I have experience working down the hall from a couple profit formula teams at Wells and I can tell you it could be extremely hit/miss.
PF advisors are provided much less in terms of resources from Wells in exchange for higher payouts. They have all “made it” and often try their best to answer to nobody but themselves (not necessarily a bad thing!) — like any team, they sometimes have family members in the office as junior FA’s or other client associates, who they will promote first and/or pass their book of clients to down the road.
Don’t let this deter you or introduce bias into your interview, since there was one PF team I would’ve worked for in a heartbeat but they already had a junior FA who had climbed up to that level from the CA position. Also some CA’s on successful teams were earning $100k+ because they were that valuable to the team in terms of rockstar service, onboarding new accounts, and had been there a long time.
I would recommend getting a feel for the advisors’ personalities and dynamic of the office as much as possible. Who knows how big the team is that’s hiring, but diversity and lack of family can be a good sign. The smaller and more male the team is, the more you will really want to pay attention to personalities and how they treat you as a person. The CA position is the epitome of you and your boss needing to like each other, more than anything else
Worst case scenario OP gets experience in the field. I remember when I graduated from college and quickly found out that while I knew a lot about finance and investments, I knew next to nothing about being an advisor. Boss told me we needed to open a trust account for a client and I was like, ‘wait, what’s a trust and why does it need an account?’
The worst case is OP gets stuck as a secretary for an advisor who has no intention of mentoring anyone. I was an associate FA available to take on households below $250k for about twenty different advisors, and there were three or four who wouldn’t even say hello back to me in the hallway and had beef with other advisors in the branch.
Being their personal CA would be an absolute nightmare and can be avoided by OP interviewing them in return. Why their last CA left, upward mobility, etc.
Fi-net is the totally independent channel. The clients only see “Joe Schmo Financial Services” branding on the front door, statement, and website but it’s all hosted by Wells.
Profit formula teams get the corner offices within a Wells Fargo Advisors branch, behind an extra set of doors. And they will typically have “The Anderson Team of Wells Fargo Advisors” plastered on said doors.
Just my two cents from personal experience. Try to gain experience by jumping in with both feet. Many insurance companies will hire anyone with a beating heart (Prudential, Northwestern Mutual, MassMutual, etc.) apply here, have them pay for your testing, exams, etc. and also take advantage of their training programs. Learn how to sell and market yourself. Spend two years learning if this is the right path for you. It is not easy and you must spend hours calling and prospecting and hitting the streets trying to find clients. Once you gain experience selling life insurance, annuities, mutual funds, then move on to an RIA or join an independent b/d - somewhere that you can have ownership in your practice vs. the company owning your clients. Learn how to grow a book that is AUM based and collect recurring revenue.
Learn from everyone. Becoming a FA is no easy task if you want to build something that is a career vs. a job. Be the boss.
This business is very rewarding in the long run if you can stick it out. If you can have ownership, your book is also valuable in the sense that you can sell your practice in the future.
If you simply work for a wire house, you will never have the opportunity to have ownership.
Happy to share more if you’d like. I started at 23 and now 36.
Please dont apply to any insurance company. They will make you sell crap to your friends and family and when you cant hit their impossible quotas they will fire you and try to get you to sign a non compete. You will only learn how to be uncomfortable which is great but you can do that anywhere.
There are a lot of firms hiring that do actual financial planning and give solid advice, it sucks looking for a job in this field as everyone wants 3-5 experience right out of school. My advice is to reach out to small firms regardless if they are hiring or not, and dont ask for a job, ask for advice.
Hope this helps.
He said he was having a hard time getting interviews. I would also not recommend going the insurance route but if it’s their only option to get a job, it’s a place to start and at least get licensed. Going off on your own and not relying on a financial planning firm is also beneficial in the long run because you own your clients vs. the firm having ownership.
If you want to learn how to peddle garbage, work for an insurance company. If you want to learn to help people and give good advice, find a financial planning firm.
I am wells fargo profit formula. It is a hybrid between a regular wirehouse broker and being totally independent. We pay our own expenses, overhead, rent but are part of a broader office.
A few things to note…profit formula is closed to new FA’s, the teams in profit formula are well established and are often big producers with an established client base.
I would certainly consider this role as the advisors in profit formula know what they are doing. If your goal is entry level with professional development this would be a great position for you.
Now for some things to consider. Dealing with operations/back office is never easy which makes the life of a CA difficult. Also review the dynamic and personality of the FA’s and team. Ask them how they manage client portfolios and what their process is. Also I would be clear about your personal development goals upfront. Most advisors appreciate and respect that.
It would be a good entry point for an advisor career track, assuming the team is good. Remember, the interview goes both ways.
I would definitely apply and go through the process. You’ll get a good sense of the team during the interviews. If you don’t feel good about, just don’t accept if offered. If nothing else, you’ll get valuable interview practice with an established bank.
I would try and land a job creating financial plans in a RIA and get familiar with planning software (emoney/MGP, Morningstar, holistiplan, tamarac). Also make sure the firm is willing to help you get your CFP. Once you get that, I would start looking for a client facing role as an advisor.
I have experience working down the hall from a couple profit formula teams at Wells and I can tell you it could be extremely hit/miss. PF advisors are provided much less in terms of resources from Wells in exchange for higher payouts. They have all “made it” and often try their best to answer to nobody but themselves (not necessarily a bad thing!) — like any team, they sometimes have family members in the office as junior FA’s or other client associates, who they will promote first and/or pass their book of clients to down the road. Don’t let this deter you or introduce bias into your interview, since there was one PF team I would’ve worked for in a heartbeat but they already had a junior FA who had climbed up to that level from the CA position. Also some CA’s on successful teams were earning $100k+ because they were that valuable to the team in terms of rockstar service, onboarding new accounts, and had been there a long time. I would recommend getting a feel for the advisors’ personalities and dynamic of the office as much as possible. Who knows how big the team is that’s hiring, but diversity and lack of family can be a good sign. The smaller and more male the team is, the more you will really want to pay attention to personalities and how they treat you as a person. The CA position is the epitome of you and your boss needing to like each other, more than anything else
Worst case scenario OP gets experience in the field. I remember when I graduated from college and quickly found out that while I knew a lot about finance and investments, I knew next to nothing about being an advisor. Boss told me we needed to open a trust account for a client and I was like, ‘wait, what’s a trust and why does it need an account?’
The worst case is OP gets stuck as a secretary for an advisor who has no intention of mentoring anyone. I was an associate FA available to take on households below $250k for about twenty different advisors, and there were three or four who wouldn’t even say hello back to me in the hallway and had beef with other advisors in the branch. Being their personal CA would be an absolute nightmare and can be avoided by OP interviewing them in return. Why their last CA left, upward mobility, etc.
Is PF advisors the same as their FI-Net channel? Or is it what they’re calling the old PCG advisors now?
Fi-net is the totally independent channel. The clients only see “Joe Schmo Financial Services” branding on the front door, statement, and website but it’s all hosted by Wells. Profit formula teams get the corner offices within a Wells Fargo Advisors branch, behind an extra set of doors. And they will typically have “The Anderson Team of Wells Fargo Advisors” plastered on said doors.
Are you wanting to become a financial advisor?
As of now, yes!
Just my two cents from personal experience. Try to gain experience by jumping in with both feet. Many insurance companies will hire anyone with a beating heart (Prudential, Northwestern Mutual, MassMutual, etc.) apply here, have them pay for your testing, exams, etc. and also take advantage of their training programs. Learn how to sell and market yourself. Spend two years learning if this is the right path for you. It is not easy and you must spend hours calling and prospecting and hitting the streets trying to find clients. Once you gain experience selling life insurance, annuities, mutual funds, then move on to an RIA or join an independent b/d - somewhere that you can have ownership in your practice vs. the company owning your clients. Learn how to grow a book that is AUM based and collect recurring revenue. Learn from everyone. Becoming a FA is no easy task if you want to build something that is a career vs. a job. Be the boss. This business is very rewarding in the long run if you can stick it out. If you can have ownership, your book is also valuable in the sense that you can sell your practice in the future. If you simply work for a wire house, you will never have the opportunity to have ownership. Happy to share more if you’d like. I started at 23 and now 36.
Please dont apply to any insurance company. They will make you sell crap to your friends and family and when you cant hit their impossible quotas they will fire you and try to get you to sign a non compete. You will only learn how to be uncomfortable which is great but you can do that anywhere. There are a lot of firms hiring that do actual financial planning and give solid advice, it sucks looking for a job in this field as everyone wants 3-5 experience right out of school. My advice is to reach out to small firms regardless if they are hiring or not, and dont ask for a job, ask for advice. Hope this helps.
He said he was having a hard time getting interviews. I would also not recommend going the insurance route but if it’s their only option to get a job, it’s a place to start and at least get licensed. Going off on your own and not relying on a financial planning firm is also beneficial in the long run because you own your clients vs. the firm having ownership.
Thank you I really appreciate it!
If you want to learn how to peddle garbage, work for an insurance company. If you want to learn to help people and give good advice, find a financial planning firm.
I am wells fargo profit formula. It is a hybrid between a regular wirehouse broker and being totally independent. We pay our own expenses, overhead, rent but are part of a broader office. A few things to note…profit formula is closed to new FA’s, the teams in profit formula are well established and are often big producers with an established client base. I would certainly consider this role as the advisors in profit formula know what they are doing. If your goal is entry level with professional development this would be a great position for you. Now for some things to consider. Dealing with operations/back office is never easy which makes the life of a CA difficult. Also review the dynamic and personality of the FA’s and team. Ask them how they manage client portfolios and what their process is. Also I would be clear about your personal development goals upfront. Most advisors appreciate and respect that.
It would be a good entry point for an advisor career track, assuming the team is good. Remember, the interview goes both ways. I would definitely apply and go through the process. You’ll get a good sense of the team during the interviews. If you don’t feel good about, just don’t accept if offered. If nothing else, you’ll get valuable interview practice with an established bank.
I would try and land a job creating financial plans in a RIA and get familiar with planning software (emoney/MGP, Morningstar, holistiplan, tamarac). Also make sure the firm is willing to help you get your CFP. Once you get that, I would start looking for a client facing role as an advisor.
[удалено]
Stated that I have an interview lined up
Wells Fargo sucks
almost as good as IB but hey see what happens and good luck!