NASD Newbie…is there a way I can PM you something (your box if full)

Ok…for the crowd that is opposed to youngsters becoming FA’s, I would

like to hear other options. I am a recent graduate, and have been

interviewing for a number of different roles. I have been offered to

become a FA at a top 3 wirehouse, but I am also looking into other

avenues.



What would you have a young man do if he knows he wants to become an

FA in the futue?



I have spoken to many wirehouse FA’s and a few managers and I have

gotten different answers. A few say jump in now. A few say get a support

role for a few years.



There has been alot of “young guys can not make it in this industry” talk

but what is your idea of where to begin?

[quote=Boomer]NASD Newbie....is there a way I can PM you something (your box if full)[/quote]

Imagine that, all the people communicating with this nasty old man.  I'll take care of it.

[quote=NASD Newbie]

[quote=Boomer]NASD Newbie....is there a way I can PM you something (your box if full)[/quote]

Imagine that, all the people communicating with this nasty old man.  I'll take care of it.

[/quote]

I didn't know one could PM themselves. Hey newbie how'd you get away with that?

Boomer, the problem with being a young financial advisor at a wirehouse is that reps at wirehouses are not financial advisors.  They are asset gatherers. 

Your peer group does not have money thus you can't succeed at gathering their assets because they don't have any.  Young people can definitely succeed in this business, but with few exceptions, they have to go to a place where they can make money doing things other than gathering assets.  Personally, I think that a top flight insurance agency is one good place to start.

Boomer,



Get your CFP education, network through the FPA, become a paraplanner for a few years, then a Jr. planner, planner, and finally an asset gatherer/relationship mgr. you could do this at an indy shop or wirehouse, however, alot of planners value independence and have set up their own shops. Bloomberg wealth manager magazine posts the top 500 fee based firms each year, use this to find possible places to explore these opportunities. Also commit to education and join the FPA now. Your success rate is 75% plus if you take that route.



Other ideas include working as an internal wholesaler for a fund or insurance company. Eventually you can go external and find a place where you would like to become an advisor, the only downside here is wholesalers make good coin, they work alot and that maybe hard to walk away from, I like my first idea best.

Newbie successful people don’t have time to proofread posts. I enjoy sharing ideas and correcting idiots like yourself, maybe you as an english prof. find similar amusement, however, you’re on the wrong board if you’re expecting anyone to appreciate your compulsive nature.



Why don’t you correct people when they make errors like saying you should have your trust as beneficiary on all of your IRA accounts. That would be more productive and add some value to this board, I am sure most people here don’t realize this is a big no no in most cases.

I have to disagree with bankrep on this one.  If you are going to be successful in this industry, you have to learn to sell.  The planning part is easy part.    There are two skills that are needed to succeed in this business.  1)The ability to get in front of people on a favorable basis.  2)The ability to sell.

I would think that a sales job of any type is better training than being a paraplanner.  The paraplanners who I know have almost no chance to succeed in this business beyond paraplanning because they don't have the skillset.

[quote=anonymous]

Boomer, the problem with being a young financial advisor at a wirehouse is that reps at wirehouses are not financial advisors.  They are asset gatherers. [/quote]

Meaning?

Thanks for all the ideas guys…

[quote=NASD Newbie][quote=joedabrkr] [quote=Philo Kvetch][quote=Lieberman]

Wrong again, Phil.  Your last names suits you well, however.

Give it a break, will ya?

[/quote]

August 22, 2006 was yesterday, Putsy. 

Where is that wrong?

[/quote]

He has so many multiple personalities that he's losing track of which one did what and when!!!
[/quote]

What makes you two dimbulbs conclude that I use more than one name?

I'll join Lieberman and assure you that he and I are not the same person.

[/quote]

Try to imagine how much your assurances are worth to me and other people of integrity.  That is, of course, if anyone with integrity has ever let you close.

[quote=mikebutler222][quote=anonymous]

Boomer, the problem with being a young financial advisor at a wirehouse is that reps at wirehouses are not financial advisors.  They are asset gatherers. [/quote]

Meaning?

Anonymous,



I understand your point, but generally the folks that belong to the FPA are interested in promoting a career path within financial planning they are committed to changing the business for the better. They will teach you to sell when your ready and will not make you fly or fail like a wirehouse will.   I truly believe the wirehouses that don’t change to a financial planning mindset will be out of business someday.



If you don’t believe financial planning is the future of our industry you simply don’t get it and that is why I suggest a new person align with a true planner rather than someone who pretends to be one ( I am not saying you have to have the CFP to be a true planner, you have to have the knowledge though).

[quote=bankrep1]Anonymous,

I understand your point, but generally the folks that belong to the FPA are interested in promoting a career path within financial planning they are committed to changing the business for the better. They will teach you to sell when your ready and will not make you fly or fail like a wirehouse will.   I truly believe the wirehouses that don't change to a financial planning mindset will be out of business someday.

If you don't believe financial planning is the future of our industry you simply don't get it and that is why I suggest a new person align with a true planner rather than someone who pretends to be one ( I am not saying you have to have the CFP to be a true planner, you have to have the knowledge though). [/quote]

That knowledge would be as solid as, "Earnings always go up, therefore stock prices will always go up."

Bankrep, you have made the single dumbest statement ever made regarding investing--plus you hide out in the bank channel because you're afraid to grow up and swim in the deep end.

You have zero credibility.

It seems to me that this is being over analyzed.  If you're young and you work hard, you will make it in the business.  However it's not easy.  I started when I was 22.  I'm now 27, have 25 million AUM (20 is feed based) and am independent.  I didn't do anything special, just lots of prospecting.  I'll continue to build for the future.  It's not rocket science, just prospect and build relationships. 

[quote=peacock]

It seems to me that this is being over analyzed.  If you're young and you work hard, you will make it in the business.  However it's not easy.  I started when I was 22.  I'm now 27, have 25 million AUM (20 is feed based) and am independent.  I didn't do anything special, just lots of prospecting.  I'll continue to build for the future.  It's not rocket science, just prospect and build relationships. 

[/quote]

Feed based is always best--the human gets hungry every several hours.

Do the boys and girls understand that the idea of fee based business is relatively new and there is no guarantee that the public will continue to be receptive to the idea?

It's easy to come to grips with the fact that money is simply disappearing from your account when the market is rising, but when it falls fees being sucked out in addition to the losses will irritate a priest much less the typical client.

Do you suppose firms like Vanguard are just waiting for the right time to start a massive advertising campaign with the message being, "If you're disappointed with your results last year remember that Vanguard has a complete family of funds with fees that vary from none to very low."

Print ads that educate the investor on how to read their statements to see how much they're paying you for doing something close to nothing.

Most clients with investable assets are college educated--it's crazy to think that they're not smart enough to do their own mutual fund selection.  As people keep saying, "It's not rocket science."

[quote=NASD Newbie]

[quote=bankrep1]Anonymous,

I understand your point, but generally the folks that belong to the FPA are interested in promoting a career path within financial planning they are committed to changing the business for the better. They will teach you to sell when your ready and will not make you fly or fail like a wirehouse will.   I truly believe the wirehouses that don't change to a financial planning mindset will be out of business someday.

If you don't believe financial planning is the future of our industry you simply don't get it and that is why I suggest a new person align with a true planner rather than someone who pretends to be one ( I am not saying you have to have the CFP to be a true planner, you have to have the knowledge though). [/quote]

That knowledge would be as solid as, "Earnings always go up, therefore stock prices will always go up."

Bankrep, you have made the single dumbest statement ever made regarding investing--plus you hide out in the bank channel because you're afraid to grow up and swim in the deep end.

You have zero credibility.

[/quote]

There is nothing wrong with being a Financial Advisor at a Bank.

YOU are the zero.

Exactly what deep end do you swim in?  From what I hear, your license has been revoked and you have ZERO current customers.

Newbie - fee based business is about as new as the microwave oven.  Or do you still believe that that concept won't catch on either?  As I've said - you can manage relationships (with consultant supported fee programs) or you can sit in your office and be an order taker, like Pavlov's dog everytime the phone rings.

Newbie - I didn't spell check my message, can you please do it for me?  I also need a grammar check when you have a moment.

Fee based business is not new but the idea of adding a middle man, the Investment Advisor Representative, is new to the last ten to fifteen years.  Time flies when you're having fun.

What is still an unknown is how the customers will react when they begin to pay attention to their returns because the returns are negative.

There are a lot of people--including me--who believe that when you start to show them negative returns huge portions of your book are going to want to move their accounts away from you.  Why should they be paying fees for negative advice?

They understand that the fund manager has to be paid, they expect that.  But just what is that guy who sold me the fund in the first place doing dipping his hand into the collection plate, I haven't bought anything from him in several years yet he keeps taking several hundred dollars a year out of my account!

Next thing you know some lawyer is demanding that you explain yourself. The lawyer is like Mr. Cole, he won't get paid unless his client collects so to make it worth his while he'll convince his new plaintiff, your ex-customer, to sue you for what they lost PLUS three times that much in order to teach you and your firm to not do it again.

The "I promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth" day rolls around and you hear the client say that they had no idea you were getting cut of their account.  Besides that they have no recollection of having talked to you since they signed that paperwork so long ago.

The panel listens to them with a healthy dose of skepticism then it's your turn.

You tell them that you were in constant contact with the client, and that every year you gave them a very nice annual review--why you even had it bound in one of those comb binder deals over at Kinkos.  That cost you an extra $1.50 just to demonstrate how much you care for them as clients.

There is more back and forth--you're portrayed as a ganster out to defraud your client and your client is portrayed by your attorney as a dishonest person trying to get their money back in spite of the fact that they understood the risks.

Finally, after several hours it all comes to an end.  You're told that a decision will be made within thirty days.

about three weeks later you get the word, the panel has decided to split the sheets, so to speak.  They're going to give the client back the lost money plus 6% interest.  They have decided to not award punative damages because they don't believe you lied to the client, just that you were not as forthcoming as you could have been.

So the client gets back the $9,000 they lost plus 6% interest.  How much of that will your firm make you eat?  How does your E&O coverge kick in, if at all?

It doesn't really matter--it's the time lost in the whole affair that is the big negative.  What are you going to do if ten, fifteen, twenty or more people all decided to do it at the same time?

Don't think it can't happen--people are funny about their money. Mothers sue sons all the time--not every day or something but several times a year a major firm will be served with papers demanding a hearing where a parent is suing their own child--mostly the firm and the manager for failing to supervise that broker who just happened to be the client's son.