[quote=joedabrkr] [quote=skolbrother]dude, you are so right and i was going to post to that effect but this individual is choosing not to listen. the problem with people at certain firms is they don't know what they don know because they have never had access to the product and platforms they don' know. [/quote]

Who's on second?
[/quote]

I saw The Who a few nights ago. They were "on second" after The Pretenders.

Who, is Jones gp in China i think.

Who really cares.  It's the same story everywhere,

About sums it up. Last I checked, it was the bottom line that matter. Considering the industry and its clients, I'll bet a young guy could get as good a start at WR as he could anywhere. Each to his own personality. Plenty of good reps I know at WR.

Wow. You should be a politician. You took my words, twisted them, and regurgitated them in a way that makes it look like I made your argument.

You don't know what the hell you are talking about and that's the harsh reality.  Go back and read dudes post, as it sums this argument up quite well. To say that someone starting at WR could do as well as he could anywhere is completely ignorant and naive. They do not have the resources and therefore cannot attract nearly as many HNW individuals and businesses as a major wirehouse.

Those are the simple facts. Stop fighting them.

[quote=skolbrother]

Who, is Jones gp in China i think.

There are some good posts on this thread and dude and wlooney and others make their points quite effectively.

I'll simply add one anecdote to the comments thus far about W & R.

I had a new prospective client in my office a few months ago that was (at that point) a W & R client.  Her exact words after just a few minutes to me were "you are a lot smarter than the guy at Waddell and Reed."  Needless to say, it wasn't too tough to get that account.

Anyone with half a brain knows that these guys are a schlock outfit and cannot be compared in any way to Smith Barney, ML, MS, AGE, EJ (yes even EJ), etc.

Does this mean that the proponents of W & R are in the 'half a brain' or less crowd?  Yes, indeed it does.

I respect the fact that the rest of you, in good faith, tried to explain the facts to these guys, but I think you are wasting your time.  Not to worry though - just think of them as future sources for incoming ACATs.

[quote=Proton]

Does this mean that the proponents of W & R are in the ‘half a brain’ or less crowd?  Yes, indeed it does.

I respect the fact that the rest of you, in good faith, tried to explain the facts to these guys, but I think you are wasting your time.  Not to worry though - just think of them as future sources for incoming ACATs.

 [/quote]

Sometimes you just can't stand between a man and his learning experiences....

Love the "source of ACATS" idea!

Those are the simple facts. Stop fighting them.

Yet WR continues to occupy a place in the market. A person could sign on, go through the training, join the men's or women's league at a couple of local muni golf courses, and make as much as anyone at any wirehouse. While one greaseball in a suit dials and sweats, and closes with his manager,  the peon proprietary fund guy swings and sweats, and closes with a few beers.  Guess you got it all figured out.

To quote a big hitter, Joe dah browkah, master of dah wun linah,

Sometimes you just can't stand between a man and his learning experiences....

Does this mean that the proponents of W & R are in the 'half a brain' or less crowd?  Yes, indeed it does.

You high rent fans really deserve each other.

They do not have the resources and therefore cannot attract nearly as many HNW individuals and businesses as a major wirehouse.

The Ivory Tower speaketh. Most HNWs look will looking  at your eyes while you explain that fancy MSAWS report.

tenthtee, this is simply a question. Do you honestly believe individuals and institutions with greater than 5 million do not look at the resources backing the eyes they are looking at?  My experience is that they do.

[quote=skolbrother]

tenthtee, this is simply a question. Do you honestly believe individuals and institutions with greater than 5 million do not look at the resources backing the eyes they are looking at?  My experience is that they do.

Skol he wouldn't know because he's never spoken to an individual or institution with that kind of assets....

Wrong, Joedah, you needah look at the top decile of my book. Hey, not saying I got too many with 5m +. I think just one gets you in the club.

tenthtee, this is simply a question. Do you honestly believe individuals and institutions with greater than 5 million do not look at the resources backing the eyes they are looking at?  My experience is that they do.

at about 1m+, hnws start to diversify into working with multiple advisors (1m+ IS the definition of HNW).

Generally, and there are some nice exceptions, HNWs want a lot of service, and they don't want to pay for it.

Throw in a wire house that is taking 50% off the top, and this market ain't what its cracked up to be. Only point I'm making is, there are a lot of guys like me making a very nice living, with a mix of HHNW, HNW, and a lot of 250k-1m accounts, and even smaller, with high payouts (85-95%) that are about as far away from the wires as a wise autumn goose.

And you can get 'em on the muni golf course, without even lifting the handset.

And, in order to develop the people skills, and for that matter the ground level networking skills to get to them, I would not lightly turn my nose up at an outfit like WR, point of discussion, just 'cause some high cost wire had a big brand name and “resources”. You have got a ton of costs, and built-in competition, starting from that premise. No big deal, just saying, some of these comments here look pretty silly from the “field”.

my experience is very different.  i have 6 relationships greater than 5m. yes they all have other relationships. however, i find them far less cost conscience than those with 1m. they understand the need for resources and not just competence but intelligence. foundations are the best because they are not necessarily cost averse but risk averse. your point of its “the man not the plan”  (or woman but it doesn’t rhyme) has merit but I assume most of my competitors are charismatic and can sell therefore  when i get the opportunity to serve the ultra hnw I want to make sure I’m not just percieved as a good guy from the little planning office up the street. just my take.

OK, so we all know W&R is the lowest of the low in the Industry.  We know they have the bottom of the barrel Mutual Funds, no analysts what so ever, and every one at every office across the country is an unprofessional idiot.  I am brand new straight off the turnip truck so you will have to bear with me. Is not the whole point of this industry to make clients more money and minimize the risk of losing the money they already have?  Let's just say for the last five years I returned an average of 19% a year.  For arguments sake, let's say I start as an FA with W&R and return 19% a year back to my clients.  While "uptown" at the Smith Barney office they have FA's that return a whooping 7% a year with 12 different fees.  But, man they sure do have a great office, and oh yeah man those commercials really grab ya.  They have analytical genisues studying every stock and their Mutual Funds all return 11%.....  What do you think Joe client is going to do when he finds out his neighbor went slummin' down at the W&R office and got a 19% return last year compared to his 7% at S&B? 

The point is, if you can show the client a higher return they will do business with you no matter how many assets you have to manage with.  For all those who are going to post saying they can return more at a bigger wirehouse, how much did you actually return your clients this year, and yes use those after-fees numbers.  I think you will see a more level playing field when you start to talk about what really matters to the client. 

when i get the opportunity to serve the ultra hnw I want to make sure I'm not just percieved as a good guy from the little planning office up the street.

That works. Could depend on where you live, how you like to work. Plenty of people with $$$ who care or don't care about the "capabilities" of the firm - though most everyone can do a good job with a basic back office and other professionals. Just don't diss someone starting out because they don't affiliate with mother m type corporate magnitude.

[quote=WADRED]

OK, so we all know W&R is the lowest of the low in the Industry.  We know they have the bottom of the barrel Mutual Funds, no analysts what so ever, and every one at every office across the country is an unprofessional idiot.  I am brand new straight off the turnip truck so you will have to bear with me. Is not the whole point of this industry to make clients more money and minimize the risk of losing the money they already have?  Let's just say for the last five years I returned an average of 19% a year.  For arguments sake, let's say I start as an FA with W&R and return 19% a year back to my clients.  While "uptown" at the Smith Barney office they have FA's that return a whooping 7% a year with 12 different fees.  But, man they sure do have a great office, and oh yeah man those commercials really grab ya.  They have analytical genisues studying every stock and their Mutual Funds all return 11%.....  What do you think Joe client is going to do when he finds out his neighbor went slummin' down at the W&R office and got a 19% return last year compared to his 7% at S&B? 

The point is, if you can show the client a higher return they will do business with you no matter how many assets you have to manage with.  For all those who are going to post saying they can return more at a bigger wirehouse, how much did you actually return your clients this year, and yes use those after-fees numbers.  I think you will see a more level playing field when you start to talk about what really matters to the client. 

[/quote]

Wad, the point is moot. YOu're stuck. Noone else will talk to you. The only firm that would hire you happens to be the worst place to work. Do you think that everybody else it stupid and that YOU have stumbled on the greatest place to do business? Do you think that WR bought your name from a list of high caliber candidates? THey took you because they know that people who are rejected by the real firms are the best that they can get.

QUit your whining and go work on making people 19%/year.

Is not the whole point of this industry to make clients more money and minimize the risk of losing the money they already have? 

No, that is not the point.  The point of being a financial advisor is to maximize your clients chance of achieving their financial goals.

Let's just say for the last five years I returned an average of 19% a year. 

As a financial advisor, you don't have a rate of return.  Each of your clients need to be treated as individuals and will have different goals and objectives necessitating different investments.  On the other hand, if you want to be a money manager, then this would make sense, but that is a very different career.