How to avoid personal advising job scam?
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Hi all thank you for your help. I am a recent graduate with a finance degree hoping to break out of the restaurant business and into the finance industry. I am trying to weed out all of the scams out there, for what is a legitimate personal advising opportunity. I have recently been offered a position as a personal advising/management trainee position for a company called Independent Capital Management, ICM of Sagepoint Financial Inc. they want to charge me 430 for my series 6, 63 and insurance licenses, and want me to go through training without paying me, which should take roughly a month. Also, once hired it is 100% commission based, with an option for a draw package at the beginning. This all sounds very fishy to me can anybody confirm or deny my suspicions being valid as opposed to having to pay my dues to break into the industry?
Anything would really help me out thank you very much!
Sagepoint is a legit company. It is a subsidiary of AIG and an independent B/D so the fact that you would have to pay isn't very surprising since you will have a high payout or should. You would be better of starting out somewhere that will pay you a salary to get started. Also, you would want to get your 7 rather than your 6.
[quote=bradrw]
Ya the problem is that i cant seem to find anywhere that is offering a salary plus commission which is really frustrating. And with being a recent graduate I suppose that makes me much more succeptible to a scam. They want me to get my series 6, 63 and life and health insurance licenses before getting my 7 in 6 months. More than anything though, is it feasable to think I could actually support myself on a soley commission based job right now?
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Insurance guys get their 6 & 63, not financial advisors. At a minimum you need a 7 and a 66 plus your life license to do the job correctly. It sounds like they want you to sell insurance. Don't get me wrong, the world needs insurance agents, but if what you want to do is advise, I'd suggest looking elsewhere.
SuperMan is right, Jones does offer both salary and commissions, plus bonuses at the beginning. You should find their website. I'll save you some trouble: http://careers.edwardjones.com/us/fa/index.html
I thought it was pretty standard for most wirehouses and regional firms to offer some sort of salary packages for their trainees. It's strange that you aren't finding any. Where have you looked besides the one place you mentioned?
ya L&L and just a bunch of smaller independent companies i guess. Part of that is because i dont know who else i should apply for. if EJ jones wouldnt hire me right now, even though I have a B/S in finance, do you think it would at least be beneficial to go through the training here and obtain these licenses to put on my resume and then re-apply for edward jones? also, do you have any other companies besides EJ that you would recommend me applying for? thank you again for your help.
There are lots of routes to take in this business. If it were me starting over at someplace other than EDJ, I'd look for a smaller regional firm that hasn't been beat up in the news. Stifel Nicholas has a very good reputation here in the midwest, but I'm not sure how far their network goes. I'm sure there are reputable mid sized firms wherever you are.
I wouldn't recommend starting with a company you know you're going to leave without understanding what strings are attached. For instance, if you go to work for EDJ and leave to go to another firm in less than three years, they could go after you for up to $75,000 in training costs. That's a lot of cash. If you accept the job with Sagepoint and decide a year down the road that you don't like that company, what kind of suprises are there waiting for you?
At the end of the day, make sure the company you wind up with allows you to do what you want to do. Way too many newbies end up someplace they thought was going to be great only to find out that they don't like what they're selling, or they can't appropriately do what they planned. So, if you want to run a planning business, selling term life policies isn't going to be satisifying to you.
I looked at ICM's website. You're in SoCal, right? Maybe that will help someone give you an idea of where else to look. I just don't know much about the regional firms in your area.
I do think it's funny that ICM touts itself as having offices throughout the nation, but the reality is their offices are all in CA with the exception of the one in Vegas.
I am going through the same thing and having the same thoughts about ICM. What ended up happening with you? did it work out or was it just insurance? Should I take the job or no?