Waddell and Reed Financial Advisory Position

So, its been a few days since I posted my question, and yet I have no response. I hope to recieve some insightful advice on what I am about to get into. Please people, don't be shy, I just really want to start off my career in as a financial advisor, and I want to know if Waddell and Reed is an okay place to start. Thanks in advance.

In the top right hand portion of the screen type "Waddell and Reed" in the search function and see what comes up. You will find lots of information.

Waddell is an okay place to start. I had a few colleagues that started with them. You should be able to learn the "basics" when it comes to planning, mutual funds and Nationwide variable annuities. They will try to convince you to prospect your friends and family first. This is not a good idea and it looks like it is not a viable option for you anyway since you already have some family in biz. Plan on cold calling and cold walking.

I would see it as a place to start only. I would do so with the idea of learning as much as you can about the business and knowing that you will be searching for better places to grow your practice in the future. If you can make it a year or two with them, you should be able to take the next step towards a "real" career. Good Luck.

If your planning on going to MSSB or somewhere similar after you get licensed, go somewhere that will sponsor you, not the other way around. There are plenty of small firms that have no problem paying for your 7! DO NOT PAY FOR YOUR TRAINING! You can land a job at a wire with some experience from a small no name firm that sponsors YOU. You are trying to become a professional, be treated like one. I'm surprised you stayed for interview number 2.

You sound confused.  Pick a direction and go with it.  If you want to be a broker; go into every office near your home, ask for the manager and say I want to be a broker!  You mentioned a more respected company.  Good luck with that.  Most of the companies in this industry have lost respect from most of thier clients and thier employees.  It is a very hard profession and we need good honest people who genually want to help thier clients acheive financial freedom.  Good Luck and Hard Work!

Thank you guys for all the helpful advice. In response to TheNextLevel, sorry if I came off as confused, but I aspire to work for a few years, then attend a decent MBA program. I mentioned that I had already taken the GMAT and scored a 600, and that score is good for 5 years. My asperations to become a financial advisor since graduation are finally bearing fruits, and I plan on working with Waddell and Reed to recieve the training necessary to continue my pursuit of this career. Also, I understand that many other companies pay for the training/ sponsoring of their candidates, but I have applied to many of these companies and had only recieved a reply from Edward Jones. After reading through many horror stories from former and current Edward Jones employees, I was turned off of the opportunity to work for them.

Furthermore, to N.D., before I registered an account with this site, I had research these forums and read many things about Waddell and Reed, but most of the negative comments had been years old. I had read a post about a member who worked their for a few months, then afer getting licensed, he packed up his things and moved onto a more respectable firm. That is where I got the notion to maybe do the same thing, if it was possible.

Again, thank you all for replying to my question, and sorry if I came off a little bit confused as to what my future career goals are. I hope everyone is enjoying their memorial day weekend and good luck.

I dont want to come off as an a** but you seem like the total MBA type. No street smarts. Really, pay for your own sponsorship? I thought I covered this in my last post, but you are making a BIG mistake. Once you actually start dialing some numbers we'll see if this job is MBA material. I feel like slapping you, but good luck.. I mean, you applied to other companies and havn't heard back so this must be the only choice, right? I'll assume you applied to the forementioned firms and just hoped for the best. Regardless, I hope you find what your looking for and become very successful in this biz.

I started at Waddell & Reed and stayed there while studdying and completing my Series 7 and Series 66 exams.  But during those four months I realized that the firm was probably not the best fit for me and compensation package had lots of fine print.   So I jumped ship.  You can search on my screen name for more detailed reports.

Privateequity, you are assuming that I have never dealt with cold calling or going up to random people to try and sell them on products. I used to work for SmartCircle and Chase Colby, both companies were pretty much hard sales, which allowed me to gain a lot of experience in the field of sales. SmartCircle was B2B in which I had to encounter hundreds of people every day at their work and try to sell them on some "crappy" coupon book. Chase Colby was just home loan modification company that turned out to be a scam so I quit after a few weeks. But, while at Chase Colby I did face the harsh realities of cold calling people about loan modifications, and although I found that job to be difficult, I quit for the moral reason of the actual job being a scam. As for Waddell and Reed, I look at it as an opportunity to further my experience necessary to continue a career towards finance and investmenting. I hope I don't come off with some sort of "MBA mentality" and start a flame war (as I wish to not start), but it seems that your beliefs for paying for experience is rather justifiable, but as I mentioned, I already tried to get my foot in the door of other major companies, but only heard from Edward Jones and Waddell and Reed. As for Rhett Captain, I have read your past posts with your experience with Waddell and Reed and I hope to follow your path, but if I do seem to be doing well with them, then I might just stick around a while longer. In addition, did you quit after you passed your series exams or a little while later, because I am curious as to how difficult it is to make the $2000 salary plus commissions at Waddell and Reed. What pay scale did you opt for if you don't mind me asking?

Where the hell are you going to go to school with a 600?  You need to take the GMAT again buddy. 

Also, Edward Jones is a better place to start than Raddell and Weed.

Also, your tone is foreign.  Are you perhaps from the subcontinent?  It matters, trust me.

Yeah, be careful, I would rethink your career plans.

Been there and done that, found this website a year too late.

http://www.armydiller.com/financial-scam/index.htm

Good luck with FA sales career!

"...As for Rhett Captain, I have read your past posts with your experience with Waddell and Reed and I hope to follow your path, but if I do seem to be doing well with them, then I might just stick around a while longer. In addition, did you quit after you passed your series exams or a little while later, because I am curious as to how difficult it is to make the $2000 salary plus commissions at Waddell and Reed. What pay scale did you opt for if you don't mind me asking?..."

I was an unpaid trainee during my Series 7 and 66 studies.  I accepted their gracious offer to study and work in the office at that time.

Despite what the promotional recruiting information says, the $2000 is not a given.  Once you get activated - which means all SEC and W&R in-house career development training is completed - you are on the grid.  In order to get your paycheck, you must meet monthly production numbers.  Month 1 is something like $400 - a single financial plan.  The production numbers increase each month.  Slowly and then steeply.  Miss one of the monthly production numbers and whamo, your $2000 stops never to resume.  From there it is straight commission.  And let's say you have a terrific month, none of that carries over to the next month.

There is a second plan too.  That one reduces your salary to something like $1000 but gives you the opportunity to work on a multiple month basis.  So in theory that would even out good and bad months.

I left after I earned the Series 66 license - recruited away by New England Financial.  But that is another story...

To Magician, please don't make fun of my GMAT score. It is welcomed as I had worked for months to raise my first 380 to that 600. In addition, as I mentioned before hand, I plan on getting the work experience necessary to get into a Top 100 MBA Program. So far I am interested in Pepperdine University (Graziado) and Claremont University (Drucker). Both are ranked #81 and #71 respectively. I have also heard from Norte Dame, and they seemed to have shown interest in me as a "preffered candidate" but I had not applied their and I only suspect that they sent me that letter to possibly make money on the application fee or some sort. In addition, Norte Dame seems to have an average GMAT Acceptance score of 670. But alas, I am not here to discuss my future MBA endevours, also, I am not here discuss my ethnic background as I don't see how it pertains to the subject of a Financial Advisory position. But, if you are curious, I was born in Anaheim, California, and have been raised in California for my whole 23 years on this earth.

To Fa  Mybum, thank you for your useful input, as I have overlooked that site, but I will probably continue in this path. It seems to me every Financial Advisory company is listed, from ML, Wells Fargo, W&R, Edward Jones, and etc. I my seem hard headed, but I feel that if I am wrong, and I fail misserably, at least I learned something along the way that I may use to teach others.

To Rhett Captain, I understand that this career path has a high turnover rate for Financial Advisors. Thank you for your valid input and I am more understanding as to what I am getting myself into. I would rather know and following as wolf, then be lead by a shepard as a sheep. But again, thank you all for your wonderful advice and I hope you all do great in your respective fields. In addition, Rhett Captain, I am curious as to know how things are turning out/ have turned out with New England Financial. How was your experience there?

Hi nightevils...I have went through the same thing looking at financial companies...there is so much difference in prospecting, products, respect, and compensation, that it is odd that the interviewing and testing is so much the same...waddell and reed is an ok company but not the best products or range and a limited possibility to make much the first few years...edward jones is a good company but its probably going to take you alot longer to get hired and will take much more of a commitment...good luck. I'd go with EJ.

"...Rhett Captain, I am curious as to know how things are turning out/ have turned out with New England Financial. How was your experience there?..."

Well, to be perfectly honest, it is merely okay.  NEF is part of MetLife, the insurance company, and all of management here are long time life insurance agents who happen to hold a Series 6 only to be able to sell variable annuities.  There is little encouragement to to bring assets under management.  They would rather you land a large Whole Life policy or convince the client to purchase a variable annuity.  As such most of the in-house "training" is centered on closing insurance sales.

That being said, the independent streak in me is driving me to prospect primarily for investment clientele.  I have landed several accounts and have a few others percolating until the prospective client finally makes up his/her mind.

What is interesting is that the firm has probably hundreds of orphan accounts.  People with various amounts of money in mostly mutual funds.  While servicing these orphans is part of their recruiting pitch, to date, management has refused to parcel them out.  My associates in the "boiler room" think it is because that as long as the clients remain unassigned, management collects any trails.  Free money for doing nothing.

In the near future I'll provide a more detailed update on my experiences.

Nightevils,

I understand your position. However, you came to this site, im assuming, to get the intelligence required to make an informed decision. You have been given advice by a few on this topic, and the theme seems to repeat. Frankly, this thread should be your briefing and all you need concerning your original question. Good luck.

[quote=nightevils]

Privateequity, you are assuming that I have never dealt with cold calling or going up to random people to try and sell them on products. I used to work for SmartCircle and Chase Colby, both companies were pretty much hard sales, which allowed me to gain a lot of experience in the field of sales. SmartCircle was B2B in which I had to encounter hundreds of people every day at their work and try to sell them on some "crappy" coupon book. Chase Colby was just home loan modification company that turned out to be a scam so I quit after a few weeks. But, while at Chase Colby I did face the harsh realities of cold calling people about loan modifications, and although I found that job to be difficult, I quit for the moral reason of the actual job being a scam. As for Waddell and Reed, I look at it as an opportunity to further my experience necessary to continue a career towards finance and investmenting. I hope I don't come off with some sort of "MBA mentality" and start a flame war (as I wish to not start), but it seems that your beliefs for paying for experience is rather justifiable, but as I mentioned, I already tried to get my foot in the door of other major companies, but only heard from Edward Jones and Waddell and Reed. As for Rhett Captain, I have read your past posts with your experience with Waddell and Reed and I hope to follow your path, but if I do seem to be doing well with them, then I might just stick around a while longer. In addition, did you quit after you passed your series exams or a little while later, because I am curious as to how difficult it is to make the $2000 salary plus commissions at Waddell and Reed. What pay scale did you opt for if you don't mind me asking?

[/quote]

Don't ever use "investmenting" in a sentence ever again.  Otherwise, if you really want to do this, EDJ, then W&R would be your choice in order.

Lol, sorry about that. I didn't proof read what I had written because I wrote it on my iPhone. But thanks for the advice.

Must add my 2 cents here.

 First I have been in the securities industry (operations/sales support) for about 20 years.  Had my 7, 9&10 & 66.  Lost them due to an unplanned relo with my husband and couldn't find a job in that God forsaken hell hole.  So I when I came back to civilization, I interviewed with W&R and after 3 interviews, I was told I was "hired" contingent on my sitting for the 7, 66 and LAS and Variable Products licenses.  Oh, but wait, they needed a check for $950 from me to pay for my fees etc.,   Ok, so I understood, that a lot of people probably used them to get their licenses and quit so they were trying to make sure they didn't get caught holding the bag.  I was told that once I passed my exams I would be "reimbursed" for everything as long as I kept my receipts.  I also was told "a rock" could make $50,000 the first year and more than likely I would make in the 6 figure area.  I was also told I would be paid a base of $2,000 per month to start after I passed my exams.  So, much to my surprise I had to pay an additional fee for the Insurance classes (both LAS and VA) AND I had to pay for those exams at $90 a pop.  Seems the $950 I paid them didn't include that!  I then paid for the Series 7 and 66 books and a Series 7 cram course thru Kaplan. (about another $475)  Meanwhile, I am to get 600 leads in anticipation of my starting with them.  Very hard to study and pound the phone.  I don't even KNOW 600 people!!! And I refuse to badger my friends and relatives.  Then to add insult to injury, I find out that I will NOT be reimbursed until I qualify for the "Silver Circle" AND I will not start receiving my $2,000 monthly stipend until I sell 5 Financial Plans, which I DO NOT get paid for.  

 I feel completely duped.  I do not mind working hard but this company was not upfront with me at all.  I do not know what my next step is, but I have lost faith in W&R so I can not imagine working there.  I have to respect my employer and feel that our values are in tune with one another.  They talk a good game, but it's all just words and no honor behind it.   I wish I had investigated this company  a great deal more.  I'm not a kid just starting out, but they "GOT" me.  Shame on them and shame on me for being sucked in.

I want to thank everyone on this post for saving me from making the same mistakes.  I worked as a licensed assistant years ago and since have gone to medical billing and then real estate broker.  I made a lot of money in real estate, but then we all know the rest of the story.  I was highly invested in RE and the client pool is too shallow, so now I am looking for work instead of retiring as I had planned.  I put my resume on Monster yesterday, and viola, received a call from W&R today.  I decided to google them before returning their call and found all of this.  THANK GOD!  W&R is the last thing I need in my life now.  The only thing I might consider is a salaried position in ops or as an assistant, or even as the receptionist.  I don't need a lot of money anymore; my place and my car are paid for.  Thanks to all of you I won't be talked into a position as a broker.  I AM GRATEFUL THAT ALL OF YOU POSTED THIS INFO!

Well, just to give an update on where I am at. I finished all my licensing in 2 months since my initial posting. Training here is pretty bare and minimal. So, if you are new to the industry, like me, it is either sink or swim. So as some advice to others, talk to the senior advisors around the office and they will show you how everything works and what strategies don't work. The goals are not high compared to other industries, so if you can't hit the minimums here, then don't expect to do any better elsewhere. I for one am pretty lucky, as I have a cousin who is a personal injuries attorney. My goals are to get referrals through him and tap into his clients settlements. I just recieved from him my first client, of which is a $50,000 settlement. Once I show proficiency in what I do, then I expect to recieve more higher net worth referrals from him. Bottom line is, for me, I am trying to get my friends and family members to become advocates in what I do. Once I build a decent sized center of influence circle, then I wont need to prospect as hardlater on.

In addition, dont expect to get any help from the managing principal, they are in their own little world and are disconnected from the employees. Here, where I work, all the senioradvisorsknow how hard it is when you first begin, so they try to do anything to help me. Hopefully the other offices senior advisors are just as nice.

From my iPhone

[quote=nightevils]...I for one am pretty lucky, as I have a cousin who is a personal injuries attorney. My goals are to get referrals through him and tap into his clients settlements. I just recieved from him my first client, of which is a $50,000 settlement....[/quote]

I would put these people in front loaded products because you will not have that money very long

I joined Waddell & Reed about a year ago from Ed Jones, where I was for just over 7 years.  I've been around the block long enough to know that it's not easy to break into this industry and that most of the complaints are coming from people that don't know any better.  Complaining about having to pay licensing costs pales in comparison to the Non-Compete that Ed Jones makes you sign agreeing to 3 years or fork over $75,000 back to the firm.  Not to mention knocking on 600 doors before you even get started and then working out of your car for your first year with Ed Jones.  The payouts at Waddell are much higher, you can do true financial planning instead of pushing products, and I'm not captive to Waddell & Reed funds as many people imply.  I work from the Pershing platform that I used when I was at Merrill before Jones.  The training is a hell of a lot better too, it's not just cold calling phone scripts.  I'm happy as hell and my clients are in a better position too.  

I came across this forum about a year and a half ago when I was asking myself the same questions about W&R and financial advising as a career path in general.  Now that I have a solid understanding of the company and industry I make my living in, I figured I would take a minute to give my two cents and hopefully clear up some of the unanswered questions. The first thing I would like to say is that RandomRep has been one of the only sensible contributors to this conversation.  I can tell that most of you don't have the slightest idea what you are talking about and you are cluttering dialog with your blabber.  

The first thing I would like to suggest is know what you are getting into before you enter the office wearing your new suit and shined shoes, but without a clue as to what you are going to do when you sit down at your desk.  9 out of 10 new advisors that walk into my office do exactly this and they are the same ones that are packing up their desks at year end when they miss the quota.  It doesn't matter which firm you work for, nobody is going to tell you the right way to build your practice.  You need to figure it out for yourself!  Some people buy leads, some people door knock, some people depend on family and friends (all of which are losing business models if you ask me)...  In the end, all that matters is that you develop a business model that you can implement and sustain, and that execute that business plan on a daily basis.  This is not easy to do and is exactly the reason only 20% of advisors make it through their first three years.  

Second, understand the company's incentives.  Again, this pertains to every firm in the industry, not just W&R (although W&R might be more blatant about it).  Depending on the office, most managing principals will hire just about anybody that walks though the door.  This is contingent however, upon you being able to pass the series 7, 66 and life and health exams.  W&R uses this process to weed out the people that are obviously not cut out for the business.  Once you pass your exams and become activated, the company's only incentive to train you and give you a desk to work at is to MAKE MONEY!  Your MP and DMs will tell you to go out and petition your friends and family, sell them insurance, investments, financial plans, etc. so that they can GET PAID and HIT THEIR NUMBERS!  Once you bring in your family and friends and exhaust your natural market, the company could care less if you don't close another deal and fail out.  They have 30 other naive new hires getting licensed and talking to their parents about variable annuities too.  Ask your MP and DMs how they get paid, then you will understand where they are coming from when they tell you what to do.  Every firm has this unfortunate incentive structure, so as long as you understand it and make it work for you, you will be fine.  My advice, figure out a way to generate business without depending on your friends and family.  That's how you build a sustainable practice, and it also lets you keep a few cards up your sleeve if times get tough, as they inevitably will.  FYI, most people that don’t fail out in the first year fail in the second year because they have used up all their connections and have no idea how to get in front of new prospects.

Third, the grass is always greener.  Everyone always talks about how EJ, UBS, ML, MSSB, Ameraprise, NEF, etc. have all these great training programs, how the office is so nice, how you have assistants to do your paperwork, blah blah blah.  Nothing in this world is free, you sacrifice for everything you are given.  At W&R for example, you will constantly find yourself explaining who the hell W&R is.  This is because the company does no national marketing.  Within the industry however, W&R is well known to be a top of the line firm with great investments.  You will quickly realize W&R is a stingy company, meaning they will not give you handouts out of the goodness of their hearts.  You will have to buy your own computer, pay technology fees, do your own paperwork, buy your own leads, etc.  What do you get for this sacrifice?  The best pay out in the business!  I ask anyone to find me a firm that pays a higher percentage to their new advisors than W&R does.  At ML your office admin, computer, chair, desk on the 40th floor, name on your business card and commercials on TV all come out of your paycheck - at W&R that goes into your pocket.  Every company has its benefits and drawbacks.  I can tell you that if I had started at ML or MSSB, there is NO WAY I could have made it through my first year with their minimums and annual quotas.  How many people with $250K in investable assets to you know?  The learning curve is steep and it takes a while to learn the business if you want to do it right and ensure your survival for the first 3 years.  

And finally, to address the rest of the questions that I don't feel are worthy of a full paragraph:  MBAs carry no weight in this business - you're wasting your time and money.  Get a CFP.  Don't worry about the licensing fees, if you hit your numbers you will get them reimbursed.  Stop thinking that everyone is out to screw you because they are evil predators – it’s just business.  There is no salary in financial planning!  Some firms claim they offer a salary, but it is always contingent upon hitting your numbers and the larger the salary the smaller the commission split.  You aren't going into financial planning to get a fat salary and sit on your ass.  You are going into this because you want to be directly compensated for your effort and hard work.  This is a commission game; no firm out there is going to pay you a salary without demanding something in return.  W&R is a good place to build a practice.  You have to demand the training from your MPs and DMs; but when it comes down to it, there is no better way to learn how to swim than to be thrown into the pool.  Don't expect any hand holding in financial planning, because you won't get it.  So why do it?  Because you get paid, you work for yourself, you are not expendable and you can help people on a daily basis.  With that said, you will probably fail and come back to write a whiney post on this page explaining how you got duped and scammed.  I will tell you this business is what you make of it.  

AdvisorOpie, wow, that was awesome. That should be required reading of anyone looking to enter the biz.

You put some time and effort into that. How about one step further, and create a "So, you want to be a Registered Rep?" post.

Stick around, don't make this your first/last post.

That was a great post advisoropinion! A FAQ with some of that info would be very useful indeed

Please call me at 714-529-9770 x7251 - Vance

How does Waddell and Reed compensate you if most of your clients invest in individual stocks? I know they want you to hit a $1 million IVC within the first year, but individual stocks don't get included in that. What do they count for? What kind of commission do you get if you bring in, say, $1 million in individual stocks?

I recently had to go to Arbitration with SagePoint Financial Inc., Phoenix, AZ.  SagePoint is forcing me to pay

back a Promissory Note that I had signed depite the fact that the "REAL" company was AIG Financial Advisors! They hired me 3 weeks before the parent company went insolvent!! They strung me along the rest of 2008, and 8 months of 2009, with the other advisors, indicating  we were going to be sold. Then they changed their name. CAN ANYBODY IMAGINE THE AUDACITY OF A COMPANY THAT HIRES "NEW" FINANCIAL ADVISORS-3 WEEKS BEFORE ANYONE KNEW OF THEIR INSOLVENCY,( WHICH WAS MADE PUBLIC SEPTEMBER 16,2008)!!!!!! THEY NEVER STOPPED HIRING EVEN AFTER THE NEWS BROKE!! THE INVESTING PUBLIC PERCEPTION IS IMPORTANT-IS IT NOT? CLIENTS DO CARE ABOUT OUR B/D's........

Can anyone imagine transitionimg clients into AIG FINANCIAL ADVISORS- RIGHT WHEN THE NEWS HIT THAT THE PARENT COMPANY WAS INSOLVENT???

WHAT AN OUTRAGE!! IT WAS LIKE THERE WAS NO CEO OF AIG. Did Lehman, Bear Stearns hire people,(3- weeks), before they went insolvent? CORPORATE MALFEASANCE at very least.....DON'T BE FOOLED-SAGEPOINT FINANCIAL IS AIG FINANCIAL ADVISORS. FSC AND ROYAL ALLIANCE ARE BOTH PART OF AIG. YOU WON'T FIND IT ON THEIR RESPECTIVE WEBSITES NOR BUSINESS CARDS OR LETTERHEAD THAT THEY ARE A WHOLLY-OWNED SUBSIDIARY.

WHAT HAPPENED TO TRANSPARENCY AND FULL DISCLOSURE?? I HAVE A CLEAN U4. B/D's LIKE THIS SHOULD HAVE STOPPED HIRING. OUR GOVERNMENT HAD TO KEEP AIG CORP IN BUSINESS CONSIDERING THE IMPACT OF OPERATING IN 130 COUNTRIES. BE A GOOD NEIGHBOR THINKING-I SUPPOSE.

*****This blog is my opinion only. SOME may love AIG Corporation and their subsidiaries. The purpose of this blog, is to vent the truth- that seems decepetive.It hurt me only. I am not an attorney nor do I seek to harm SagePoint or FSC, Royal Alliance. I am only posting - my personal life experience with others in the same industry. Nothing more. I am not in anyway, matter or form suggesting that this "blog" is considered research for pre-hire at any of the aforementioned companies, Parent and subsidiaries. This blog is for fun & enjoyment only. Lastly, there are some fine financial advisors that work for these B/D's. They do not have any decision-making authorithy of course.