The Pros and Cons of working for MetLife as a Financial Planner?
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Hey all, I'm looking to get into the Financial Planning business and the interview process is going well with MetLife. When the subject of non-compete clauses came up, I was told that MetLife does use them but that it's a moot point because I'd never want to leave MetLife anyway due to their benefits and matching 401k. Realistically, is their any real benefit to staying with MetLife for good, or will I undoubtedly want to go independent or switch firms down the road? Also, how hard is it for a FA to take his clients with him after signing a non-compete clause?
If you wanted money managed, would you go to an insurance company or would you go to a money manager? If you wanted a financial plan would you go to a financial planner or an insurance company?
JMO but if you want to be a financial planner, work for a company who is a FINANCIAL PLANNER and if they need insurance, you can provide the solution.
If you want to sell insurance and use financial planning as a sales gimic, work for an insurance company.
Most financial planning firms seem to push their own proprietary funds; with Metlife I'd have the freedom to offer anything I wanted, and I do believe that insurance is an important foundation in any financial plan.
It's interesting that you don't want proprietary products but being tied to Met Life's proprietary insurance products is reasonable. Lame.
You'll want to leave Metlife as soon as you realize how uninformed you really are.
[quote=Beagle]
It's interesting that you don't want proprietary products but being tied to Met Life's proprietary insurance products is reasonable. Lame.
You'll want to leave Metlife as soon as you realize how uninformed you really are.
[/quote]
You don't see a difference between proprietary securities and proprietary insurance?
There are plenty of places that don't push prop investment products and don't have prop insurance products as well.
+1.
You must be kidding us, Wookie with this proprietary crap. It's more likely you wouldn't work with proprietary products than you would. But let's get beyond this and I'll ask a simple, easy question. How many people work for one company their whole life?
Answer to your q: there's probably a 97% chance you won't be at your original company three years after you start in the financial services industry. Maybe those numbers change a bit when you look at sub-slices of the industry (insurance), but I doubt it.
EDJ. WFA. Any LPL shop or frankly any indy shop. UBS. RayJay.
Leave out the biggest wirehouses and you're fine. Only problem is getting an offer from them. Good luck.
I've seen various people on the boards talk endlessly about how EDJ and WFA push proprietary stuff. It seems like anytime any firm comes up, someone comes out of the woodwork to talk trash about it. My biggest concern with Metlife is the non-compete; I don't want to bust my butt only to have my entire book taken away should I leave or get fired. Are there ways to get around a non-compete clause?
Wookie, the trick is, go to work for a place you don't have to leave. Long term career satisfaction frankly are hallmarks of EDJ and I'd toss in WFA at the same time. I've never worked for either, but know lots of folks at both places. Can things change in the future? Sure, but for now, those are good places to work. US Bank right now is working very hard to create an Advisors Bank. I know a bunch of folks over there, and they seem quite serious about being a premier bank program. BAC and ML seem really up in the air right now, likely to go through a painful rebuild, spin off period. If I haven't mentioned others, it's due to the old adage...
"...but if you want to be a financial planner, work for a company who is a FINANCIAL PLANNER and if they need insurance, you can provide the solution...If you want to sell insurance and use financial planning as a sales gimic, work for an insurance company..."
I currently for a MetLife company and despite the relationship with New England Securities, it is all about insurance and annuities. The only real planning that goes on is how to get the client into one of those two products.
Working with MetLIfe or any insurance company can have its advantages. Insurance is a large component of retirement planning, but a lot of B/D brokers seems to have it backwards...they are using their proprietary platforms of investment management as subs for retirement. This is a mistake since most of the returns going forward are going to be similar and not spectacular. Before these clowns figure it out, they will be outflanked by more knowledgeable retirement specialists.