Asset Inheritor Jokes
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Hey Guys,
I’ve been around a lot of asset inheritors over the years. I’m sure you
have to.
Do they all think they are clones of Ted Jones or Charlie Merrill???
I’ve never seen an asset inheritor fail or wash out. Surely they aren’t all great or naturals in the business.
I think we should start an “asset inheritors” joke section of the forum. I could tell ASSet inheritor jokes all day long. Funniest thing I ever heard.
Sword
It’s a tough as nails biz and what I’ve seen, the assets that are inherited are the bottom of a vet’s book, typically not the ideal client. At the wirehouses a broker leaves, they split the book up at managers discretion and the big dogs get the red meat and the rookies get the bone. I’ve also seen guys and gals that take over a vacant Jones office and next thing you know they’re going to Bali or Ireland or Hawaii or Riviera Maya, or Australia, or Turks and Caicos or New Zealand, or etc.etc.etc…Or Daddy brings Little Jimmy into the biz and he’s an instant success. And all I have to say about that is, more power to him. If you’ve got that train, ride it, put that gravy all over the mashed potatos and the meat.
Anything below 10 million we call bronze spoon. 10-20 million would be silver spoon. 20-30 would be gold spoon, and over 40 million is platinum spoon.
I would much rather see a friend or relative inherit a book than see complete newbs with no ties to the book inherit it. I think people that have a vested interest in developing the business can better develop the book than a stranger that was in the right place at the right time.
I fully intend to give/sell my book of business to my son or daughter. As a business owner, I earned the right to do so. Those that came before me earned the same right. And damn the haters like swordoftruth who are bitter because they actually have to work to build a business.
I mean, JFC, get on with it already. Some folks get into this business with a head start. Some don't. For that matter, why the hell do you even care? Those who inherit a book have ZERO bearing on whether or not YOU survive.[quote=deekay]I fully intend to give/sell my book of business to my son or daughter. As a business owner, I earned the right to do so. Those that came before me earned the same right. And damn the haters like swordoftruth who are bitter because they actually have to work to build a business.
I mean, JFC, get on with it already. Some folks get into this business with a head start. Some don't. For that matter, why the hell do you even care? Those who inherit a book have ZERO bearing on whether or not YOU survive.[/quote] I think some people who inherit any type of business haven't put in the blood and sweat equity that those who didn't inherit it have.[quote=snaggletooth][quote=deekay]I fully intend to give/sell my book of business to my son or daughter. As a business owner, I earned the right to do so. Those that came before me earned the same right. And damn the haters like swordoftruth who are bitter because they actually have to work to build a business.
I mean, JFC, get on with it already. Some folks get into this business with a head start. Some don't. For that matter, why the hell do you even care? Those who inherit a book have ZERO bearing on whether or not YOU survive.[/quote] I think some people who inherit any type of business haven't put in the blood and sweat equity that those who didn't inherit it have.[/quote] Yes and no. Good friend of mine bought his father's business for $1. The thing had been bleeding cash for three years. His father had actually been putting money into the firm (manufacturer) in order to make payroll. My friend came in, and within 2 years, took no salary (his wife worked), completely changed the business model, negotiated a merger with another firm, and he could probably now sell his stake for $10mm (THAT took more than 2 years). Point is, it's one thing to take over a book that's humming and just sit in your chair and collect "trails". It's another thing to take over a book (business), redefine it, and make it an exceptional business. I guess because I came from a business background, I admire people that can take ordinary businesses and make them great. Many of the great business people did not start from scratch. They took mangled, crummy little companies and turned them around. Hey, Warren Buffet "bought" his "book" of business. He didn't start from scratch. I wouldn't turn my nose at him.Then you must have been looking in the wrong direction. I've seen Goodknights advisors crash and burn within months of going on their own. I've seen people inherit $10MM books, sit on their thumbs, and then wonder why their pipeline isn't full. There's a RL in our area who had three other GKN advisors before this one he's got now is finally going to succeed. The office down the road from me has had 5 advisors in 6 years, all of them inheriting the book that was in the office. On the flip side of that, I know of a couple of Jones guys who have taken over large books of $100MM or better and turned them into $250MM+ offices in just a few years. And no, it wasn't the 1990's when the assets would have done that anyway. David Lane took over Tom Bartow's office and turned it into a goldmine for Jones guys in the Paducah area. As one of those guys who took over an office, I'll tell you I still have to make the phone calls to pay the bills. Some months I do, some not so much. It's not a sure thing.
I’ve never seen an asset inheritor fail or wash out. Surely they aren’t all great or naturals in the business.
The only problem with asset inheritors is when they try to give you career advice.
I would love to have had a book handed to me, but I hope I would have realized my good fortune and shut up to those who are starting from scratch![quote=conage]The only problem with asset inheritors is when they try to give you career advice.
I would love to have had a book handed to me, but I hope I would have realized my good fortune and shut up to those who are starting from scratch![/quote] At AGE we would always get the "Successful FC Stories" cd's sent out each quarter. There was the very rare random nugget of useful info, but most of the stories would open with the host from WKRP in St. Louie giving a quick synopsis of this FC's current accomplishments, production, bonus level, etc., and then he'd start interviewing the dude/chick, and he/she would talk about his/her wonderful asset allocation strategies, and client contact system, and referral stream, and how to leverage wholesaler support, and how they've annuitized their book, blah, blah, blah... At the end, we would learn that "Mandy McShortskirts got into the business after interning in the branch, where her father had been manager for 37 years." Or another one would be "John Jacob Jinglehimer began his career as an FC 20 years ago, shortly after his wife became human resources and benefits manager for GE." Thanks, all that info really helps those of us holding Saturday am. seminars on how to survive Y2K. FYI, Successful FC cd's make a very satisfying cloud of shining debris when struck by 7/8 oz. of #8 shot at about 1350 f.p.s.Can anyone tell me why EDJ and AGE never merged. They sound exactly the same and they were so close together.
Hmm, I would bet that there are inheritors that have posted here. It is funny how they give career advice and tell the ML POA/PMD people that they are just whiners who don’t want to work hard.
They may have similar cultures, but their business models are different. EDJ is tough to merge with. The one-man office thing makes it unattractive to outside buyers. And I don't think many in STL (Jones) would want to part ways with their private ownership and independance from Wall St. (of course, unless they retired, then they would be happy to sell their partnership shares!).Can anyone tell me why EDJ and AGE never merged. They sound exactly the same and they were so close together.
Actually, if you retired with partership, you probably don’t want to sell them. You’re getting a really good pension like income stream off of those SLP dollars. I think what has happened to the firms like ML and AGE makes the partnership at Jones that much stronger. If you haven’t read that article that was posted about Mr. Edwards, who had all of his estate invested in AG stock, then you really ought to. That’s the reason Jones people don’t want to merge with anyone else.
Interesting thread. I’m on a positive thinking kick so I’ve been trying to be less negative as a whole. It’s easy to let negativity swamp us.
I agree that asset inheritors have no effect on whether or not go it alone guys survive. I do think that how firms handle the issue can effect people. They recently did a scientific tests on monkees. They asked two monkeys to do a trick. One was rewarded with a banana and one wasn't. After two or three tricks the monkey who wasn't getting a banana stopped playing the game. Fairness counts. We can all pretend it doesn't. When rules of fair play and fairness go out the window these are all signposts of our descent into Banana republic-hood. I think Merrill Lynch handled the asset inheriting issue better than Edward Jones does. At Merrill you knew exactly where you stood. My boss there even told us that rookies going it alone had a different job than the asset inheritors. That upfront frankness was appreciated and helped. Out of my original class at Merrill only one guy is still at Merrill. The guy took over his Dad's book. I'm the only other broker who is still in the business but I'm at Jones now. Jones doesn't seem like it has any policy on who inherits assets. It seems to be like an old buddy system or some kind of a lottery. I know ideally we shouldn't think about it and most of the time I don't. If new guys are actually pions it's better to have full knowledge of this rather than phoney propaganda about how everyone starts from the same spot. I do good from the underdog role and actually thrive on it. I might be in a region that has more nepotism than most. In my region there are so many inheritors it is difficult to tell who has actually achieved what. I notice too that as "actual go it alone rookies" wash out the history of who inherited what is "erased". The new rookies coming in are idealistic and think everyone started from scratch. The bottom line is the only thing that matters is making it. Sometimes switching firms, negotiating a better deal, and buying your business some time during a tough market are the best decisions you can make. I notice a lot of our so-called rookies are guys bringing books over from other firms. They get the low rookie quota for a couple years and "set the world on fire" as they bring there old books over. Of course people who benefit from nepotism or cronyism will express outrage when we think outside of the box. The box benefits them and the people they care about. Free thinking is what makes this country great and also what makes our profession great. An excess of cronyism is part of the problem that has pushed us all to the edge of the abyss.[quote=conage] The only problem with asset inheritors is when they try to give you career advice.
I would love to have had a book handed to me, but I hope I would have realized my good fortune and shut up to those who are starting from scratch![/quote]
And I believe THAT is the problem most of us have with asset inheritors - not that they got it, just that they think they know better than the guy who had to scratch his way to his success.