What do you think happens?

If you get let go and are fully licensed it is very easy move to another fimr. But, the other firm is going to know if you washed out because of how long you’ve been at Merrill. There are other jobs to do but people know.

Other firms would know, and might shy away. I would think that an independent firm would be more understanding and willing to hire if you wanted to stay in the business. You might have to do a little busy work, but would probably end up making more money in the long run anyway. Opportunities are abundant if you want out of the business.

I know a lot of PMDers that jump from wirehouse to wirehouse. Most people know it’s a tough business and it can take some time get ramped up. If ML was your first firm and you want to stay within the wirehouses you’ll get another change without too much challenge.

People know that the program is a joke churning out people, etc…it says nothing about you unless you let it. Those people are in a dream world, managment being given big jobs for nothing, and brokers being given accounts, 5 yrs form now when the game has changed, you will have moved on and most there will not know what hit them.

go to a regional bank, biz their is thriving and so will you.

Hope there is…I got bagged Tuesday. Shooting out resumes everywhere since, hoping to catch on, as I’m just getting ready to roll in some good accounts. We’ll see. Happy damn holidays.

Damn joeman255td, that blows! How long did you last? Tell us more…

You’ll especially get a lot of insurance companies recruiting you once you wash out at a wirehouse. Others end up going to places like Fidelity, who love to hire people who already have their licenses.

Thanks Belem… Now, do places like that still have benchmarks / hurdles for people to reach? Or are they mostly salaried? Also, if you know, what do places like that typically pay?

Salaries and guaranteed draws are all over the place. If you have a linkedin profile and put on there you have your securities licenses, you’re inbox will be inundated with recruiters from other investment and insurance companies showing an interest.

Has anyone gone back to the ML PMD program after leaving, or been accepted back after passing the S7 & S66 and registering with another firm?

A lot of individuals from the ML PMD program go to the Merrill Edge Bank FA program… the gig is pretty nice if you can’t cut it on a commission schedule… 60k base salary and it’s easy to hit your bonuses of another 25-45k/yr.

Only downside is that it’s a shared book (a call center does the maintenance) so don’t think you could build up a book and then take it to another firm with you… but if you’re hungry for a new job they’re looking to hire another 500+ this year, and since they do the hiring by region they don’t have high standards at all for the applicants (they have to hire 50+ people in a one-month timeframe)

I was at the ME platform for a short while, yes the pay is decent but get used to being a personal banker, just my 2 cents. There are better options.

That used to be the case, but the platform is supposed to be “Product Neutral” meaning that a bunch of the Merrill Edge people were meeting their new asset goals by doing only bank accounts that personal bankers were opening. Now they’ve made it so that in order to meet the new money goals, the merrill edge advisor has to be the one to open the bank account (or brokerage account), and since you’re in a bank it’s a lot easier to sell and open a bank account… you can do whatever you want, but if you want to max out your bonuses every month you’ll probably be taking the easy road and opening a lot of bank accounts… it’s a flawed system.

So glad I got fired…in my new gig I have access to all of the same or similar products, but it’s a more broadly focused position. I’m not just farming a town of 40,000 people looking for $250,000 accounts.