Business drying up, eh? What are you gonna do when WE cycle again? Oil and Gas? Sell houses? Stay where you are and tough it out. When you guys start to make money again, the one's that will get rich are the one's that didn't run away.

Fish! I thought you were dead! Weren't you the guy they shot in the eye.

Bernice, I'll be home later!

Chuck Jones (not the director of the Bugs Bunny cartoons, chuck as a verb, not Chuck as a noun) Employer of last resort, if they won't take you in the Army, then Jones it.

Barney won't be with Citi long, and they are going to need to start from the ground up again soon and they'll be offering lots of tchotkas so it'll really feel like family soon. And when they get sold, you might get some retention cashish (although I can't see why, anybody who will be at SB by that time will have been too something to leave anyway).

Don't know anything about Morgan, Stanley I'll presume, but then again, no.

As to the rest of your post "Yeah! As IF!"

Good pay structure, right! We'll get right on that there, Biff!

Everybody, that's real in the business has access to the same stock market and there are just about all the products you need right there.

Don't want my hands tied... You'll eat this bowl of poop and like it mister!

5-10 Million... You DO know that it's different when people aren't looking to borrow FROM you don't you? You think the underwriters were tight with the dough? Just wait until you see the hoops investors make you jump through before they give you money!

[quote=Whomitmayconcer]

Fish! I thought you were dead! Weren't you the guy they shot in the eye.

Bernice, I'll be home later!

Chuck Jones (not the director of the Bugs Bunny cartoons, chuck as a verb, not Chuck as a noun) Employer of last resort, if they won't take you in the Army, then Jones it.

Barney won't be with Citi long, and they are going to need to start from the ground up again soon and they'll be offering lots of tchotkas so it'll really feel like family soon. And when they get sold, you might get some retention cashish (although I can't see why, anybody who will be at SB by that time will have been too something to leave anyway).

Don't know anything about Morgan, Stanley I'll presume, but then again, no.

As to the rest of your post "Yeah! As IF!"

Good pay structure, right! We'll get right on that there, Biff!

Everybody, that's real in the business has access to the same stock market and there are just about all the products you need right there.

Don't want my hands tied... You'll eat this bowl of poop and like it mister!

5-10 Million... You DO know that it's different when people aren't looking to borrow FROM you don't you? You think the underwriters were tight with the dough? Just wait until you see the hoops investors make you jump through before they give you money!

[/quote]

I used to drink a lot, too.

Good thing you decided to just admit to yourself that you're gay and stopped hiding in a bottle!

Actually, the frickin gas station down the street sells all fountain drinks for 99 Mo Foin' cents!

What gets me is why anyone, when offered the opportunity would pay the same money for 24 oz.s that I'm paying for 64 ounces! But a half frickin gallon of diet caffeine will do this to ya' (that and getting up at two thirty in the AM and driving down from the beach house to the office... ). Crap, if my car would run on caffeine I'd be saving a lot of money!

[quote=Fish]

 I simply want to work with a company that offers a good amount of products, is secure, and can get me through the first couple of years with a good pay structure. 

[/quote]

By this you mean $6/hr?  Jones doesn't pay crap...if you are going with them, make sure you have a bank account to live off for the first few years.

Honestly, the bashing these people dish out is unjustified.  I thought you had a good post.  I just thought you should know more about the b/ds by now.

I am at RayJay and that is the only place I want to be.  You can move to the indy side and move ALL your accounts, once you reach a decent level of production.  AGE used to be good too, but I think there are too many unknowns with them since the buyout.

Please run from EDJ, unless you are just going to the interview for experience.

Good luck.

What bashing? Even Hull was subdued, relatively speaking.

There are some realities of this business that the guy ought to know, Like Jones is a pit, and nobody is going to pay you well to get started up, and that almost all firms (let's put it this way all firms that aren't owned by Jones or a investment product company) will give you access to pretty much the same array of goods and services, so that's not really a concern.

No firm is going to give a noob the keys and let him drive without first setting down some guidelines, "you must do this and you must not do that" sort of stuff.

A reality check on the money raising is not out of line either.

Nope, that poster did not get bashed.

I would agree with Whomit. Some comments in the orignal post suggest a lack of clear understanding on some of the realities in our biz. For instance, the "I will be able to raise 5-10MM in assets" suggests they have no idea how diffcult it is to do such a thing. And the wide range suggests these are guesses as to how much can actually be brought in.

I am a big proponent of laying out the truths and realities to people looking to get into the business. I have seen many a new FA who gets smoke blown up their a$$ and come in with a distroted view of what they should expect...

Just for fun, let us know how the interview with Jones goes.

[quote=Fish]

From what I gather I am actually considered a pre-rookie.  I have no FA experience and my first interview is tomorrow with Edward Jones.  I have also been instructed by two seperate FA's to go get a job with Morgan Stanley, but I read different things about them and get concerned.  I am also concerned with Smith Barney because of Citigroup (although I am really not sure why). 

At any rate, I am looking to make a move out of mortgage lending into financial advising.  I simply want to work with a company that offers a good amount of products, is secure, and can get me through the first couple of years with a good pay structure.  I also do not want to have my hands tied by management when it comes to allocation of assets.

I do not think that I will come in to this industry and just blow it up but I do think that I could land 5-10 million a year in AUM.  Would this production be good and if that is truly a legit production number would one company be better than another?  Appreciate any thoughts...even smart ass ones.

So far not so bad with the posts, although I do not understand anything BobbyHull wrote.

I had my first interview with EDJ this morning...it was stupid, but thought it might be.  I am more excited to meet with Morgan Stanley and also sent in an app. at ML.

In response to some of the messages...

I admit I am completely in the dark with how hard or easy it will be for me to raise assets.  Coming from the mortgage industry I have had access to all of my clients investment info so I know what they have and how it has performed.  I feel confident in the relationships I built with them that they would trust me to manage some of their accounts but not sure what % would come over with me, which explains the large gap in AUM. 

I just spoke with a rep from EDJ and was told she manages 50mill and had been in the business for 6 years...did not think that was bad at all.  I feel strong in my ability to compete on her level, in fact I would at this early stage put my market and management knowledge up against hers.

We will see how it plays out.

Why was the interview stupid?  I would be interested in hearing what they told you. 

If it was the very first interview it was probably the phone interview that is supposed to screen out mouth breathers like...well, I'll hold that thought.  I remember that interview being a little weird too.

Fish - I am curious why you went into the interview with the preconceived notion that it was going to be stupid.  I haven't done an interview at a new company in over 10 years, but I don't remember having those kind of thoughts.  Sounds like you were looking for some excuse to discount the Jones interview before it started.  Why's that? 

I just kinda of figured it would be real basic based on the things I have read on EDJ website.  I know it was just step 1 in their process so I was expecting some basic questions. 

I guess stupid was an overstatement.  It was just really superficial...did not think it added up to much.

Even though I have not officially been interviewed or even considered for an interview with Morgan Stanley I have spoke with two individuals in the local office.  I am more excited for that process to start (hopefully it does). 

On a seperate questions:

Does anyone here have input on what investment firms have quality mortgage practices?  Coming from that industry I would still like to incorporate that in my business model but only if it is priced well and the process is smooth.  Maybe some companies are better than others on what they offer.

Jones, MetLife, Merrill Lynch, etc.  I think any company worth their salt has some access to mortage lenders.  Jones has a partnership with Wells Fargo.  I know a guy who used to work for Merrill and now works for Met that is basically a mortgage wholesaler.  I would assume that everyone else does also.

But just keep in mind that you’re looking at low to mid hundreds on mortgage business. There are no “Take a point for yourself” mortgage programs at the majors (not that someone else isn’t taking that point for them self, just that brokers don’t get paid well for mort business.)

He's right.  Mortages are pretty close to the last thing on my mind when I hit the office every morning.  I ask about it when I'm fact gathering, but that's about it.  To gross $500 on a $200K mortgage doesn't make me jump.  If it falls into my lap, great.  I wouldn't count on adding a lot to the bottom line with your mortgage knowledge.

He's right.  Mortages are pretty close to the last thing on my mind when I hit the office every morning.  I ask about it when I'm fact gathering, but that's about it.  To gross $500 on a $200K mortgage doesn't make me jump.  If it falls into my lap, great.  I wouldn't count on adding a lot to the bottom line with your mortgage knowledge.

But it does feel nice when you can refi or originate a new mortgage of $2MM though. It adds a nice little kick to your gross for the month...

[quote=blarmston]

I am a big proponent of laying out the truths and realities to people looking to get into the business. I have seen many a new FA who gets smoke blown up their a$$ and come in with a distroted view of what they should expect...

[/quote]

Amen, brother, amen!