Congratulations Wachovia!

Jun 29, 2009 8:14 pm
Good Job!
Jun 29, 2009 8:21 pm

OUCH!!

Jun 29, 2009 8:33 pm

That sucks man. Doesn’t matter what team you play for, it’s never cool to see another broker who has worked hard to gain those assets not get paid for it. Sorry to hear about it.

Jun 29, 2009 8:55 pm

Jones is hiring.  We pay 12b-1 fees on funds held in MMKT funds if they are held at the fund company.  Our kool-aid tastes different than the stuff Wachovia is trying to get you to swallow. 

Jun 29, 2009 9:20 pm

Sorry, should have put this -

Jun 29, 2009 9:40 pm
Spaceman Spiff:

Jones is hiring. We pay 12b-1 fees on funds held in MMKT funds if they are held at the fund company. Our kool-aid tastes different than the stuff Wachovia is trying to get you to swallow.



Yeah but you can only use 6 fund families and it's debatable if any of them could create a portfolio together.. Kool-aid may taste different but it's still kool-aid..
Jun 30, 2009 1:27 am

Here, here!!!!  It is absolutely unconscionable what is going, a complete bastardization of AGE.

Jun 30, 2009 1:28 am
Jun 30, 2009 4:53 am

[quote=Sam Houston] I just wanted to say congratulations to Wachovia for the 70+% raise they have given themselves by not paying it’s brokers the 12-b-1 fees from money market mutual funds. Thank you for putting the client first and not forcing the brokers to choose between their own income and doing what is right for the client. I have many clients who went into cash in varying degrees that are far better off today than they otherwise would have been. Wachovia has continued to collect 12-b-1 fees on A share and C share money funds. Only me, the broker has been hurt.



My only question is: why does a brokerage firm care which fund the 12-b-1 fee is from? Is the 25bps trail spent differently if it comes from the Cash Management fund than the 12-b-1 fee from Cap World G&I? I see from the monster list of accounts being hit with account fees that you are not applying my 40+% from those 12-b-1 fees for the benefit on MY clients, instead you are using them to boost your bottom line. Thank you for forcing me to choose between my family and my clients when I help my clients make investment decisions. Guess I will have to get a copy of “If you missed the 10 best days” and start showing that to clients. The firm obviously feels that clients must be fully invested at all tiimes and forms it’s policies accordingly. Of course, I doubt that Wachovia sends these 12-b-1 fees back, they just withhold my share from me.



I still remember Danny talking about how complicated the AGE compensation package was and how much more transparent the Wachovia package is. What he forgot to mention is that the AGE comp plan was reasonably fair, whereas the Wach plan is a money grab from brokers. Guess the thousands upon thousands of new account fees wasn’t enough to pay for the 11 layers of managment between me and Danny. [/quote]



American Funds (to your example) has suspended teh 12b1 on its money market…this is not a WFA tactic.
Jun 30, 2009 2:30 pm

Wheat-ie

  do you work for Danny?
Jun 30, 2009 2:36 pm

Lots of firms do that. 

Jun 30, 2009 3:10 pm
chief123:

[quote=Spaceman Spiff] Jones is hiring.  We pay 12b-1 fees on funds held in MMKT funds if they are held at the fund company.  Our kool-aid tastes different than the stuff Wachovia is trying to get you to swallow.  [/quote]

Yeah but you can only use 6 fund families and it’s debatable if any of them could create a portfolio together… Kool-aid may taste different but it’s still kool-aid…

  Not to get picky with you, but there are actually over 75 buy eligible fund families that I can use.  Throw in Advisory Solutions and that number climbs even higher.    There are 7 preferred fund families, FYI.    Jones is still hiring.
Jun 30, 2009 3:23 pm

[quote=A b]Wheat-ie

  do you work for Danny?[/quote] yeah
Jun 30, 2009 3:55 pm
chief123:

[quote=Spaceman Spiff] Jones is hiring.  We pay 12b-1 fees on funds held in MMKT funds if they are held at the fund company.  Our kool-aid tastes different than the stuff Wachovia is trying to get you to swallow.  [/quote]

Yeah but you can only use 6 fund families and it’s debatable if any of them could create a portfolio together… Kool-aid may taste different but it’s still kool-aid…

  I use about 8 (probably 5 on a regular basis), and most of those are not preferred fund families.  I only use two of the preferred fund families....ever.  And our advisory accounts utilize about 35 fund families.  You need to get your facts straight. 
Jun 30, 2009 4:22 pm

WAIT!?!?  I can sell more than just American funds?

Jun 30, 2009 4:40 pm
voltmoie:

WAIT!?!?  I can sell more than just American funds?

 
Jun 30, 2009 5:21 pm

What is the yield on that MM paying a .25bps trail?  0.12%?

Jun 30, 2009 8:28 pm

I agree.

Jun 30, 2009 11:56 pm

Sam, don’t forget that one of your available choices is to leave WB/WFA.  In some cases, the grass really is greener.

Jul 1, 2009 12:12 am

[quote=eggward]Sam, don’t forget that one of your available choices is to leave WB/WFA.  In some cases, the grass really is greener.[/quote]

Hell yeah it is forest green!

Jul 1, 2009 2:34 am

[quote=Sam Houston]I just wanted to say congratulations to Wachovia for the 70+% raise they have given themselves by not paying it’s brokers the 12-b-1 fees from money market mutual funds.  Thank you for putting the client first and  not forcing the brokers to choose between their own income and doing what is right for the client.  I have many clients who went into cash in varying degrees that are far better off today than they otherwise would have been.  Wachovia has continued to collect 12-b-1 fees on A share and C share money funds.  Only me, the broker has been hurt.

  My only question is: why does a brokerage firm care which fund the 12-b-1 fee is from?  Is the 25bps trail spent differently if it comes from the Cash Management fund than the 12-b-1 fee from Cap World G&I?  I see from the monster list of accounts being hit with account fees that you are not applying my 40+% from those 12-b-1 fees for the benefit on MY clients, instead you are using them to boost your bottom line.  Thank you for forcing me to choose between my family and my clients when I help my clients make investment decisions.  Guess I will have to get a copy of "If you missed the 10 best days" and start showing that to clients.  The firm obviously feels that clients must be fully invested at all tiimes and forms it's policies accordingly.  Of course, I doubt that Wachovia sends these 12-b-1 fees back, they just withhold my share from me.   I still remember Danny talking about how complicated the AGE compensation package was and how much more transparent the Wachovia package is.  What he forgot to mention is that the AGE comp plan was reasonably fair, whereas the Wach plan is a money grab from brokers.  Guess the thousands upon thousands of new account fees wasn't enough to pay for the 11 layers of managment between me and Danny.  [/quote]   You know what...it's time to move the Fck on.   AGE was great, but now it's gone...and it ain't coming back.   If you don't like WFC, then leave. 
Jul 1, 2009 2:37 am

.

Jul 1, 2009 3:29 am

If indeed you are truly providing your clients with advice that sometimes requires them to move to cash, you would be well advised to pursue a fee-based professional advisory type of account for all of your households which subscribe to your portfolio management. This way, you will be able to get paid when your are moving to cash and clients will gladly pay you a small fee to keep them from losing huge amounts of money when the markets go down.



Don’t focus on Danny. Just make your clients and yourself a bunch of money and retire early. Nobody at this or any other firm cares about you, only your production.

Jul 1, 2009 4:02 am

can anyone tell me why i keep getting this when i want to reply or post a new thread?

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Jul 1, 2009 10:09 pm
blarmy
Jul 2, 2009 8:43 am

Sam check out Asset Advisor.. I believe it charges a fee on cash balances.

Jul 2, 2009 12:37 pm
Asset Advisor does charge the annualized fee on the entire account including cash.
Jul 2, 2009 8:35 pm

Unfortunately, I do mostly a shares.

Jul 2, 2009 9:18 pm

[quote=Buckeye]

Sam check out Asset Advisor.. I believe it charges a fee on cash balances.

[/quote]   The FA has the choice to charge a fee for cash or not.
Jul 15, 2009 4:52 am

[quote=A b] Wheat-ie



do you work for Danny?[/quote]





I do indeed. He is a good man caught up in a bad storm last year. If any of you whiney AGE folks could do better, why is he your boss, too??





Jul 15, 2009 6:29 am

[quote=Wheat-ie] [quote=A b] Wheat-ie

 
do you work for Danny?[/quote]


I do indeed. He is a good man caught up in a bad storm last year. If any of you whiney AGE folks could do better, why is he your boss, too??


[/quote] Okay sweet wheat , you probably are trying to goat one of the AGE guys and you got me , so you win. 1-None of us whiney AGE guys wanted this merger. We where better at AGE. Everyone was better at AGE. Clients , security gaurds, landscapers, VP's , CFA's and brokers. Even you would have been better. 2-Danny is not our boss. I can't even express how dumb it sounds for someone to ask why is Danny my Boss. Are you kidding me ? A Boss ? Ask any Advisor in America who his/Her Boss is and the answer will never be a over educated  corporate widget. 3- Why are we still here ? Because it is disruptive to our clients and families to move and some of us have no good place to go because most places suck just like this one. 4- Why don't we just leave. Because we feel like we owe it to our clients to stick it out and try to make it better somehow. Actually , it would be better if you left. 5- Danny does not suck because of the market.
Jul 16, 2009 3:21 am

Nice…

I am turning all of this negative stuff into positive. Converting my entire book (of good clients who appreciate me)into advisory and getting the level 1 award for now. Can’t change the past and pointing fingers only wastes time and energy.



Listen to Dunwoody sometime… what is, is…nobody cares about you.

Jul 16, 2009 4:15 am

Wheatie…The pay cut AGE guys took is staggering.

1) Sales bonus goooone

2) mgrs pay cut in half

3) 401k pop gooooone

4) managed accounts haircut-coming Jan 2010

5) pay on mony mkt trails-gooooone

6) support staff cuts

7) trips-goooone

8) payout —less

9) ticket charges mooooore

10)minimum tickets- hiiiiigher

11)loss of branch independence

12) Top down management-they think they know best…thats the hilarious part…they are under delusion because ofthe growth of the b/dealer…when all they did was hijack ceo’s with golden parachutes who were willing to sell their companies for the mammom

13) Age to Wachovia stock…kablooey…goooooone

and the list goes adnauseum



Why are they still here…well the original 6900 AGE fa’s is down under 4700 and I hear a half dozen plus branches are out the door Aug 15th or sooner. midlevel mgt bureacrats eating out our sustenance justifying there position…

Jul 16, 2009 4:55 am

 Wheatie......I like the honest stuff from Tdude and  AGE wach wells . Look at how independant they are.  Does it frost you or make you wilt ?

Jul 16, 2009 9:52 am

3- Why are we still here ? Because it is disruptive to our clients and families to move and some of us have no good place to go because most places suck just like this one.

4- Why don’t we just leave. Because we feel like we owe it to our clients to stick it out and try to make it better somehow. Actually , it would be better if you left.



Redpen,



You owe it to yourself and your clients to leave and go Indy. Sticking around, waiting for things to get better is not likely a good idea.





Jul 16, 2009 11:12 pm

AGE brokers are not whiney, they are mad about being told things like “similar culture” and “transparent comp plan”.  We were lied too.  Repeatedly.  Here is how ridiculous Wach is, they send Bob and Jim on a road show and keep announcing “quick wins”.  Yeahhhhhh, we can now stop withdarwing monthly from a clients checking to brokerage account without a signature.  Oh my god!  We can do that verbally now!  That is a quick win!  Or f***ing common sense.

Jul 17, 2009 1:30 am

Amen.

Need I bring up the boiling frog analogy yet again?!!

Jul 17, 2009 4:16 am

Just had a compensation problem again and was able to get a supervisor on the phone. I spent and Hour with her. They did not pay me on 5500 dollars of gross. They will cut me a check tomorrrow

Just so you know the min. commision is 95 but the min comm. to the client is 55. You do not get paid under 95. I had 800 bucks under 95. If I had reduced the comm. to 55 I still would not be paid but clients would have paid about 300 bucks less instead of the firm putting that money in their pocket. Watch your trades and lower the commision as low as you can under 95 and do not give it to danny and help your client.   You all know you do not get paid on the money market trails. Guess what, you do not get paid on trails of money market funds from outside funds like american putnam goldman etc either. And.....it doesn't even go toward your Hurdle. And did you know your hurdle really isn't 10,000 it is a percentage of the total business mix you have that goes to the hurdle not just a flat 10,000 first.   So reduce your small tickets to the lowest the order entry screen will go to. Save your client money that the firm just puts in their pocket. Roll 30 and 90 day CD's so they don't steal fees from the money market from your client
Jul 17, 2009 10:59 am

Sounds like a great way to do business.

Jul 17, 2009 8:17 pm

Wow! Yeah great place to work, employees need to screw employers and employer needs to screw employees.

And the clients get scewed by both.   Glad I am not there.   Good luck to all that are.    
Jul 17, 2009 11:57 pm

[quote=Redpen]Just had a compensation problem again and was able to get a supervisor on the phone. I spent and Hour with her. They did not pay me on 5500 dollars of gross. They will cut me a check tomorrrow

Just so you know the min. commision is 95 but the min comm. to the client is 55. You do not get paid under 95. I had 800 bucks under 95. If I had reduced the comm. to 55 I still would not be paid but clients would have paid about 300 bucks less instead of the firm putting that money in their pocket. Watch your trades and lower the commision as low as you can under 95 and do not give it to danny and help your client.   You all know you do not get paid on the money market trails. Guess what, you do not get paid on trails of money market funds from outside funds like american putnam goldman etc either. And.....it doesn't even go toward your Hurdle. And did you know your hurdle really isn't 10,000 it is a percentage of the total business mix you have that goes to the hurdle not just a flat 10,000 first.   So reduce your small tickets to the lowest the order entry screen will go to. Save your client money that the firm just puts in their pocket. Roll 30 and 90 day CD's so they don't steal fees from the money market from your client[/quote] They thought of this.  If you lower the commission, you get hit with a ticket charge.
Jul 18, 2009 12:33 am

[quote=tdude]Wheatie…The pay cut AGE guys took is staggering.

4) managed accounts haircut-coming Jan 2010

 
12) Top down management-they think they know best..thats the hilarious part...they are under delusion because ofthe growth of the b/dealer...when all they did was hijack ceo's with golden parachutes who were willing to sell their companies for the mammom

Why are they still here...well the original 6900 AGE fa's is down under 4700 and I hear a half dozen plus branches are out the door Aug 15th or sooner. midlevel mgt bureacrats eating out our sustenance justifying there position.... [/quote]     Fellas-- Can someone please explain to me, in detail or with an example, of how we are taking a cut on managed accts...?  I keep hearing this, but it looks like the fees stay the same.. What exactly are you talking about? Is this on infomax somewhere? I cannot find anything that talks about reducing the payout on fee based business..   Not that I would be surprised, and I'm not even doubting it--I just dont understand what is going to happen.   thanks
Jul 18, 2009 10:19 am

To Sam and all you other EX AGE FA’s.  Do you really not remember that AGE was a PUBLIC company?  In your la la land dream world, clients always come first.  WRONG!  Shareholders come first.  That’s why AGE is gone…not because big bad Wachovia swooped in and stole the company.  Not because AGE management took a golden parachute.  At some point, when the price gets high enough, shareholders yell, SOLD!!!  If it wasn’t Wachovia, it would have been UBS.  Then all of your beloved home office people, who provided you with the best service on the planet would be working somewhere else, because the HQ would be in NY.  Time to move on boys and girls.

Jul 18, 2009 12:42 pm
RicRelo:

To Sam and all you other EX AGE FA’s.  Do you really not remember that AGE was a PUBLIC company?  In your la la land dream world, clients always come first.  WRONG!  Shareholders come first.  That’s why AGE is gone…not because big bad Wachovia swooped in and stole the company.  Not because AGE management took a golden parachute.  At some point, when the price gets high enough, shareholders yell, SOLD!!!  If it wasn’t Wachovia, it would have been UBS.  Then all of your beloved home office people, who provided you with the best service on the planet would be working somewhere else, because the HQ would be in NY.  Time to move on boys and girls.

  Wow the obvious, holy smoke, you've just informed us of something we are keenly aware of on a daily basis. This post is just like blathering on a cell phone just because there are no fees for whatever reason. CRAP! I can't believe I took the time to answer it. Human nature is truly f-ed up.
Jul 18, 2009 1:01 pm

Absolutely agree. It is time to move on.

Jul 20, 2009 4:11 am

[quote=stocksandblondes][quote=tdude]Wheatie…The pay cut AGE guys took is staggering.

4) managed accounts haircut-coming Jan 2010

 
12) Top down management-they think they know best..thats the hilarious part...they are under delusion because ofthe growth of the b/dealer...when all they did was hijack ceo's with golden parachutes who were willing to sell their companies for the mammom

Why are they still here...well the original 6900 AGE fa's is down under 4700 and I hear a half dozen plus branches are out the door Aug 15th or sooner. midlevel mgt bureacrats eating out our sustenance justifying there position.... [/quote]     Fellas-- Can someone please explain to me, in detail or with an example, of how we are taking a cut on managed accts...?  I keep hearing this, but it looks like the fees stay the same.. What exactly are you talking about? Is this on infomax somewhere? I cannot find anything that talks about reducing the payout on fee based business..   Not that I would be surprised, and I'm not even doubting it--I just dont understand what is going to happen.   thanks[/quote]    I think what he is talking about is the DSIP and  old Mark Keller and Trust company business. In the past that was 100% to the grid not minus a .50 take for the money manager and Trust company business had a 20 % or 25 % payout to the broker.
Jul 21, 2009 11:52 pm
tdude:

Wheatie…The pay cut AGE guys took is staggering.
1) Sales bonus goooone
2) mgrs pay cut in half
3) 401k pop gooooone
4) managed accounts haircut-coming Jan 2010
5) pay on mony mkt trails-gooooone
6) support staff cuts
7) trips-goooone
8) payout —less
9) ticket charges mooooore
10)minimum tickets- hiiiiigher
11)loss of branch independence
12) Top down management-they think they know best…thats the hilarious part…they are under delusion because ofthe growth of the b/dealer…when all they did was hijack ceo’s with golden parachutes who were willing to sell their companies for the mammom
13) Age to Wachovia stock…kablooey…goooooone
and the list goes adnauseum

Why are they still here…well the original 6900 AGE fa’s is down under 4700 and I hear a half dozen plus branches are out the door Aug 15th or sooner. midlevel mgt bureacrats eating out our sustenance justifying there position…

    The supposedly simple and transparent hurdle is just awful.  When an employee has to try and figure out what they are getting paid or if they are getting paid correctly or worse has given up trying -- in addition to making less... its a recipe for poor morale and distrust.   All gross should be tallied at the end of the month, and then the hurdle applied.  Forget all the exceptions, categories, different payouts, and  adjustments.    Get the grand total of all business and then pay the folks... simple.   Better yet -- dump the freakin' hurdle and stop nickle and diming the FA's and clients.
Jul 22, 2009 1:04 am
"Better yet -- dump the freakin' hurdle and stop nickle and diming the FA's and clients."   There's an idea, seems simple.
Jul 22, 2009 11:53 am

It is called Stifel.  It is not a straight number every month, but no haircuts for different types of business.  First $8,000=25%  Everything after that =50%.  Everything counts…even the fifty cent trail from some fund, a client wanted to buy because they read about it in the paper.

Jul 22, 2009 7:49 pm

What is a program fee???

The payout is really that simple, 25% on first 8k and 50% thereater, minimum ticket to get paid is $40.00. We also keep all trails no matter how small, and get paid on things like money markets etc.   There is discount sharing on discounted stock trades, but it is so small it really does not make a difference. it is not a set amount like 10-15 at wachovia/wells. It also is nice to still get FULL payout on trades under 100 bucks too!
Jul 22, 2009 9:33 pm

Is that a cell phone bill or a pay check break down?

Jul 22, 2009 10:57 pm

Oh yeah and we get full comp on things like annuities and Life…wow that was eye opening to see what the commish actually is after working at Wachovia!!! Amazing the amount that firm kept before it hit the grid!

Jul 23, 2009 3:08 am

Can you give any examples of the Commission on different annuity products?  I have heard that they pay more at SF than at WS, but haven’t seen it in writing.