Dollar007:

Really!!! Do you seriously think that all bank brokers were born and raised that way? Has it even occurred to you that most have come from Morgan, S/B, UBS, E/J, C/S even…ML?!! I wouldn’t be so quick to discount BAI brokers…ML is now owned by a bank after all.

Bank lobby brokers have a captured audience. They get paid well but their clients are owned by the bank. Traditional brokers grew their own business and the clients are loyal to the broker , not the firm they work with or clear through. Just look at the attrition rates for brokers that move firms from traditional firms and brokers that leave banks. A bank lobby broker will not make it on their own unless they are exceptional. So , you, yes you BAI Broker...if you make it in the Merrill Lynch system then you are exceptional.

Redpen:

[quote=Dollar007] Really!!! Do you seriously think that all bank brokers were born and raised that way? Has it even occurred to you that most have come from Morgan, S/B, UBS, E/J, C/S even…ML?!! I wouldn’t be so quick to discount BAI brokers…ML is now owned by a bank after all.

Bank lobby brokers have a captured audience. They get paid well but their clients are owned by the bank. Traditional brokers grew their own business and the clients are loyal to the broker , not the firm they work with or clear through. Just look at the attrition rates for brokers that move firms from traditional firms and brokers that leave banks. A bank lobby broker will not make it on their own unless they are exceptional. So , you, yes you BAI Broker...if you make it in the Merrill Lynch system then you are exceptional.[/quote]

Redpen,

I agree if from day one you use the bank as a selling point in your presentation, you might have a problem moving clients. However, I left recently and have not had a problem moving clients, especially in the current (bad news about the bank everyday in the paper) environment. Having clients move their bank accounts is one thing, having them move their investment accounts is another.

In the end if you have good relationships, it isn't going to matter so much as to what type of firm you worked for. Also, I left a lot of small, pain in the a$$ accounts behind(part of being a bank broker). So on paper it may look like I haven't moved a large percentage of my clients, but in reality I've taken all that I needed.