Why would you relocate every two years?  You in the Witness Protection Program?

Choose a different career.   You don’t have time to build relationships.  Even if you did, you couldn’t get clients if you were honest and said, “I’m moving in 6 months.”

Go to Edward Jones. Office in every town, wait for an opening, turn the book over and then move to the next town based on your past production. If you are willing to move, this would be a great way to make ALOT of money.

Neither of these options would work.  You need to be able to develop long term relationships with your clients and no company is going to want to hire you knowing you are going to leave in a short period of time.

Like anon says. Choose something else.

Thanks for the input!  Maybe the better question is:

Is it possible to stay with the same wirehouse like ML or SB and just transfer to a different branch of the same wirehouse when I have to move?  Can FAs transfer very easily?

It seems like you could still maintain a long term relationship with your clients via phone/email or the occasional visit.  I’ve met one FA who has clients all over the country and has not even met all of them face to face.  She’s been with her wirehouse for over seven years.

Thanks again!
Wendy

[quote=wendy]Thanks for the input!  Maybe the better question is:

Is it possible to stay with the same wirehouse like ML or SB and just transfer to a different branch of the same wirehouse when I have to move?  Can FAs transfer very easily?

It seems like you could still maintain a long term relationship with your clients via phone/email or the occasional visit.  I've met one FA who has clients all over the country and has not even met all of them face to face.  She's been with her wirehouse for over seven years.

Thanks again!
Wendy
[/quote]

Yes it is relatively easy to move from one branch to another as long as you're not a problem.  It's not an automatic, but generally the firm will work with you if your family is being transferred.

You're right about maintaining the customer relationships--it's far easier to keep them if you're not changing firms.

What rank is your spouse?

I’ve helped a lot of FAs who have to relocate.  The big problem is that your income drops significantly every time you move because you’re starting over.

If you want to go Wirehouse, you might look for a niche where you can focus on a national clientèle.  For example, I worked with one FA who marketed primarily to airline pilots.

Banks might be a better bet if you find nice where you can build a national practice.

[quote=JCadieux]I've helped a lot of FAs who have to relocate.  The big problem is that your income drops significantly every time you move because you're starting over.
[/quote]

Being new to the business, why would your income drop if you relocate within the same company but just to a different branch?  Can you take your book of business with you to the new branch?

Thanks for your help!
 

Wendy,

Why would a client work with an advisor who is moving?  Why would a client continue to work with an advisor who has moved?

This is a relationship business.  You will only succeed if you find a way to make your practice not based upon relationships.

To answer your question, your income will drop because you will lose clients.   Your income will drop because your focus will have to be on relocating and not on business.

[quote=anonymous]

Wendy,

Why would a client work with an advisor who is moving?  Why would a client continue to work with an advisor who has moved?

This is a relationship business.  You will only succeed if you find a way to make your practice not based upon relationships.

To answer your question, your income will drop because you will lose clients.   Your income will drop because your focus will have to be on relocating and not on business.

[/quote]

Nonsense.

I suggest that Wendy is a military wife, and as such her natural market is going to be military and referals to people who understand that the military requires periodic relocations.

If presented properly it could be portrayed as a patriotic thing to do to continue to support the financial advisor who is "suffering" along with her husband in serving their country.

A relationship does not mean you have to actually see a client.  Granted it helps, but it is not critical.  I have known thousands of brokers who had tens of thousands of customers who they had never seen.

If Wendy is with, say, Smith Barney it will not be that difficult for her to switch from one branch to another.  The manager being asked to accept her will have to be persuaded that she will not bring more grief to his branch than she brings reward--but that will be easy for the firm's compliance department to verify.

Most of us have to dial ten numbers when making a local call.  Adding a one in front of them is not that big a deal.

If your clients are making money they won't care where you are relative to them, and if they're not they will care even less.

What is curious is how guys who think their clients don’t notice that they are working out of their spare bedroom will somehow care if they were working out of a plush office in another town.

DA,

How is she going to survive at Smith Barney working with military families?

Just because they understand the frequent transferring does not mean that they want someone to advise them before they get a chance to get to know them and it doesn't mean that they want an advisor who they won't be able to meet with in the future.  You're kidding yourself if you think that she'll get any significant "patriotic" money.  It also will mean virtually no referrals from happy clients.

The advisor working out of their bedroom is still available to meet with the client.  That's a big difference.

It's easy to keep clients who live all around the country, if and only if, the advisor had the chance to build a strong relationship first.

[quote=anonymous]

DA,

How is she going to survive at Smith Barney working with military families?

Just because they understand the frequent transferring does not mean that they want someone to advise them before they get a chance to get to know them and it doesn't mean that they want an advisor who they won't be able to meet with in the future.  You're kidding yourself if you think that she'll get any significant "patriotic" money.  It also will mean virtually no referrals from happy clients.

The advisor working out of their bedroom is still available to meet with the client.  That's a big difference.

It's easy to keep clients who live all around the country, if and only if, the advisor had the chance to build a strong relationship first.

[/quote]

There is something called an airplane.  It will deliver you from point A to point B in a matter of hours.

You're delusional if you think that "big money" must do business locally.  There is a certain mystique to having an advisor who is in another city.

As for the comment about gathering significant assets among the military.  The officer corps is actually pretty well paid.  Some of the biggest hitters in the industry have been retired military officers who prospect among their peer group.

Additionally, referals are referals are referals.  An Air Force Major is fully capable of introducing you to family and friends--just like anybody else who is a college graduate with college graduate friends and peers.

Some of the biggest hitters in the industry have been retired military officers who prospect among their peer group.

Of course, they are prospecting people with whom they have built relationships.  This is very different than someone's wife.

An Air Force Major is fully capable of introducing you to family and friends-

Of course, but his family and friends are on the West Coast and the advisor is on the East Coast.

You're delusional if you think that "big money" must do business locally.  There is a certain mystique to having an advisor who is in another city.

Of course, but it's also not the norm for "big money" to do business without being able to establish a relationship.

Anything is possible, but less there is something that is absolutely incredible about the original poster, she is waging an uphill battle with very little chance for success. 

Will people do business with her?  Sure, but she instantly loses a large number of people who won't because of her circumstances.

Ah, the glass is half empty approach.

The glass is half empty approach would be optimistic with the set of facts that we've been given. 

Does anybody know a financial advisor who was able to thrive despite having to move every two years?

[quote=anonymous]

The glass is half empty approach would be optimistic with the set of facts that we've been given. 

Does anybody know a financial advisor who was able to thrive despite having to move every two years?

[/quote]

If your client moved would you be able to maintain the relationship?

I have some experience with this because I did move from one state to another.  I succeeded in keeping my clients with whom I had good relationships and lost those clients that were more "customer" than "client".   That doesn't give the entire picture.

Once I decided to move, I was unable to attract additional clients.   My only business was sales to existing clients.  When I did make my move,  I first had to spend time dealing with all of the licensing and contracting issues.  I then had to build my pipeline from scratch.  My business went from 100% referrals to 100% cold calls.  It takes a long time to build the pipeline and then have sales come out of the other end.  I struggled for a long time.  

Moving every 2 years has to be much harder than doing it once.  If Wendy is a naturally talented superstar, she can succeed.  Otherwise, her chances are slim...

unless she finds a way to build a non-relationship practice that doesn't need face to face contact.    

In many cases, yes.  The difference is that I was able able to build the relationship first.  If someone was more a customer than a client, the answer is "no". 

I'd suggest she get herself an 800 number.  They can be directed to whatever local number you want them to be directed to.

Her clients don't even have to know where she is.

I'll ask again.  If a client of yours moved to another city would you be able to maintain the relationship?

I know I would be able to--but then I am a superior human being.