Honestly? W&R is the laughing stock of the industry - several downticks from EDJ or Ameriprise.

You asked.....

Is it bad enough where I won’t even be able to make a living off of it, and/or really that much lower in quality than EDJ and why?  Thank you for your perspective. 

MIC, are you sure you’re not referring to GunnAllen?  I’ve never really heard anything bad about W&R…

I would stay away from Waddell.  You will have much more early success and training from EDJ.  If you want to jump after a few years, it will be much easier.

[quote=FreedomLvr]MIC, are you sure you're not referring to GunnAllen?  I've never really heard anything bad about W&R...[/quote]

Yes.

Gunn Allen is rather big, but their back end SUX

[quote=My Inner Child]

[quote=FreedomLvr]MIC, are you sure you're not referring to GunnAllen?  I've never really heard anything bad about W&R...[/quote]

Yes.

[/quote] ]

I knew a broker who was hired at Morgan who came from Waddell & Reed.... her stories were quite entertaining and solidified my attitude that they were pretty sad indeed.  Sorry to say but Ameriprise and Ed Jones are well above Waddell and Reed, which isn't saying much....they do have decent mutual funds though.

I knew a branch manager at WR.  This guy is a complete joke and his reps were even worse.   

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For all of you who want to get into the business I am going to give you an awesome piece of advice.  The best part is you don’t have to di*k about the industry to follow this:

When you walk in for your first interview and you see no receptionist that’s a bad sign.  If there is a phone with a list of extensions next to it and you are prompted to call your advisor or the manager… turn around and walk out.

What about if the secretary has trouble communicating on a phone or by email? Run…



WR are they in the ranks with AMerican Express.

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Airforce:

I am only a rookie at a wirehouse so my real knowledge is limited, but I see very similar qualities in the two firms.

If you have the credentials and qualifications you say you do, and I an not questioning that, then you should have no problem landing a position with a wire house. 

If you are close with people who have real money then go to a wirehouse.  If your contacts are limited go with Jones.  When you work with Jones you production levels are much lower in comparison to the major wirehouses.  50k accounts are easier to open as opposed to 250k accounts.    

I am not saying that you can’t succeed at Merrill using cold calling as your primary marketing tool, but its god d**n hard to hit the 15 mil AUM requirement going this rout.  I only know one person who did it that way.

What you, or whoever posed the original question, have to figure out is who is your target market?

Lastly if you are a new grad, I am going to have to agree with my good friend Put Trader- go get some sales experience. 

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Party and enjoy life for two years, chase every girl/boy on the block, sell a lot of product, win a company trip, and then transition into the business.  I have yet to see a branch manager turn down a successful drug rep..    

I am done preaching….     

I agree with DDB and the others, get some sales experience, it helps
tremondously, most importantly with your self-confidence. What size
town are you in? That matters significantly. Like everyone said W &
R is not really a good firm, at all. If you are in a larger town, the
ideal choice in my mind would be Merrill, after that Smith Barney. It
really depends on what area you are in though. Merrill left my town
after several yrs. Smith Barney is pretty big here, but believe it or
not the Jones guys here are the real big dogs. It gets down to
demographics like I said. I’m in the bible belt far from Wall St. and
the firm here doesn’t matter so much. In the bigger cities it is going
to matter, so go with a big one. 

Rook, are you in the Carolinas?

    Rook,

      I am also located in the "bible belt" (Carolinas are not the "bible belt").  Edward Jones has the largest presence here also.  When I received my degree I went to every single "Big Name" broker in town, Morgan, Merrill, SmithB, AG EDWARDS, Edward Jones.  Edward Jones was the only one willing to give me an interview without a Series 7 + 66.  All the big boys won't even talk to you without a license but you can't independently take the test (I tried) without a sponsor firm.  So if I want in the Industry what choice do I have but Edward Jones or Waddell & Reed or go to a bank and get pushed around with quotas.  Edward Jones is definitely the better name but W&R had an easier entry.  In this demographic people are intimidated by the Morgan Stanley's.  It's all right, once I get over $25million AUM I will take my Smith Barney rejection letter and shove it in the office manager's face.  It's not the name on the building, but the people inside that matter. 

[quote=WADRED]

All the big boys won't even talk to you without a license but you can't independently take the test (I tried) without a sponsor firm.[/quote]

Bull! According to your logic, they never hire rookies. Maybe that's what they told you because they saw you as W&R material, instead of as a real broker.

[quote=DirtyDeltaBro]

Lastly if you are a new grad, I am going to have to agree with my good friend Put Trader- go get some sales experience. 

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Party and enjoy life for two years, chase every girl/boy on the block, sell a lot of product, win a company trip, and then transition into the business.  I have yet to see a branch manager turn down a successful drug rep..    

I am done preaching….     

[/quote]

I joined American Express in their sponsorship program my last semester of college and passed all the exams. Then they closed the P1 office so I joined Edward Jones. Flew to training one week after I graduated. Looking back I shake my head and wonder what I was thinking. I never took the time to enjoy what had been accomplished. I knew more than everyone who was telling me to enjoy it. I had to get on with my life. I saw a post by a recent grad a month ago that said "I know I have what it takes", my response is that you don't even know what you don't know yet. When all I had to do was chase girls all I wanted was a successful career and now that I have a successful career all I want to do is chase girls.......funny how that works!

Are you still with EDJ?  How’s that working out for you?

    So, My Inner Child I guess you consider yourself a real broker? .......Then what are you doing on the Rookies and Training board?  What is your definition of a "real" broker?  I guess I can see if that matches my job description.

[quote=WADRED]

    So, My Inner Child I guess you consider yourself a real broker? .......Then what are you doing on the Rookies and Training board?  What is your definition of a "real" broker?  I guess I can see if that matches my job description.

[/quote]

A real broker is someone who does NOT have to come to an internet discussion forum to see if he's made a good decision.