I'm not a fan of the company name...gives me images of an investment Wal-Mart.  The approach from what I've seen is pretty simplistic - mutual funds in a fee-based wrap program.  That being said, my experience is based on one takeover client from a Mutual Fund Store office.  The account wasn't bad, but I wasn't inspired either.  My guess is, you can have some success there, but I don't see whales seeking a private wealth manager at the Mutual Fund Store...it just doesn't sound like it belongs.

Good luck with your search/move and welcome aboard...

Thanks, and you are right that it wouldn't be the land of whales but it isn't looking bad.  It is trying to make mutual fund investing more like a retail store, they just hired an Exec from H&R block to handle some retail growth in combination of their locations and exposure.  Adam bold makes a list of approved funds is the way it works I hear.  It is very different from somebody on their own.  Avg client is 220K they say, this is information all in online articles.  The reason it looked interesting is they are posed for major growth and expanding.

Thanks again. 

[quote=SimplySimple]

Thanks, and you are right that it wouldn’t be the land of whales but it isn’t looking bad.  It is trying to make mutual fund investing more like a retail store, they just hired an Exec from H&R block to handle some retail growth in combination of their locations and exposure.  Adam bold makes a list of approved funds is the way it works I hear.  It is very different from somebody on their own.  Avg client is 220K they say, this is information all in online articles.  The reason it looked interesting is they are posed for major growth and expanding.

Thanks again. 

50k mimimum to call in and get an appointment on their website, I don't have a book as I am moving to a new area and to start off that's not a headache number.  I won't be working any 10-20k accounts.  Again not that awful.  I know I am defending the compny it seems but I have seen a couple things that make the company deviate from the standard but I don't think they are bad it's just the way a new ideea is run.  I'm seeing if people had bad experiences but so far it just looks lke a company with a uniqueness albeit different approach.  THank you for your help. 

Any other comments are welcome but I haven't been able to find any problems with it.

I understood that they run their operation as a franchise type opportunity, if I had no book I certainly wouldn’t be excited about a franchised mutual fund opportunity. I would find an independent B/D and start with them if I was in your position.

they stopped franchising trying to build company stores now.  Good Base + ok (smaller Bonus then just starting off cold calling).  It seems an ok deal.  It is very different from the rest of the field it seems.

If the company you are talking about is the one  with the national radio show,adam bold?, here is my opinion. The guy basically says that “all brokers are bad and no load funds are the only way to go”. “You should never pay a load on a fund”. he also says" we do not take money from fund companies but only charge a fee on your account". All they seem to sell is a mutual fund wrap program. This would be very hard to do if your advertising is saying to not to pay a load? The guy that is here where i am, virginia beach, has been in the business a year. if you are looking that route. call one of the brokers and talk to them before you decide.

[quote=aldo63]If the company you are talking about is the one  with the national radio show,adam bold?, here is my opinion. The guy basically says that "all brokers are bad and no load funds are the only way to go". "You should never pay a load on a fund". he also says" we do not take money from fund companies but only charge a fee on your account". All they seem to sell is a mutual fund wrap program. This would be very hard to do if your advertising is saying to not to pay a load? The guy that is here where i am, virginia beach, has been in the business a year. if you are looking that route. call one of the brokers and talk to them before you decide.[/quote]

Thank you for the good advice.  I will call a guy at a store maybe the guy at virginia beach because he is not far off from where I was.

On a side note Everyone here is very helpful and I am glad I started using these forums.

To me it seems like a sales job. Not a career, not a profession, but a job.

It doesn't seem as though you are ever building equity in your trade, you might just as well be selling shoes in a Sears Roebuck. Sure you might get to be a store manager, and then maybe a district manager and someday a regional hump before they go through a downsizing and you're back going foot to foot trying to shoe horn another Gomer into an Armyboot.

Meanwhile, it's your license that's on the line, and when Luckless Looie, who laid down his life's savings right before the market shat the bed looks for a whipping boy. You are it! Say bye bye to everything you thought you built up.

Don't forget, you are trying to make a career based on people who are looking for the low bidder on their money! How are you going to convert them into YOUR clients when you leave? Only by offering to do it for even less!

Just playing Devil's advocate here, but I have to say, this looks like a sucker's bet. If I were you, and I was serious about Investment management as a career, I'd let Mutual Fund Store pass.

[quote=Whomitmayconcer]

To me it seems like a sales job. Not a career, not a profession, but a job.

It doesn't seem as though you are ever building equity in your trade, you might just as well be selling shoes in a Sears Roebuck. Sure you might get to be a store manager, and then maybe a district manager and someday a regional hump before they go through a downsizing and you're back going foot to foot trying to shoe horn another Gomer into an Armyboot.

Meanwhile, it's your license that's on the line, and when Luckless Looie, who laid down his life's savings right before the market shat the bed looks for a whipping boy. You are it! Say bye bye to everything you thought you built up.

Don't forget, you are trying to make a career based on people who are looking for the low bidder on their money! How are you going to convert them into YOUR clients when you leave? Only by offering to do it for even less!

Just playing Devil's advocate here, but I have to say, this looks like a sucker's bet. If I were you, and I was serious about Investment management as a career, I'd let Mutual Fund Store pass.

[/quote]

While I think your opinion is a little overly harsh I get the point.  If I were to leave beating their fees would not be the problem, of course I don't take a position looking into things like that.  I just have no interest in starting with a non-existent or small base and making cold calls all day long.  I can and could do well enough but not what I am looking for.

I have though gotten a full picture it seems of what people think here and I think you have great points.  Thank you for the advice it is much appreciated.

"While I think your opinion is a little overly harsh I get the point."

Maybe it is harsh, but I think you have the rose colored glasses a little tight to the face too.

There are lots of things that you can get a job selling. Automobiles, for example. You sit there and wait for some fly to land in your web and then you fang him with a easy payment plan. It's not much different from the MFS paradigm. Except!.... If the car turns out to be a lemon, you don't have to make him whole, plus pay for his pain and suffering plus lose your car salesman license and hence your whole livelyhood.

If you land in a store that is doing land office business, what's going to happen? Are you going to be allowed to become the mutual fund king of the midwest? Heck no! They're going to hire ten guys to come into the store and divide up the business and service more acounts less efficiently. Why? because it is in the companies' vested interest to do so. They plan on turnover (even if you don't want to think about your future, they already know that x% of hires will need to be replaced in 1,3,5,7 and 10 years). It's better for the firm if their employees stay employees and don't start thinking of themselves as partners in the firm. If it's easy to beat their fees, they'd be stupid to let you do so with the bulk of their assets under amanagement.

Do what you want, but understand this this is not a job that someone serious about being an investment professional would take. There's too much risk for too little reward. So go sell cars instead there's about to be a rush to convert to hybrids so there is plenty of opportunity in the autos. A good car salesman will make low/mid 6 figures, better than many brokers (except for the good ones, which you have zero chance of being working for a We-B-Funds outfit).  At least nobody can ruin your life with a single phone call. And when you sell something, it stays sold!

[quote=Whomitmayconcer]

"While I think your opinion is a little overly harsh I get the point."

Maybe it is harsh, but I think you have the rose colored glasses a little tight to the face too.

There are lots of things that you can get a job selling. Automobiles, for example. You sit there and wait for some fly to land in your web and then you fang him with a easy payment plan. It's not much different from the MFS paradigm. Except!.... If the car turns out to be a lemon, you don't have to make him whole, plus pay for his pain and suffering plus lose your car salesman license and hence your whole livelyhood.

If you land in a store that is doing land office business, what's going to happen? Are you going to be allowed to become the mutual fund king of the midwest? Heck no! They're going to hire ten guys to come into the store and divide up the business and service more acounts less efficiently. Why? because it is in the companies' vested interest to do so. They plan on turnover (even if you don't want to think about your future, they already know that x% of hires will need to be replaced in 1,3,5,7 and 10 years). It's better for the firm if their employees stay employees and don't start thinking of themselves as partners in the firm. If it's easy to beat their fees, they'd be stupid to let you do so with the bulk of their assets under amanagement.

Do what you want, but understand this this is not a job that someone serious about being an investment professional would take. There's too much risk for too little reward. So go sell cars instead there's about to be a rush to convert to hybrids so there is plenty of opportunity in the autos. A good car salesman will make low/mid 6 figures, better than many brokers (except for the good ones, which you have zero chance of being working for a We-B-Funds outfit).  At least nobody can ruin your life with a single phone call. And when you sell something, it stays sold!

[/quote]

Look man I get it.  I really do.

A) There is nothing wrong with car salesman.

B) It would be a one man show for the area until enough investments came in then a processor then a junior.

C) The right type of "single" phone call can ruin anyones career.

I defended your statement earlier and I still think you have a valid point.  I put up a post for a different company here asking peoples opinions so I could weigh options.

Some of your comments simply don't apply here.  You are making some general comments that can apply to anything.  I know I said I am looking for work but I am not a person just entering their career and I am educated enough to notice pitfalls in business.  I think you missed the point of this post.  If people knew about this company I said I would appreciate comments.  I wasn't looking for business theory.

Still thank you for your input I'm sorry you took my previous post as a personal jab.