AGE/WB Defection--not rumor
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John and Jim (his brother) Lee (no relation to Bruce or Robert E.) bailed out the door (last week I think) for Stifel. These are California guys. John was a regional director and Jim was a branch manager in Sacramento, CA.
The path of least resistance (staying and seeing what shakes out) seems to be real attractive to me. We’ll see how it goes.
Good luck to all of you guys/gals no matter what you did or will do.
There's an announcement on Stifel's website now about John and Jim Lee if you wish to read it.
I left earlier this month for Raymond James. Look for the pace of the AGE exodus to pick up as the August 31 retention package declaration deadline approaches…
There was a Dow Jones' piece today comparing both firms' compensation packages/production/AUM et al. Also some speculation as to what the final comp plan would look like (some headhunter chimed in).
For those of you who are still on the fence and have interest, e-mail me if you want at [email protected]. I don't want to post the article here (TOS violations).
FD: I am not with WB. I am not with AGE. I am not a headhunter. I am not with LEHman, either. I do hope you all enjoyed last week's upgrade (by LEHman) on RIMM. 20% in a week or less in a nice trade in anyone's book!
Have a great weekend one and all.
I like Ferris' idea of splitting the upfront money of the fcs that leave. It will never happen but it's nice to think about.
What I want to know is how is the AGE/WB combo going to increase the average production of us lowly AGE guys. We average 350k, they average 666k. Any ideas?
What I want to know is how is the AGE/WB combo going to increase the
average production of us lowly AGE guys. We average 350k, they average
666k. Any ideas?
That’s easy. IF you happen to be one of the average ones (any of the 4000 + AGE FC who do $350k or less (@$350k is the MEAN, the MEDIAN is more like $290), you will have your payout cut to the point that you will either 1) Work like hell to get your production up above @$400k so you can be back where you were pre-merger 2) Downsize your home, your car, your eating habits and, probably your wife, or 3) You will continue to work to grow your business to get it to $400k and beyond, but do it with a firm that values you (even as a $300-$350 “lowlife” and shows you that your business is profitable by letting you actually keep the fruits of your labor.
So, as you can see, WB will raise the average production of AGE brokers by, mostly, squeezing them out. Look on the bright side, those who are left will be among those with a higher average production!
P.S. Bobby and yourself are welcome to my share of the retention package, as I have no desire to get into that bed to begin with.
Did you mean Ferris (not Bobby) as far as the sharing?
I think a certain fc from Rochester put it best. How do you know if B is better than A until you see what A is like?
GG,
Yeah, I guess I meant Ferris. If Danny wants to add my retention dollars to a pool shared by those who stay, that’d be fine by me. (I’m sure Danny would do that for you newest members of the family).
Your question reminds me of a quote from one of my favorite movies, “Well, I don’t know any lepers either, but I’m going to run out and join one of their F-in’ clubs.”
I have no desire to work for a giant wire house (I mean, bank) and, I’ve seen the Pro Formas from the independent alternative(s). I’m a small business man, not a huge conglomerate employee; but hey, that’s just me. Good luck to you all!
[quote=Gordon Gekko]
I think a certain fc from Rochester put it best. How do you know if B is better than A until you see what A is like?
[/quote]Don't think for a second he didn't get a little extra cash for that line. Not too mention he's over 60 and it would be an administrative nightmare for him to leave. He works only about 4 hours a day now. A guy working that little isn't going anywhere. We can only hope to get to that.
So I guess he lied when it was asked if he was paid and he said no. Using the top guys and gals as a benchmark probably has little to do with the fcs doing 350k. However, I think they were being honest.
Personally, I think Danny said it best in one of his first speeches to us. He used words to the effect of, The way this business is going, there will, at some point, only be two alternatives, Merrill or WB.
That absolutely floored me. It also got me thinking about alternatives. I noticed, right off, that the independent side of the business had seemed to have completely slipped Danny’s mind.
GG, you seem to have talked yourself into staying and accepting whatever they choose to give you. I honestly wish you all the luck in the world.
maybe ny fc didn’t get paid, but a guy who has it down to about 4 hours a day isn’t moving anyway.
Several large brokers left AG last week and jumped to RJ. This was in the Sarasota/Port Charlotte area of FL. The amount of defections are increasing quickly.
As more advisors leave AG the remaining brokers are realizing they are part of a sinking ship. This merger is going to be a mess.
you may be right. It could happen. However if it did they would have to keep RJ or LPL on an indy high payout structure similar to Finet with WS. I could see WS going after RJ at some point.
Longer term I see a continued trend of dual registration (brokerage/RIA) at the indy’s. The large wires will need to adopt this at some point to retain/attract fee based indy reps. If not they’ll jump to full RIA with Schwab or Fidelity. IMO this wave is about 5-7 yrs down the road. The reps turning to a larger fee based business will always have options and be desired by all firms.
The other trend after these firms consolidate will be reduction of reps. CFP’s will be mandatory and production requirements will be large. (again 5-7 yrs)