Hell Hole.  Just left.  Best thing I ever did.  Caustic atmosphere.  Felt like every day that management was out to get your clients and steal from you - I am not exagerating.  I don’t care what kind of package you are getting, go where you will really enjoy working.  After a few weeks, the joy of the check will wear off and you will be stuck there for a decade hating your job.  It is not worth it.

Speaking as someone who left there last year…
If all you are looking for is a check I expect you will be happy.
If you are looking for a place where you can run your business free from a thousand little inconveniences (the 25% w/h is just one) that add up quickly, I expect you will be very unhappy.  Keep roogling and you will find plenty of info on this.

Wow CS!  We were thinking the same thing…where’s Nestegg?  I’m sure he’d agree.

You can expect 75-125% upfront with backend bogeys as well depending on your business mix.  The best chance to get on the higher end is to have a lot of fee based business.  I think WFA is the best of the big firms based on my due diligence.  I checked them all out and decided this may not be nearly as good as AGE was, but it is better than the other trainwrecks and better than going to a regional and then getting bought by one of the other large firms.
1.  25% w/h is supposed to be fixed soon and at your production level would be about right anyway.
2.  We have a very large fee based platform with something for every taste.
3.  I found once the name changed to WFA from Crapovia that the respect level went up from clients and prospects.

WF has the worst back office operations I have ever seen.  Trades are always being screwed up, online trades are late with the worst executions.  I was lucky to switch to Commonwealth where I was able to give my clients better piece of mind.

[quote]WF has the worst back office operations I have ever seen.  Trades are always being screwed up, online trades are late with the worst executions.  I was lucky to switch to Commonwealth where I was able to give my clients better piece of mind.[/quote] 
Let me give you a peace of my mind, but first let me finish this peace of bread!!  But seriously, piece dude!!
I have noticed big problems on mutual fund transfers in from other firms that you try to sell.   They seem to have a problem keeping track of those funds properly.  I asked a HO person what is the problem with that and he said they are overwhelmed with the quantity of the work and are understaffed.  I haven’t noticed any problems with stock or bond trades.  Actually, the bond execution and platform is much better than what we had at AGE.  Piece out!! 

Agreed, managed platform has more depth than I thought, maybe a little light on fixed income side. Also like the wrap program that makes moves based on percieved changes in economic biz cycles, wherher or not it works, it seems like a good pitch to clients that want to hear more than buy and hold. Curious about the public’s perception of the name vs something like a Merrill. Coomon Sense, why do you feel management was out to get you and your clients? They are also pitching me the referral network hard (isg), so payout is a little light (36%), but a good referral source always makes up for a light payout.

don’t expect referrals out of isg. the bankers are consumed with their new roles.  you still have a great resource via the bank’s book for prospecting, but it isn’t as warm as you’d think.  people get alarmed when they realize a broker is calling them based upon their bank deposits.  it beats a pure cold call, but it has its challenges nonetheless.
management will continuously push you to cross sell bank products that essentially wed your clients to the bank.  they’ll also push you to refer your top clients to wealth management - comical, but they’ll do it.
i work there and i’m happy, but there are some things for one to ponder before making the move.

Just left there yesterday for a number of little reasons, which when put together added up to one big headache.  Everything was so different on the AGE side.  Notably the back office support.  You could actually talk to a person that you got to know over the phone and they would take care of what ever you needed in a hurry.  Now you get routed to some call center, please wait for the next available...

They love to defer comp and give you nothing up front.  They are really starting to push banking products on FA's and it will only get worse.

Positives are that their fee based platforms were very good, support from branch manager, hit your numbers and they will leave you alone to do your thing.

Put it this way.  Going to work there everyday was like trying to change your cell phone plan, and your auto insurance every single day.

wirehouse guys should form an anonymous union.  When-ever the lending guy comes knocking ignore him or laugh.  When a client says "I want a credit card" tell them to call sun trust.  If someone asks about a mortgage refer him to your buddy at BoA (unledd you're at ML then refer him to Wells or whatever)  Just make universal the biggest and loudest failure ever just to put an end to this crap.

NOVA what a great idea.  Tell them for every lending guy that comes by or call you get for some premier checking account at your (fill in the company local branch) guy , you will terminate one fee based account and buy B shares instead.