Friday is my last day as an Independent
It’s been a nice experiment…but no thanks. After a couple of years, I’m
going back to being an employee. The old adage still stands…"The house
always wins"
There really is no independence within a B/D structure. 85% payout is a lie.
When you factor in administrative staff, office lease, ticket charges, general
overhead, etc., its not a big deal.
Not to mention the fact that big money is tough to attract in an indy
environment. It may work for some, but not for me.
Where are you going?
I’m sorry you failed.
How big was your book when you went indy? How much did you take with you?
Funny, I have actually brought in larger accounts as an indy then when I was at my former firm. How long have you been indy?
I can see bringing in larger accounts after leaving EDJ. What worries me about indy land though is my ability to bring in the large accounts I have been having luck with in relation to the major wire I am at. Sad to say it but I think the name gives some of my clients comfort.
I am about a year out from leaving though if I leave so plenty time to gather info. I have a feeling Skeedady may have lacked the necessary asset base to make it work. Sorry Skee hope things work out well with the place you move to.
[quote=Malcolm]
I can see bringing in larger accounts after leaving EDJ. What worries me about indy land though is my ability to bring in the large accounts I have been having luck with in relation to the major wire I am at. Sad to say it but I think the name gives some of my clients comfort.
I am about a year out from leaving though if I leave so plenty time to gather info. I have a feeling Skeedady may have lacked the necessary asset base to make it work. Sorry Skee hope things work out well with the place you move to.
[/quote]
I have a feeling he lacked the work ethic needed and the ability to take responsibility for his failure.
Wow...that's a first on these boards that I can remember...an indy going back to captivity! That just proves that it's not for everyone. I'm having no problem attracting assets and in fact, have raised my new account minimum to $250K to slow the growth to a manageable level. I very much enjoy the freedom that I have and have absolutely no intention of going back to employee status, especially now that I have critical mass to make a very good living. I expect to net more this year than I ever did at my last employer.
I guess this should serve as a warning to those contemplating the move to indy. You'd better be confident that you have what it takes to run an office and motivate yourself. Skee, it would be a great service to many here if you would elaborate about what went wrong and prompted what I consider to be a fairly unusual move.
Out of curiosity, Skee, did you do a cost analysis prior to making the jump to make that evaluation?
Remote Control,
A good ass kicking would do you a lot of good.
Sorry to hear that you had a hard time as an Independent. You need to do what is best for you and for your clients. Peace of mind and lowered stress levels are worth more than anything else
Good luck and keep posting.
skee this is an interesting post, can you elaborate on your particular situation? thanks.
Skee,
Sorry man. Let us know what happened.
Since you started the thread....you might as well take a minute and respond to my question as well as the others.
Fellas, relax. Thanks for the concerns many have expressed, I really
appreciate it. Don’t worry, I won’t be selling you a 50" plasma at Best Buy.
Its not the end of the road for me. Its just a business decision. Without
getting into too many details, its a confluence of factors. Chief among
them is branding, business mix, higher costs than anticipated, not hitting
new asset hurdles (self-imposed) and a partner that left me hanging with
the whole enchilada. At a 37% net payout, well the decision is easy.
Interestingly, not much is written about the indies that return to
wirehouses, though I know I’m not alone. I did however find a recent
article in RR:
From Registered Rep, Feb 01, 2006
"Nearly one-third of affluent investors—those with $500,000 or more in
investable assets—were using full-service brokers as their primary
advisors in 2005, a significant jump from 24 percent in 2004,
This has had an adverse effect on the independent broker/dealers. “The
independents are not able to recruit anymore,” Bienfang says. “Firms like
LPL Financial Services and Jefferson Pilot Securities are suffering because
they don’t have the infrastructure or the scale.” Prior to the widespread
acceptance of the fee-based model, “the independents benefited from the
culling of transaction-based brokers,” Bienfang says. Now, the well has
dried up, he says. “Full-service brokers are pulling back market share
from the independents.”
I guess that’s partly the reason the folks at LPL just sold 60% of their
stake.
As far as to where I’m going? Well, maybe I’ll share that, maybe not. I’m
not sure about it.
I’m glad our economic system creates choices. I wish you the best in your new venture.
Can anyone say "let me show you, we have just the BMW in that color"
37% net?????? Who the hell were you with?? and what kind of overhead were you carrying????
Good luck Skee. 3 day weekend coming up suppose you are not alone. I am getting closer and closer.
[quote=RecordGuy]
Remote Control,
A good ass kicking would do you a lot of good.
[/quote]
It never has before. Are YOU up to the task?
[quote=remotecontrol] I'm sorry you failed. [/quote]
i'm sorry you are Jewish.
[quote=lawsucks]
[quote=remotecontrol] I’m sorry you failed. [/quote]
i’m sorry you are Jewish.
[/quote][quote=remotecontrol][quote=RecordGuy]
Remote Control,
A good ass kicking would do you a lot of good.
[/quote]
It never has before.
[/quote]
Well, keep at it. We wouldn’t want you to be a quitter.
[quote=skeedaddy]Fellas, relax. Thanks for the concerns many have expressed, I really appreciate it. [/quote]
Good luck to you, Skee
Skee, I too would like to hear more. Reason- I’m (again!) considering going independent. First considered it a year ago, decided to go with a merger, now will likely be moving on. Not sure whether to go indy, indy employee, or employee again. You would be doing a great service to many if you went into some more detail about the look of your book, etc. Thanks in advance.
[quote=skeedaddy]I’m curious, what exactly is (are) the deciding factors to “fire” a money
manager? and how many times in the past 3 or 5 years have you fired
one?
Is it performance slippage? or personnel changes? is it redundancy in
positions or changes to asset allocation? And why did you select those
managers in the first place?
I guess what I'm driving at is the dreaded word "performance" We and
most all investors are attracted to results. Its the first thing we see when
you look at a firm's profile. Alpha or beta or r-squared is a distant
consideration.
Also what value is a financial plan if your assets aren't performing? I think
the industry has blown smoke up everyone's asses with this financial
planning stuff. Like the question, "what are your goals?" my simple
answer is "make the most with the least amount of risk!"
Can you imagine your doctor/lawyer asking "what's your goal today?" I
mean have you seen some of these questionnaires? I'm embarassed to
pull them out because they're so stupid.
[/quote]
A financial planning approach is not only right for the client, but it can help advisors build a lasting business. Ignoring it can be bad.
Best of luck to ya, buddy.
[quote=skeedaddy]It’s been a nice experiment…but no thanks. After a couple of years, I’m
going back to being an employee. The old adage still stands…"The house
always wins"
There really is no independence within a B/D structure. 85% payout is a lie.
When you factor in administrative staff, office lease, ticket charges, general
overhead, etc., its not a big deal.
Not to mention the fact that big money is tough to attract in an indy
environment. It may work for some, but not for me.
[/quote]
Dude I don’t know where you were working, but I’ve found there is plenty of independence.
I’m sorry it hasn’t worked out for you. Sounds like you had a few factors that created a significant headwind for you. Having a partner walk out can really put you in a bind, especially if that leaves you with a higher cost structure than needed for your business.
I personally have found it easier to bring in assets as an indy. I think, not to give you a hard time, it depends upon how you position yourself and how confident you feel about what you do. I personally am so much happier being indy, and so much more comfortable having avoided many of the conflicts of interest baked into the big wire product pushign shops, that it comes through when I sit with clients. I’m not “an independent broker working with a firm you never heard of”, I’m an “experienced independent professional working in private practice, kind of like your attorney or CPA”. Folks seem to like that.
Anyway-sorry you had a bad experience and I wish you luck!
[quote=joedabrkr] [quote=skeedaddy]It's been a nice experiment...but no thanks. After a couple of years, I'm
going back to being an employee. The old adage still stands..."The house
always wins"
There really is no independence within a B/D structure. 85% payout is a lie.
When you factor in administrative staff, office lease, ticket charges, general
overhead, etc., its not a big deal.
Not to mention the fact that big money is tough to attract in an indy
environment. It may work for some, but not for me.
[/quote]
Dude I don't know where you were working, but I've found there is plenty of independence.
I'm sorry it hasn't worked out for you. Sounds like you had a few factors that created a significant headwind for you. Having a partner walk out can really put you in a bind, especially if that leaves you with a higher cost structure than needed for your business.
I personally have found it easier to bring in assets as an indy. I think, not to give you a hard time, it depends upon how you position yourself and how confident you feel about what you do. I personally am so much happier being indy, and so much more comfortable having avoided many of the conflicts of interest baked into the big wire product pushign shops, that it comes through when I sit with clients. I'm not "an independent broker working with a firm you never heard of",
I'm an "experienced independent professional working in private practice, kind of like your attorney or CPA". Folks seem to like that.
Good line.
Anyway-sorry you had a bad experience and I wish you luck!
[/quote]
[quote=remotecontrol][quote=RecordGuy]
Remote Control,
A good ass kicking would do you a lot of good.
[/quote]
It never has before. Are YOU up to the task?
[/quote]
RecordGuy: How bout I come down 'ner and whup yore @ss?
Remote Control: Well how big an ol boy are ya?
RecordGuy: Big enuff to get some satisfaction, by God.
he he he I couldn't help it. It was starting to sound like a Roy D Mercer tape.
By the way, I didn't mean either any dis-respect. If you know who Roy D Mercer is then you'd think it was funny.
Roy D Mercer is great
Loved the one where Ol' Roy called the marine running the flower shop...
"You a marine and you a growin' pansies?!! I know ah could whup yo @ss!!!"
[quote=ezmoney]Roy D Mercer is great[/quote]
Ditto. He's a riot.
Skee-
How about working from a home office and using the conference room to meet clients? Use a virtual office.
[quote=Indyone]
Loved the one where Ol' Roy called the marine running the flower shop...
"You a marine and you a growin' pansies?!! I know ah could whup yo @ss!!!"
[/quote]
I like the one where he accuses the auto mechanic of leaving a pair of panties in his glove compartment of his car & his lovely wife Sharn Jean found them.
priceless....
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