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I am a Financial Advisor and I have been at Wells Fargo Advisors for 1 1/2 years and i want to leave to go independent

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Oct 8, 2011 3:46 am

I have been with Wells Fargo Advisors for over a year and a half. I have over $100k in gross production and would like to go independent.

I am concerned about the "New Financial Advisor Trainee Agreement/Contract."

Will i be sued if leave for the $55k? What if i want to take my clients with me? I hate how they are starting to shove banking products down our throats. If i wanted to sell banking products i would be in a bank. I am a financial advisor and not a banker. I feel like a slave and i am very upset with how the industry of financial advisors is changing at Wells Fargo Advisors. All they want you to do is focus on bringing accounts over $250k, and they are on you if you have not brought in $10 million in new money your first year. What are they thinking?!!!

I just read this contract and i forgot how they have so many things in there on how they can sue you if you leave, the no contact cluase, etc.

I want to leave and go independent and just work for myself and not have someone behind my back at all times wanting to know what i am doing all day every day, 7 days a week.

Is anyone in thos forum used to be with Wells Fargo Advisors and left during your first few years as a Financial Advisor with Wells Fargo Advisors?

Did any one call you? threatened you? Sued you?

If you left with no issues, what did you do? what is a good independent brokerage firm where you are and feel completely independent?

Your help is greatly appreciated.

Oct 22, 2011 5:15 am

FA's at WF do not sell bank products. Licensed Bankers open checking accounts and bank products. 

Oct 23, 2011 5:02 am

Guys,

I am a financial advisor at wells fargo advisors who used to be AG Edwards. I am not a banker. I have been in the banking industry and know difference very well. I dont even work in a bank, i work at a wells fargo advisors branch as a financial advisor.

Wells Fargo advisors, is slowly putting us to sell banking products such as credit cards, business loans, the checking account that is being forced on us to offer our clients is the Command Account, known in wells fargo bank as a cap account.

They are nt just looking for advisors to do investments, but also pressuring us to find out what other needs clients may have such as mortgage, credit cards, business loans. These are things that we can now do and refer to the affiliates such as wells fargo bank, etc.

We now offer 3 types of wels fargo advisors credit cards, financial advisors can now take mortgage license and offer mortgages and get paid from it, we can offer a command checkings account which if assets are under $250k we charge clients $125 annual fee.

The same thing is happening with Merryl Lynch.

Nov 13, 2011 3:22 pm

Go the RIA route. Get your series 65 license and drop your series 7 and or 6 licenses. Call me at the office (240) 473.1314 to discuss.

Nov 13, 2011 5:19 pm

merrill guys are not being pushed to do it.  Its offered, but its not required at all.  No compensation is dependent on you doing it there, so I don't think you can say its being "pushed".  However, I don't see the issue with offering the mortgages.  If you have a client and ask "hey, btw, how many points are you paying on your mortgage", I don't see how that hurts you.  And don't say it makes the book "sticky" because last time I checked I did not feel obligated to bank or do my business with my mortgage carrier.  In all honesty, mortgage rates are INSANELY LOW right now and any good financial professional should be inquiring about what their clients are paying because it is key to their financial well being.  you have about 2 years left to make money on refis, then you won't hear another word about mortgages for another 15.  Once rates rise all that nonsense is over anyway, so I would not be too concerned with it (unless you want to make some quick money and help your clients out, of course).  

I don't have as much of a sense for the credit card and bank account stuff because we are in an area with no brick-and-mortar BoA, so its not really feasible in most situations.  

Financial advising is evolving, and if anyone thinks that full service is not going to be expected of FAs within 10 years, you are kidding yourself.  

Also, I can promise you that if you are bringing in production purely on portfolio management or securities commission, they are not going to require you to do a single thing for the bank.

Nov 13, 2011 5:19 pm

merrill guys are not being pushed to do it.  Its offered, but its not required at all.  No compensation is dependent on you doing it there, so I don't think you can say its being "pushed".  However, I don't see the issue with offering the mortgages.  If you have a client and ask "hey, btw, how many points are you paying on your mortgage", I don't see how that hurts you.  And don't say it makes the book "sticky" because last time I checked I did not feel obligated to bank or do my business with my mortgage carrier.  In all honesty, mortgage rates are INSANELY LOW right now and any good financial professional should be inquiring about what their clients are paying because it is key to their financial well being.  you have about 2 years left to make money on refis, then you won't hear another word about mortgages for another 15.  Once rates rise all that nonsense is over anyway, so I would not be too concerned with it (unless you want to make some quick money and help your clients out, of course).  

I don't have as much of a sense for the credit card and bank account stuff because we are in an area with no brick-and-mortar BoA, so its not really feasible in most situations.  

Financial advising is evolving, and if anyone thinks that full service is not going to be expected of FAs within 10 years, you are kidding yourself.  

Also, I can promise you that if you are bringing in production purely on portfolio management or securities commission, they are not going to require you to do a single thing for the bank.

Nov 13, 2011 5:22 pm

regarding the pay back, my understanding is that lots of people/companies go by the unwritten rule as follows:

If you quit and stay in the industry, they come after it.  If you quit/get fired and get out of the industry, they leave you alone.  

I have seen that play out a few times (both ways) but cannot confirm that is how everyone does it.  This is the reason people usually get a signing bonus on their trailing 12 coming in - it helps pay off the penalties to the previous company.  

Nov 20, 2011 3:39 am

they WILL come after you. i know of a few people that have left recently and they WFA is going after them.