500 or bust?
3938 RepliesJump to last post
I assume some stuff on here is the truth, so I read that speech and was shaking my head. He has mentioned on here before somewhere that his retirement blew up in all this financial mess, so despite the big talk obviously needs or would like to fix that. But to spew all this corperate bs for 4 months and then allegedly be gone the same day he said he was 100% sure money was to be announced is a joke. Dont know who gave him his info, BM, RM, Tarot Cards, Soothsayer, Bens wife's best friends next store neighbor or what, but think he believed it. I was told in October not one nickel was coming from WFC so i have been ready for all of this. We'll see how it plays out, some will leave, some will join WS, WFA or whatever because they offer them a seat. In a few months no one will read this thread anymore.I hate to call a 60 year old a douchebag but you fit the description. OK so you have decided to go to another bank and get paid 270% and you tell us its not about the money? Please its all about the money and if it wasnt you would be headed to lpl or sf. I hope your clients arent dumb enough to follow you.
How does Hays pack it up today and go home knowing there is a broken
promise and a very large staff hanging on his every word, and not
address it one bit?
******************************************************
I couldnt agree more. How they can look themselves in the mirror knowing there are thousands of lives that are in disarray over there ineptness. The honorable thing to do would be for them to resign. There leadership is completely and irreparably neutered.
Be patient . Would you have stayed if you git 100 % retention ? And why where you waiting for todays annoucement? For the money !!!
To all you branch managers out there , how in the world do you recruit when guys are getting 200-270 % at these firms? I have forever heard the front money is going away but it just gets bigger.
You may be leaving, and you may be unhappy, but why give us your complete bullshit 270% total package crap? You shot your credibility in the second line. [/quote] UBS pays 270% total package, some up front some deferred. We had an entire MS office in my town leave for UBS, most being paid the 270%. I don't work there but one of my buddies got PAID.[quote=BE PATIENT]Good afternoon to all fellow forum advisors. I would first like to apologize for passing on as fact information that was given to me as fact. I was 100% shocked there was no retention announced today.
As of today, after 20+ years with A.G. Edwards I have decided to move to a new firm. I have received 270% total package with the new company but I will be honest, it wasnt the money that made me leave, I could have left a long time ago for a lot more. I left because:
1. While I have a tremendous amount of respect for Danny, I believe he is operating in an environment where his hands are 100% tied. While he may have good intentions, he cant follow through with those intentions while Dad (Wells Fargo) holds the checkbook.
2. Nobody will ever be the old A.G. Edwards, but Wells seems to be the polar opposite of A.G. Edwards. Ben would never allowed the haircuts, the extra trivial charges and fees that are popping up more and more. I have been on numerous recognition trips with overflowing lobster, now I am grilled on every expense.
3. I have had many opportunities to dine with Ben Edwards. I was in St. Louis one time and Ben excused himself for the evening. About ten minutes later he came back upstairs and said “I got to my car and I just couldnt leave without making sure you knew how much I appreciate your hard work for our company, you are a blessing”. Who does that? Stumpf? Hays? Ludeman? Would Ben have left the office today with this still hanging out there? I believe 100% in the “Client first” thought process and we have discussed it at length. Your clients are yours, treat them right and we will treat you right. Gentleman, do you see even a glimpse of that with Wells?
4. The last reason for leaving is this. During these horendous times in the market the key is to keep in touch with your clients. Let them know you are there for them. The communication from Hays and Ludeman has been horendous. Wrong to promise timing of retention once, no problem, twice OK, 5-6 times just plain head scratching. Hays said in a conference call with managers two weeks ago “Days, not weeks” re: retention. How does Hays pack it up today and go home knowing there is a broken promise and a very large staff hanging on his every word, and not address it one bit?
Gentleman, UBS may happen (I personally think it will), retention may come, it may be front end, it may be higher payout, it may be no, what I do know is I will no longer be lied to, and made to feel as if I am not important to a company.
I wish all of you the best, I will be checking in to see the status of retention (Pure Curiosity) and I hope you all have a wonderful three day weekend. Again I apologize for passing on information that I deemd 100% accurate.
I understand the frustration and hate mail, I was until today 100% POSITIVE information given was correct. After being lied to re:retention I would not have stayed for 100%. Thsi info was not given to me by BM, RM etc. It was given to me by someone much higher up and I believed it. The reason for no Stifel is there isnt a Stifel in my town. I do not want to go INDY, and after 20+ years in the business you develop relationships with advisors at other firms. I did not ask for 270%, I was offered 270%, more than that I was called by right hand man of CEO and had long talk with him about expectations etc.
I would have stayed today if the retention was what I was told, simply because I wouldnt have been lied to. I couldnt take one more untruth. I would have left for 10% after the way we have been handled.
If you stayed at Wachovia because of me, well you need to take a serious look at who is leading your business and life decisions.
Again I assume you are telling the truth, if you felt betrayed it must give you some satisfaction to tell them ok, enough is enough I am moving. Lucky for you, the size of your business puts you in position to go somewhere and get well paid and probably get treated with respect. When the money hits, I am sure you will think it all worked out for the better for you. Probably a hell of a lot better than for most on here.I understand the frustration and hate mail, I was until today 100% POSITIVE information given was correct. After being lied to re:retention I would not have stayed for 100%. Thsi info was not given to me by BM, RM etc. It was given to me by someone much higher up and I believed it. The reason for no Stifel is there isnt a Stifel in my town. I do not want to go INDY, and after 20+ years in the business you develop relationships with advisors at other firms. I did not ask for 270%, I was offered 270%, more than that I was called by right hand man of CEO and had long talk with him about expectations etc.
I would have stayed today if the retention was what I was told, simply because I wouldnt have been lied to. I couldnt take one more untruth. I would have left for 10% after the way we have been handled.
If you stayed at Wachovia because of me, well you need to take a serious look at who is leading your business and life decisions.
BE PATIENT - I understand your decision. I wish you well and success moving your accounts.
BP more like BS You hung out on this post telling us to be patient and lashing out at everyone that called you out. It is BS that you have a deal already.Good afternoon to all fellow forum advisors. I would first like to apologize for passing on as fact information that was given to me as fact. I was 100% shocked there was no retention announced today.
As of today, after 20+ years with A.G. Edwards I have decided to move to a new firm. I have received 270% total package with the new company but I will be honest, it wasnt the money that made me leave, I could have left a long time ago for a lot more. I left because:
1. While I have a tremendous amount of respect for Danny, I believe he is operating in an environment where his hands are 100% tied. While he may have good intentions, he cant follow through with those intentions while Dad (Wells Fargo) holds the checkbook.
2. Nobody will ever be the old A.G. Edwards, but Wells seems to be the polar opposite of A.G. Edwards. Ben would never allowed the haircuts, the extra trivial charges and fees that are popping up more and more. I have been on numerous recognition trips with overflowing lobster, now I am grilled on every expense.
3. I have had many opportunities to dine with Ben Edwards. I was in St. Louis one time and Ben excused himself for the evening. About ten minutes later he came back upstairs and said “I got to my car and I just couldnt leave without making sure you knew how much I appreciate your hard work for our company, you are a blessing”. Who does that? Stumpf? Hays? Ludeman? Would Ben have left the office today with this still hanging out there? I believe 100% in the “Client first” thought process and we have discussed it at length. Your clients are yours, treat them right and we will treat you right. Gentleman, do you see even a glimpse of that with Wells?
4. The last reason for leaving is this. During these horendous times in the market the key is to keep in touch with your clients. Let them know you are there for them. The communication from Hays and Ludeman has been horendous. Wrong to promise timing of retention once, no problem, twice OK, 5-6 times just plain head scratching. Hays said in a conference call with managers two weeks ago “Days, not weeks” re: retention. How does Hays pack it up today and go home knowing there is a broken promise and a very large staff hanging on his every word, and not address it one bit?
Gentleman, UBS may happen (I personally think it will), retention may come, it may be front end, it may be higher payout, it may be no, what I do know is I will no longer be lied to, and made to feel as if I am not important to a company.
I wish all of you the best, I will be checking in to see the status of retention (Pure Curiosity) and I hope you all have a wonderful three day weekend. Again I apologize for passing on information that I deemd 100% accurate.
I think this tells us all we need to know: There is a 1 page internal bulletin that comes out to everyone, I think, every week called the “Branch Leaders Digest”. I receive it in my interoffice mail. I never read it and I suspect most of you don’t either. Today, I received the edition dated Feb. 2, 2009. My s/a kept it for me and highlighted a sentence. Under the section titled ‘Wachovia Securities Financial Results’ is a sentence that says, “While we have also seen an increase in FAs leaving the firm, on average those joining us have higher levels of productivity than those who are leaving.”
I posted last night that my manager suggested that Wells is taking a gamble that the number of FAs who leave can be replaced more cheaply than paying the entire sales force a retention. Yes, it is more expensive to replace an individual FA, but taken as a whole, it may be more expensive to pay everyone a retention than it is to replace 25-30%. I think they were sending a very clear message in this bulletin. I'm fine if that is there decision, but screw them for not having the b#lls to come out and just tell us. For the disrespect, more than the actual act of not paying us retention, I will now be moving my practice. My manager tells me that this will be the best place to build a practice over the next decade. WTF?? If they can't even be straight with us, why in the world would I want to keep my practice here? How can he say that with a straight face? Forget the money, it's about the respect, period. And, I hope enough of us leave so that they lose that gamble!He was being patient until the day he was told that retention and name would be announced. Nothing was announced. Nothing at all was even said. You cant blame him for having a plan b.
BP I’m actually on your side here. I’m not sure I would have announced my deal no matter the size (but like was discussed here earlier…in this business people are referred to by their t12, not their name), but my good sources were giving me the same grid you and gauge were chatting about here. I’m thinking that grid blew up somewhere in Washington DC when Stumpf was testifying. I don’t know…maybe it never existed, but I kept seeing it pop from different sources…all good. If you don’t have a possible deal in hand in this environment and you’re semi unsure about your current firm then you’re not thinking straight. And if you’re making career decisions based on chat board rumors, then you’ll never think straight. Especially a forum that posts Star Wars figures in it. My best wishes for BP and everyone here. I hope everyone gets what they deserve and more.
much movement today seeing that it’s a three day weekend? I know of one that came to our firm, Legacy AGE.
RM scheduled a call with Region at 8:30 am Tuesday to share some things he found out in STL. Probably setting expectations. ISG channel.
I have been following you guys for a long time and appreciate all the info. A lot of you guys were spot on on the retention for AGE Legacy the first go around. My guys in our office are really getting nervous. We are ready to go on offense for a change. Do you guys really think WFC wants us or not. I have talked to other branch managers and a Regional and no one seems to know for sure. I could live with a not so great retention in this environment if I knew that Wells was committed to PCG. Any thoughts.
If you have to ask if WFC is committed or not, then maybe somewhere deep down inside you already know the answer.
To answer your questions, no I did not have a “deal” in my back pocket. I am VERY close with branch managers of two firms in my town and over the years I would get the “When are you coming over here”, but I HATE change. Love the same desk, same chair, same parking space, the things you cant put a price on over 20 years. I am only 46 and believed I would retire with AGE. I did know that if I was lied to today it was the final straw. I called my friend, said is the offer still there, he said absolutely and I did it. Scared as hell but there does come a time when you put up or shut up. If Ludeman, Hays and WFC would have shown respect, a willingness to say “You are valuable” (Me, and WS)I would have stayed for zero. But at what point do you say enough.
In the branch manager conference call with Hays two weeks ago a manager asked “Can you just have Stumpf acknowledge that we they are excited to have WS on board”. How hard would it have been to put together a 1/2 hr conference call with Stumpf to say that? Unless…He just plain doesnt care about us.