[quote=mikebutler222]

Never having been a successful FC this will
be news to you, but someone who’s just getting his career feet under
him will lose a great deal of that book he worked to assemble along
with the network of contacts he worked hard to establish. Then he
becomes the “new guy in town” and has to start the process again…

[quote=Knows Wall St.] [quote=BrokerRecruit]

The fact of the matter could come down to how comfortable your clients would be with you being a few hours away.  If you have good relationships, it probably won't be a huge deal - especially if much of your contact is performed over the phone. 

[/quote]

I've found the telephone to be the most effective way to talk to people who are at a distance--sometimes smoke signals, but you must check local ordinances.
[/quote]

So, in one thread you find it effective to do business with remote clients and in another you claim that there is no way that Indyone could possibly be doing a good job with a client who lives 1000 miles away.  

Which is it?

[quote=Knows Wall St.] [quote=mikebutler222] <?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Never having been a successful FC this will be news to you, but someone who's just getting his career feet under him will lose a great deal of that book he worked to assemble along with the network of contacts he worked hard to establish. Then he becomes the "new guy in town" and has to start the process again...

[/quote]

Oh I thought you were talking about something realistic.  [/quote]

Like you're someone to consult about what's realistic in being an FC, much less being one today...

[quote=Knows Wall St.]

Why do you believe he will lose a signficant portion of his book?  [/quote]

What’s “signficant”? You mean “significant”?

If he's new in the business he hasn't had the time to make the deep connections required to hold every client. He'll have some that simply want someone in town they can make eye to eye contact with whenever they wish. He'll be disappointed to find that others value more the firm he was with, than what he'd done for them himself. There will be a percentage who will use his move as an opportunity to make a change they otherwise might have put aside...

[quote=Knows Wall St.]

There are hundreds of guys who move around every year--and they take their books with them. [/quote]

Very, very few take the whole book and the less time you have in the biz, and with that specific client, the less you'll move with you. When you’re brand new, and getting each client was a fight, losing any is a harder punch to the gut.

[quote=Knows Wall St.]
Have you been in the business more than a few hours, Mike? [/quote]

No, I just got my Series 7 and hour ago, which gives me exactly one more hour as an FC in the current biz than you...

[quote=Knows Wall St.]
Also it would be fun to hear how you figure I am a failed FC--care to elaborate on that?
[/quote]

No, by all means you succeeded. I mean, that's what you told yourself when you moved from being a 4th quintiler, with management breathing down your neck to perform, to taking refuge in the manager's office, right?

After all, every FC would rather make less and spend his days worrying about the coffee service and paper clips, wet nursing a crowd of FCs who, rightfully, look down their noses at the drag-on-the-bottom-line-manager who washed out at being an FC. Isn’t that so, Putzy?

[quote=Knows Wall St.] [quote=BrokerRecruit][quote=Knows Wall St.] [quote=BrokerRecruit]

The fact of the matter could come down to how comfortable your clients would be with you being a few hours away.  If you have good relationships, it probably won't be a huge deal - especially if much of your contact is performed over the phone. 

[/quote]

I've found the telephone to be the most effective way to talk to people who are at a distance--sometimes smoke signals, but you must check local ordinances.
[/quote]

Good one.

[/quote]

How did you know without one of those smile faces?

Oh wait, I know.  You're smart enough to get humor without it being sophomoric or having a laugh track.
[/quote]

Bingo.

[quote=BrokerRecruit][quote=Knows Wall St.] [quote=BrokerRecruit][quote=Knows Wall St.] [quote=BrokerRecruit]

The fact of the matter could come down to how comfortable your clients would be with you being a few hours away.  If you have good relationships, it probably won't be a huge deal - especially if much of your contact is performed over the phone. 

[/quote]

I've found the telephone to be the most effective way to talk to people who are at a distance--sometimes smoke signals, but you must check local ordinances.
[/quote]

Good one.

[/quote]

How did you know without one of those smile faces?

Oh wait, I know.  You're smart enough to get humor without it being sophomoric or having a laugh track.
[/quote]

Bingo.

[quote=babbling looney][quote=Knows Wall St.] [quote=BrokerRecruit]

The fact of the matter could come down to how comfortable your clients would be with you being a few hours away.  If you have good relationships, it probably won't be a huge deal - especially if much of your contact is performed over the phone. 

[/quote]

I've found the telephone to be the most effective way to talk to people who are at a distance--sometimes smoke signals, but you must check local ordinances.
[/quote]

So, in one thread you find it effective to do business with remote clients and in another you claim that there is no way that Indyone could possibly be doing a good job with a client who lives 1000 miles away.  

Which is it?

[/quote]

He will never repond to this...it calls him out point blank, and his only way out is to ignore it.

[quote=babbling looney][quote=Knows Wall St.] [quote=BrokerRecruit]

The fact of the matter could come down to how comfortable your clients would be with you being a few hours away.  If you have good relationships, it probably won't be a huge deal - especially if much of your contact is performed over the phone. 

[/quote]

I've found the telephone to be the most effective way to talk to people who are at a distance--sometimes smoke signals, but you must check local ordinances.
[/quote]

So, in one thread you find it effective to do business with remote clients and in another you claim that there is no way that Indyone could possibly be doing a good job with a client who lives 1000 miles away.  

Which is it?

Again, ladies & gentlemen, consider the source and the credibility of that source.

I think the answer to the original question depends a lot on the circumstances.  If these are clients you have had for a while and you have done a good job servicing them, they will be more loyal.  If they are clients you prospected and brought to the current firm, they will be more loyal.  If these are newer clients, or clients you inherited, they will not be nearly so loyal, and most will not follow.  The fact that you asked the question leads me to believe that the latter is probably the case, if these were long term clients you developed personally you would know that they would follow.

I did something similar recently, and lost most of my book.  It was a difficult choice, but I was not happy with where I was geographically, and an opportunity came up to take over an existing book that was nearly the size of what I was leaving behind.  If I had waited a couple of years, I would have taken more of my clients, but I hadn't been with them long enough for them to develop any loyalty to me yet.  Basically I had made a mistake moving to my old city, and this was a chance to correct the mistake and start over with an existing book, rather than starting from scratch.  I didn't want to waste more time developing contacts in a city far from where I wanted to live long term.

My 2 cents.

thanks for all the feedback - it's all food for thought. 

If it provides any perspective I went indy 3.5 years ago from Amex and had to start from scratch.  I'm at $250k trailing 12 with $21,000,000 in mgt,  all clients I developed from seminars and referrals.  I wondering if I'd be better selling my practice and using the funds as seed money in the new area or try to retain my book as much as possible.  If I were to move I would do it in the next 12-18 months - and try to shape my book to be attractive to a prospective buyer. 

Any thoughts of this as a strategy?