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Anyone a Financial Advisor

L

LuNoTiCK

Diamond Member
I am pretty sure I can get a job as a financial advisor, but one thing I am wary about is how do they find their clients. I don't really want to go up to every person on the street, and neither do I want to hassle all my friends and family, only help them when they ask me.

The company pays for the training and pays for you starting out, but after like three months, the rest is all up to you, meaning it's all commission. I would be fine with that, but I can imagine the finding clients would be tough. If they found them for me and I just did the rest that would be one thing, but you have to get them yourself. Also I wonder how many hours a week do those guys work.

Also what do you guys think are good jobs for someone with a finance degree, but does not want to work a ridiculous amount of hours a week. I just want something flexible, I don't need to be rich.
 
Lots & lots & lots & lots of cold calling and prospecting.

Edward Jones expects you to make 100+ contacts a week your first year. Good luck. It's not an easy job by any stretch of the imagination for most people.
 

They teach adult ed night class with some course title that'll hook people in, then try to get the class members & all their relatives & friends as clients.
 
You have to find your own clients. You better work a lot of hours when you're just starting out or you'll starve. Once you build up a nice client base, then you can back off.

It's the main reason why most people in that business (and insurance sales) don't last a year. They don't want to work at it. Knowing that up front might be what leads you to pursue it or go in a different direction.
 
Originally posted by: kranky
You have to find your own clients. You better work a lot of hours when you're just starting out or you'll starve. Once you build up a nice client base, then you can back off.

It's the main reason why most people in that business (and insurance sales) don't last a year. They don't want to work at it. Knowing that up front might be what leads you to pursue it or go in a different direction.
Click to expand...

Not entirely true. Some companies (I think AMEX is an example) refer clients to their advisors. These customers call in because they want to invest some money. The service is advertised.
 
Originally posted by: fitzov
Originally posted by: kranky
You have to find your own clients. You better work a lot of hours when you're just starting out or you'll starve. Once you build up a nice client base, then you can back off.

It's the main reason why most people in that business (and insurance sales) don't last a year. They don't want to work at it. Knowing that up front might be what leads you to pursue it or go in a different direction.
Click to expand...

Not entirely true. Some companies (I think AMEX is an example) refer clients to their advisors. These customers call in because they want to invest some money. The service is advertised.
Click to expand...

And the payscale reflects that.
 
Originally posted by: fitzov
Originally posted by: kranky
You have to find your own clients. You better work a lot of hours when you're just starting out or you'll starve. Once you build up a nice client base, then you can back off.

It's the main reason why most people in that business (and insurance sales) don't last a year. They don't want to work at it. Knowing that up front might be what leads you to pursue it or go in a different direction.
Click to expand...

Not entirely true. Some companies (I think AMEX is an example) refer clients to their advisors. These customers call in because they want to invest some money. The service is advertised.
Click to expand...

True, but most of your good clients will be found through social activities or mutual friends/contacts. Also I know some guys that got most of their clients through cold calls, which personally I could not stand to do.
 
Originally posted by: fitzov
Originally posted by: kranky
You have to find your own clients. You better work a lot of hours when you're just starting out or you'll starve. Once you build up a nice client base, then you can back off.

It's the main reason why most people in that business (and insurance sales) don't last a year. They don't want to work at it. Knowing that up front might be what leads you to pursue it or go in a different direction.
Click to expand...

Not entirely true. Some companies (I think AMEX is an example) refer clients to their advisors. These customers call in because they want to invest some money. The service is advertised.
Click to expand...

Technically that's true. But practically, an advisor couldn't survive on the clients that come in that way.
 
I can tell you that financial advising isn't as much about your advice as it is your ability to prospect.

I have met numerous multi-million dollar per year income financial advisors and what do people want to hear from them? How they fill up their calendar every week. Nobody cares to know what they are selling, because getting people in the door is the most expensive and most challenging thing to do.

If you can't do that, sit in a bank and let your clients be hand fed to you. If you can make it in the real world, you'll get paid handsomely.
 
Originally posted by: LuNoTiCK
I am pretty sure I can get a job as a financial advisor, but one thing I am wary about is how do they find their clients. I don't really want to go up to every person on the street, and neither do I want to hassle all my friends and family, only help them when they ask me.

The company pays for the training and pays for you starting out, but after like three months, the rest is all up to you, meaning it's all commission. I would be fine with that, but I can imagine the finding clients would be tough. If they found them for me and I just did the rest that would be one thing, but you have to get them yourself. Also I wonder how many hours a week do those guys work.

Also what do you guys think are good jobs for someone with a finance degree, but does not want to work a ridiculous amount of hours a week. I just want something flexible, I don't need to be rich.
Click to expand...


The key is which comapny you are talking about. Who is it?
 
The other thing to keep in mind are the disclosures and rules you have to follow when marketing and soliciting. Depending on what you are selling, the rules can be nitpicky on what you can do/say.

Referrals require disclosure. Incentives (free consultations) fall under special regulations. Ect.

It's a lot different than selling kitchen knives door to door. 😛
 
FWIW, I currently hold my Series 7 & 66 licenses, as well as being blue skied in all 50 states as a licensed securities broker.

I've often considered the Edward Jones Financial Advisor type jobs since I've got the licensing out of the way, but I just don't think I have the sales skills or desire to do the prospecting required to be successful.

It's just a very cuthroat industry that is not "n00b" friendly. Seriously, how many investors want to talk to a wet behind the years fresh out of college kid about how to handle their investments? It's just a very tough situation to throw yourself into.
 
Originally posted by: vi_edit
Seriously, how many investors want to talk to a wet behind the years fresh out of college kid about how to handle their investments? It's just a very tough situation to throw yourself into.
Click to expand...

Heck, sometimes I give advice to those wet-behind-the-ears people! 🙂
 
Originally posted by: LuNoTiCK
The companies name is First investors.

www.firstinvestors.com
Click to expand...

Hey, that's kind of clever...

"....so, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, that's our approach. I'd love to have the chance to help you reach your financial goals."

"Gee, LuNoTiCK, you seem kind of young... I'm not sure this is the right firm for me."

"Why, of course it is! Our name is First Investors... and you're my first investors!"

🙂
 
Originally posted by: fitzov
Originally posted by: kranky
You have to find your own clients. You better work a lot of hours when you're just starting out or you'll starve. Once you build up a nice client base, then you can back off.

It's the main reason why most people in that business (and insurance sales) don't last a year. They don't want to work at it. Knowing that up front might be what leads you to pursue it or go in a different direction.
Click to expand...

Not entirely true. Some companies (I think AMEX is an example) refer clients to their advisors. These customers call in because they want to invest some money. The service is advertised.
Click to expand...

Taken from a survey of the vault's profile on Ameriprise:

50+ hrs of labor. No salary, no personal office or personal phone,
just running around the streets trying to sell financial plans. If you
don't mind working for free at over 50+ hours a week, not getting a
phone to call clients from or your own desk, then this is the place for
you. They have over 40+ advisors in the office! This means you are just
another number to them. You join and they don't give you a phone because
they'd have to have 40+ phones. They don't give you your own personal
desk office because they'd have to have 40+ personal desk offices. It's
just horrible. They fire people for cold calling clients so most of the
advisors go door to door and either live in low income apartments or
with their parents. Try selling financial advice to people you know when
they know you live with your parents. Or try driving door to door when
you don't get a base pay or salary to pay for gas and expenses.
Click to expand...

And another:

One important point -- as a P1 Financial Advisor, until you reach 150%
of sales goals (10% of advisors make it) there is absolutley no
deviation allowed from the set in stone 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m., 60-
hour plus Saturdays, workweek. So, if you have small children or are a
newlywed, save yourself the heartache of never seeing your family. They
will hate you very soon if you take this job. Only 3 days off are
allowed aside from holidays in the first year. Second year you get 28
days and that includes holidays, but you aren't allowed to take a
vacation or even a day off if you haven't met your sales goals, so
rarely does anyone get time off, period.

You need a "natural market" to do well (earn a decent income) in this
job -- you will need to find at least 35 new clients a year, and if you
don't have friends and relatives, this is going to be very hard to do.
Click to expand...
 
Originally posted by: LuNoTiCK
The companies name is First investors.

www.firstinvestors.com
Click to expand...

Here you go from the vault..take it for what it's worth:

Don't interview with them

It will be a waste of your time.

Below is my experience of an "interview" with them at their Park Avenue office.

First of all, it's not an interview. It's an infomercial for their company. You will be asked to fill out a form along with a bunch of other people in a room. Then they will show you a promotional tape. I basically ignored it and continued filling out the application form.

After the interview someone comes in and talks a little bit about the company. Another person takes notes about who speaks up and looks like a good candidate.

After the person finishes talking, he asks everyone about whether they would like to continue with the application process.

In my case about half of the people left the room. The other half stayed. I was unsure so I stayed. I ended up declining the guy's offer to give me a real interview.

Why I don't like First Investors: they have a bad reputation I think as a broker/dealer.

Second, I will not be selling First Investor mutual funds to my friends and family, because I think they're really not performing all that well.

First Investor's business is based on commissions and managing people's money. They take a percentage of your money when you invest in their mutual funds. They are not an advisory firm, they are a broker/dealer and thus do not provide advice, only recommendations.

My advice: take a look at their mutual fund performance and decide for yourself if you want to work for this company.
Click to expand...
 
Wow syringer. Thanks for telling me all of that. I got some serious rethinking to do and way more applications to fill out.
 
Institutional Sales FTW.

That's where you want to be.

From what I recall First Investors is a bucket shop.

I'm also registered and have a series 7, 63, 86 and 87.
 
Originally posted by: JS80
I've noticed that most of the financial advisor industry is shady and full of conflicts of interest.
Click to expand...

What a broad statement for a huge industry. Care to elaborate?

Or should we throw in all huge industries as well and call them all shady because of some news we read?
 
Originally posted by: dnuggett
Originally posted by: JS80
I've noticed that most of the financial advisor industry is shady and full of conflicts of interest.
Click to expand...

What a broad statement for a huge industry. Care to elaborate?

Or should we throw in all huge industries as well and call them all shady because of some news we read?
Click to expand...

Because by the numbers, most "finanical advisors" are nothing more than annunity or mutual fund peddlers for their umbrella corps. They really don't advise as much as they try and sell.

In my honest opinion, *good* advisors are paid by the hour/appointment, and not by commissions for pushing products. Sadly most of them are just salesmen, not advisors as their titles may suggest.
 
Originally posted by: vi_edit
Originally posted by: dnuggett
Originally posted by: JS80
I've noticed that most of the financial advisor industry is shady and full of conflicts of interest.
Click to expand...

What a broad statement for a huge industry. Care to elaborate?

Or should we throw in all huge industries as well and call them all shady because of some news we read?
Click to expand...

Because by the numbers, most "finanical advisors" are nothing more than annunity or mutual fund peddlers for their umbrella corps. They really don't advise as much as they try and sell.

In my honest opinion, *good* advisors are paid by the hour/appointment, and not by commissions for pushing products. Sadly most of them are just salesmen, not advisors as their titles may suggest.
Click to expand...

Yup, they are mostly salesmen and will push on you whatever pays them the most commissions. They will sell you mutual funds in a bear market and a $1 million life insurance when you're 25 making $30k.

A few hours of internet research is not worth the 1-2% of your assets you pay as a fee (yearly).
 
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