Stay away from ameriprise

thanks bankrep.  Its not the first time I've heard that from people in the know.  My sis-in-law is an auditor for Amex and she also expressed concerns after finding out about the interview.

Anybody on the C share thing for UBS/SB training period?

You aren’t required to sell anything as a rookie at UBS or SB.  You are simply required to sell and gather, roughly, $6M in new assets/year.

[quote=bankrep1]Stay away from ameriprise[/quote]

Ameriprise is a great place to start--excellent discipline without the bad name.

Much easier to land in a wirehouse coming out of Ameriprise than a bank because you have to sell at Ameriprise.  Bank brokers are nothing more than glorified order takers with no real future.

If a bank broker starts to earn what is thought to be too much money the bank will simply terminate them and divide the book among two or three new hires.

There is no less secure position in the world of investment sales.

The only thing I can guess is that the industry is moving away from transactional business (except at E. Jones where that is all they can do)

C shares allow you to wrap your business.  But A shares can also be the right thing for your client.

Either that, or the brokers don't want to inherit small A share mutual fund accounts after the rookie doesn't make it.

thanks for the posts.

Maybe a little background might help.  I have 10 in fin'l svcs, though not retail, so I expect UBS/SB to ultimately offer me a position.  I'm not coming off the street totally green.  Only green from the retail perspective (no clients yet) and that's the reason for the question.  What I'm trying to do is determine which firm to affiliate with once I receive the offers.  Ameriprise already offered.  Merrill offered in the past and turned them down b/c of C share issue and $8mm hurdles.

brecruit, I've heard 5-7mm so your post confirms that.

newbie, bank rep was never a consideration.

I guess one last question:  Comparing UBS/SB, does one firm push rookies to sell proprietary product over another.  Or rather, who has the best 'open architecture'?

Thanks for all your input/advice and more is always welcome, so please, post away.......