend. How would you feel if the FA said to you, I'll give you X Percent of my gross, but no salary.

So, as has been stated/implied by others, YOU have a decision to make. Stay where you are, or try to find an FA who puts a higher value on your services. OR - get into a training program and become an FA

[quote=Sportsfreakbob]

Acojo79-

Nobody is saying that you have no worth. Calm down.

I think that msot here would agree that a good assistant is valuable to a practice. The thing we are taking issue with is, that there is a value placed on the assistant, and generally speaking, within certain parameters, it is not directly related to what their FA makes, which is really none of your business.

You know the FA makes a lot more than you, thats all you need to know. But you also need to understand that you keep the clients happy, the FA brings them in. And bringing them in is a much harder job than keeping them happy. If you don't see that then you really need to try to empathize - put yourself in the FA;s shoes when he/SHE is prospecitng.

So yes, you bring value to the practice, but you don;t build it, the FA does. You also get a guaranteed salary whether the FA has a good month or not. He/She doesn't. FA eats what they kill. Nothing more , nothing less. In any business , when you forgo reward on the front end, you have potential for more on the backend. How would you feel if the FA said to you, I'll give you X Percent of my gross, but no salary.

So, as has been stated/implied by others, YOU have a decision to make. Stay where you are, or try to find an FA who puts a higher value on your services. OR - get into a training program and become an FA

[/quote]

SF - you forgot a couple important words, "you use the FAs money to keep the clients happy". What skin does the assistant have in the game? ZIP, ZERO, ZILCH, NOTHING, NOTTA

[quote=acojo79]

okay, folks - so this is very insulting, basically you are saying that the services I provide, (ie, place trades, take all phone calls, process all paperwork, help clients when FA is away, manage all areas of compliance, etc, etc, etc,) has little to no value to the FA?   I just can't accept that.  YOU are the greedy ones-- Relationship management, sorry, that does not soley belong to you FA's. We assistants are key in that area.  Ya'll need to tame your egos.   And yes, you are correct, I do need to find something else to do.  I find this environment replusive- this little blog proved that.   You can all "pat yourselves on the back" for a job WELL DONE,,,  you are so very special and entiltled and the people that work for you, well, they are just not worth much,, and REPLACEABLE!   Any average person off the street can certainly sit down at my desk and perform my functions- know the ins and outs of the business-AND--without an interruption in YOUR production,, Fer shure, -- go for it... may all of your assistants quit on you tomorrow!

[/quote]

You are licensed. What's stopping you from going it on your own and making as much as you want?

For someone who came here because they are concerned that they are being under compensated, going into production will solve that problem. You will make, to the penny, exactly what you are worth.

You have an answer, now stop whining.  Put up or shut up. Think you are worth more than you are being paid? Put it all on the line and find out! That's exactly what every producer on this forum has done. It's what your FA has done. It's the answer to your feeling of being undervalued.

Keep in touch. Let us know how it works out.

sportsfreak bob, you are the only guy that makes some sense to me here,  the others, I don't think you get my point.  AT ALL> 

My SAs have access to all my numbers, including my commission runs. They know what i make. There are no secrets. It's always been that way.

A number of years ago I kept a promise to an SA that if he was successful as my SA then after two years i would do everything i could to get him into the training program. That two years went fast. He got into the program after i lobbied management and went on to become a very successful FA. This left me with an void, I needed a new assistant. As we went thru the process of hiring a few people who didn't work out  we hired a temp, Judy.

Judy would go on to become forever known as Judy the pyscho-bitch. There was something seriously wrong with Judy. She came to me and asked how i could be an FA with my horrible spelling. I responded that i could add and subtract like nobodies business and math is what counts. She was jealous of my suits, my  cars, my  bike, my wife, my kids, my house, my life style. She couldn't beleive that someone who is so obviously not very bright could make so much money. And, then as a temp, she started to demand some. This from a woman who sent letters out with white out, or misspellings,  couldn't be bothered to answer the phone, and was effing the FA in the next office during business hours. Added to this was her failure to file, as instructed, important compliance paperwork. Missing paperwork that got me called on the carpet. Singlehandedly in the course of three months this woman almost ruined my business. We fired Judy, and found the paperwork.  The moron in the next office said damn she was fun, why'd you have to fire her? My answer - your wife should know how much fun she was! That put us on the same page and on my say so the manager moved him to another part of the office.

One of the woman in the cage, a new employee, Kayla, agreed to a trial as my SA. It worked out great!!! Again, my business returned to the turnkey sales advisory practice it was designed to be. How good was she? The clients loved her. At Christmas the gifts would pour in for her. I asked clients, where's my gift? They responded; what did you do for us? Kayla worked with me for six years before going on to become the operations manager for the office. She took a pay cut to accept the position. I offered her an additional ten grand to stay with me. Her answer was something i could not have predicted: "If you fall off your motorcycle, where does that leave me and my family? With the bikes, the plane, the hang gliding, the boat racing,  you take way too many wild chances. I have to do what's best for my family long term." And so it went. I offered to buy life insurance on myself with her as beneficiary as there was insurable interest. She said she would agree if I guaranteed that any crash would kill me.  Gee, that's the same deal my wife has asked for!!  So, she left and i've gone through a series of assistants again. None were as good Kayla, and thankfully none as bad as Judy.

Tell me again, that i don't get it.

BTW, my wife and I are good friends with Kayla and her family. We vaca together and they're on the short list of people who can borrow Homer. I tried to get her husband to try hang gliding. My back side is still blistered from her email!! Speaking of emails, when I send her one I begin with "Still here." 

Bond Guy, that little memo above, is priceless...

Nice,  if there is insurable interest, wonder if there was a way to set up coverage on the DI as part of your business transition plan. If you're both wirehouse employees,  I wonder if there is really insurable interest.

[quote=Times7]

Nice,  if there is insurable interest, wonder if there was a way to set up coverage on the DI as part of your business transition plan. If you're both wirehouse employees,  I wonder if there is really insurable interest.

[/quote]

Truthfully, i wasn't sure but was going to give it my best shot. I was paying her significanly more than my wire employer was paying her. Had she agreed, staying would have been contingent on insurable interest.

Big, thanks for the props!!!

[quote=BondGuy]

My SAs have access to all my numbers, including my commission runs. They know what i make. There are no secrets. It's always been that way.

A number of years ago I kept a promise to an SA that if he was successful as my SA then after two years i would do everything i could to get him into the training program. That two years went fast. He got into the program after i lobbied management and went on to become a very successful FA. This left me with an void, I needed a new assistant. As we went thru the process of hiring a few people who didn't work out  we hired a temp, Judy.

Judy would go on to become forever known as Judy the pyscho-bitch. There was something seriously wrong with Judy. She came to me and asked how i could be an FA with my horrible spelling. I responded that i could add and subtract like nobodies business and math is what counts. She was jealous of my suits, my  cars, my  bike, my wife, my kids, my house, my life style. She couldn't beleive that someone who is so obviously not very bright could make so much money. And, then as a temp, she started to demand some. This from a woman who sent letters out with white out, or misspellings,  couldn't be bothered to answer the phone, and was effing the FA in the next office during business hours. Added to this was her failure to file, as instructed, important compliance paperwork. Missing paperwork that got me called on the carpet. Singlehandedly in the course of three months this woman almost ruined my business. We fired Judy, and found the paperwork.  The moron in the next office said damn she was fun, why'd you have to fire her? My answer - your wife should know how much fun she was! That put us on the same page and on my say so the manager moved him to another part of the office.

One of the woman in the cage, a new employee, Kayla, agreed to a trial as my SA. It worked out great!!! Again, my business returned to the turnkey sales advisory practice it was designed to be. How good was she? The clients loved her. At Christmas the gifts would pour in for her. I asked clients, where's my gift? They responded; what did you do for us? Kayla worked with me for six years before going on to become the operations manager for the office. She took a pay cut to accept the position. I offered her an additional ten grand to stay with me. Her answer was something i could not have predicted: "If you fall off your motorcycle, where does that leave me and my family? With the bikes, the plane, the hang gliding, the boat racing,  you take way too many wild chances. I have to do what's best for my family long term." And so it went. I offered to buy life insurance on myself with her as beneficiary as there was insurable interest. She said she would agree if I guaranteed that any crash would kill me.  Gee, that's the same deal my wife has asked for!!  So, she left and i've gone through a series of assistants again. None were as good Kayla, and thankfully none as bad as Judy.

Tell me again, that i don't get it.

BTW, my wife and I are good friends with Kayla and her family. We vaca together and they're on the short list of people who can borrow Homer. I tried to get her husband to try hang gliding. My back side is still blistered from her email!! Speaking of emails, when I send her one I begin with "Still here." 

[/quote]

Jesus, that had to be rough BG.  I can relate to that situation you had with Judy...she reminds me of my ex-assistant at HSBC, she tried to sabotage my business because I was younger than her, making more money, and in a much higher position than her.

We got rid of her because she hated me and she was telling a few of my clients to go see another RM at a different branch...good riddance.