[quote=keith121883]Im 22 years old and I am presently a personal banker. I want to break into the advising business but understand how hard it is for someone my age to make it on their own. I was recently offered a gig in the city for wachovia securities as a junior on a wealth team. It a great oppurtunity because I will learn the business in and out and will have 40 plus years of experience on my team behind me. The only problem is that they offered me about 12 grand less than i am making now as a banker and my commute into the city is going to be horrible. I want to make it in the business more than anything  and im worried if i dont take this offer that there wont be another oppurtunity like this. I dont wanna skip out on this gig and kick myself after, but i also dont want to take it and do the same Any help would be greatly appreciated.  [/quote]

What is the percentage of the team's gross that would be allocated to you?

What would your duties entail?

What is the next step up from 'Junior'? What's the step beyond that?

How much can you expect to be making in 5 years doing this?

What's the next step in your current position - is there the potential for becoming a financial advisor at your current employer?

Do the deal.



See if you could get a quarterly incentive by working at improving the return

on assets on the sub-$100k accounts. Ask ‘what percentage of their TOTAL

business is done by client households with less than $100k’ within their

practice. Generally it’s less than 5% but it can comprise a nice chunk of

accounts. There can be good business done with those clients, but they are

totally underserved.



It’s worth the discussion.



C

keith,

I am constantly amazed at how many of my C clients become A clients.  When I originally helped them, they did not disclose everything to me.

I would tell them your very interested, explain your self motivated and want to acheive personal success ASAP.  Ask them for the opportunity to grow your personal income by leveraging the clients they do not serve.  They should not care and you might be able to make up the income gap you mentioned.

The 2 man team manages close to 200 million . I would come on as a junior, mostly responsible for doing the grunt work(I know I have to pay my dues, everyone else did and certainly I am no better than anyone else). This would involve hitting the phones , seminar setup and all the other fun stuff. the two partners were very firm on the fact that they want to teach me everything they know, and I want to learn it all. There is room for growth because in one year I have the oppurtunity (of course depending on production) to either come onto the team or go out on my own. As for the commision structure that too will be based on performance, lets be serious If i dont open any accounts they wont pay me anything on commision, but If I am setting 6 appointments a week and they are closing a lot of business , I will be very valuable to them and they wont want to see me walk. Ultimatley there is just a sense of confusion I am feeling right now. I know I want this but since Im only 22 am I ready to give up on my social life for the next five years.Part of me says I can really enjoy life in five years but a part of me says do you have any clue what you are getting yourself into. I live in jersey so it would be about a 4 hour commute in total to get to the office and the hours would prob be 8 to 7 . I guess if you want something you gotta take what comes with it. Sorry for blabbing on guys just trying to weigh my options.

If things go well you could always move closer to the office after a few months, right?

I hope so right now i am only 2 months into a 12 month lease…those are easy enough to break though.

Keith, the most important factor is not the money, assuming its a livable wage, or the commute, assuming it doesn't involve a 4 hour drive each way. The most important factor is the fit between you and the team. What are their personalities? You need to fit in. This might be difficult to do from the outside looking in ,but asking them about how they work, and their expectations would be a starting place. Here are some other questions: What do they see in their future? What is their vision of where they expect to be in 3 years or 5? How long have they worked at their current firm? How many firms have they worked for? Are they on good terms with their branch manager and their firm? Is the branch mgr on board with their plan for you? You might also want to check them out on the NASD web site.

Assuming you've covered all this or will, then the ball is in your court, go or no-go? Let's talk about the money. Is it doable? Could you live on what they're paying? If not, then there's no decision to make, right? One the other hand if the money could work and this team looks good, and checks out then it's opportunity knocking.

Look at the money this way. It will cost you $12K  first year to make this move. That's less than half the amount I'll pay this year for my daughter's college tuition. Look at the money as payment for an education in a career that could make you millions. How much is that worth? Career training costs money, $21K to become an auto mechanic, $27K to become a CAD Draftsman. Pilot training is north of $50K with no guarantee you'll ever pilot anything bigger than a Cessna 172. Sometimes it takes a step backwards to move forward. The big difference between careeer training at a school and what you're being offered is that the training you'll receive, the experience you'll gain, isn't book knowledge, it's real world. And as the commercial says, that's priceless. As long as these guys are for real this could be the smartest $12k you'll ever invest.

Look at the money this way. It will cost you $12K  first year to make this move. That's less than half the amount I'll pay this year for my daughter's college tuition. Look at the money as payment for an education in a career that could make you millions. How much is that worth? Career training costs money, $21K to become an auto mechanic, $27K to become a CAD Draftsman. Pilot training is north of $50K with no guarantee you'll ever pilot anything bigger than a Cessna 172. Sometimes it takes a step backwards to move forward. The big difference between careeer training at a school and what you're being offered is that the training you'll receive, the experience you'll gain, isn't book knowledge, it's real world. And as the commercial says, that's priceless. As long as these guys are for real this could be the smartest $12k you'll ever invest.

Great advice right there.....

Also, if the pay isnt enough to satisfy your bills and living expenses, proposed an increase with your team. Define goals for you to achieve in order to justify them paying you a higher amount, such as 3 new qualified prospect meetings per week, or X amount of new money coming in from servicing the lower rung of theur book... etc, etc...

Tjc45:

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond to my posting. I agree with you 100 percent. Im just somewhat concerned that the money ight not be doable. I ran the numbers and it would leave me with about 7 dollars after my car payment , rent , insurance and all of the others. It will be tough as hell , but then again who said this isnt a tough business. I just dont want to try to hold out for another oppurtunity that might pay me a little bit better that may never come. Im staring in the eyes of oppurtunity and dont want to let it go. My friends say if you found this oppurtunity once you will find it again, I said who knows that. I guess i just need to stop crying grab a tissue and make a decision. If it doesnt work it doesnt work, if it does thatll be fantastic.

[quote=keith121883]Im 22 years old and I am presently a personal banker. I want to break
into the advising business but understand how hard it is for someone my
age to make it on their own. I was recently offered a gig in the city
for wachovia securities as a junior on a wealth team. It a great
oppurtunity because I will learn the business in and out and will have
40 plus years of experience on my team behind me. The only problem is
that they offered me about 12 grand less than i am making now as a
banker and my commute into the city is going to be horrible. I want to
make it in the business more than anything  and im worried if i
dont take this offer that there wont be another oppurtunity like this.
I dont wanna skip out on this gig and kick myself after, but i also
dont want to take it and do the same Any help would be greatly
appreciated. 
[/quote]

22 years old? where did you go to college?

[quote=keith121883]

I ran the numbers and it would leave me with about 7 dollars after my car payment , rent , insurance and all of the others.

[/quote]

7 bucks! Whohoo positive cash flow!

Many, if not most of us here gave up more money to move into this profession. It's a definate road block. Yet, if not now, when?

As for the money, we have one trainee who, seven years ago, moved in with his parents when he started as a trainee. We just did an annual review and his trailing 12 month production just crossed $500K. Needless to say, he no longer lives with mom and dad. He found a way to make this work. What you do depends on how badly you want it.