Production down
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First time poster here. I am in the business 2.5 yrs.
I wanted to know from people how far their production is down YTD. Being as new to the business, my business could not go down. Lastly, do other advisors feel like this has gone on forever? This last yr has really taken a toll on me. I am only 29 and generally have the energy of a 85 yr old after an honest days work. I haven't seriously considered leaving the business but while mowing the lawn this weekend, I couldn't stop wondering when/if this would all be worth it. Any advise/ thoughts?[quote=RealWorld]First time poster here. I am in the business 2.5 yrs.
I wanted to know from people how far their production is down YTD. Being as new to the business, my business could not go down. Lastly, do other advisors feel like this has gone on forever? This last yr has really taken a toll on me. I am only 29 and generally have the energy of a 85 yr old after an honest days work. I haven't seriously considered leaving the business but while mowing the lawn this weekend, I couldn't stop wondering when/if this would all be worth it. Any advise/ thoughts?[/quote]Now, lie down on the couch here son and let's talk this over. Were you mowing your lawn or is this your side gig? I need to better understand your current situation. I'm sure there are FAs doing both over the last year.
Ya, I’m not mowing so a side gig. I just thought I would reach out in this forum to hear what vets are doing with production.
I heard that some people are down (net) 25%, I have heard from some people 40%. As far as my problem. I am just wondering if I am going to be working 80 hr weeks for another 3 yrs.[quote=iceco1d][quote=RealWorld]First time poster here. I am in the business 2.5 yrs.
I wanted to know from people how far their production is down YTD. Being as new to the business, my business could not go down. Lastly, do other advisors feel like this has gone on forever? This last yr has really taken a toll on me. I am only 29 and generally have the energy of a 85 yr old after an honest days work. I haven't seriously considered leaving the business but while mowing the lawn this weekend, I couldn't stop wondering when/if this would all be worth it. Any advise/ thoughts?[/quote] I'm close to your age, and been in production for a little less than 2 years, so I'm in the same boat as far as production goes (mine is up this, duh). As for feeling drained - I don't. I think this biz is the most refreshing thing I've ever done, and I absolutely love it! Granted, there have been some bumps in the road for me, but they are completely unrelated to clients, or the market. [/quote] Losses to some ubergeek on XBox Live doesn't count as a bump in the road.Realworld… some guys are doing nothing different and sucking it up, complaining, waiting for a better day and so on. I know FAs completely re-inventing themselves and ‘marketing’ again after many years of riding their book. I have friends who’s folded up and left altogether. This year in particular, many have moved firms at least to stock up the bank account and get the frau off their backs so she can keep her Range Rover on full.
As for me…I’m using what has been a constant flow of bad news for a year now to pick off account after account. I’m constantly surprised when I ask a prospect how frequently they talk to their current FA and find out that FA is not regularly talking/meeting with them. It’s been the best 12 months of growth I’ve seen in at least 10 years. At the same time, it’s taking a lot more time to warm people up and proving to them that I’m not just talking but willing to act more proactive. I mean call after call, meeting after meeting, etc to get them on board.
RealWorld
If I understand your post correctly, you are 29 and feel like you're 85, and you think its because of the business? Dude, you really need to look closely at this, becuase it seems to me that you might just be in a business that you are not cut out for. If you feel this way now, then think about this - lets say, you build (or rebuild or whatever) and when you are 35 you have $100MM in assets. Then another bear market shows up. And you are down to $60MM. If you are burnt out now, how are you gonna feel when that happens? Think about it, because somewhere along the line in your supposedly long career, its likely that it WILL happen. World Peace is right - this business is hard. But I am 58 and i feel like i'm 29. There is no business like this on earth and no opportunity like the one we are staring in the face now, if we have any smarts and brains at all. Think about itRealWorld,
Many FAs work a ton in the first couple of years only to get burned out of this business. You've probably worked hard to gather assets only to see them get vaporized by this nasty bear market. No doubt, most of us have taken beatings worthy of rented mule status. You've got to get tough and grind it out. Try something new, maybe market yourself differently or try a new product. In other words, you just need to change it up a bit to get you motivated. The only remedy in our world is revenue. It makes everything better. Stay positive, keep working hard and things will get better. At 29, you have a long career ahead yourself and someday you'll be golfing while someone else mows the lawn.Thanks a lot for the comments. For the synics, I am not a bum or lazy. Just that every client I have has lost money with me and the sales I get over the phone are down… sometimes (like when I first wrote this post) it seems like I spend 3/4 of my day protecting what small book I have.
I really want to know for those ladies and gents out for awhile what things would look like if I had that 100 aum and now it is 75 or so.... Specifically if anyone wants to answer. How much more or LESS money do vets plan on making this yr as compared to last yr.You have come on to a board that has nothing but winners! All of our AUM's are up and our GDC is up. This is a terrific time to be in the business. Everyone else is losing clients to us. WE ROCK!!
On a more serious note, I will confess that I started heavily using fee-based 3 years ago and accounts are down 20-40% in value and have had a significant amount liquidate and move to CD's over the last 9 months. I'm in a fairly conservative part of the U.S.. All in all my fee-based assets are down around 30%, even with new assets going in.
This business is hard.
Very hard
Since Jimmy Caynes conference call
This business has been very,very,very hard.
The first thing you should do is learn how to manage your client accounts so that you don’t end up losing 40% of your book when “systemic risk” comes and kicks you and your clinets in the arse. Try starting with Taleb’s books. Yeah, yeah, I know - NOBODY saw it coming. Bull.
Speaking of which I ran into a guy I used to work with at Morgan just the other day, a million $$ guy with what used to have a $100 million book. Now $60 million and $600K.