500 or bust?
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zero…age was no more of an issue in our area after than it was before, now we have to nod and be polite while all the age guys whine about the good old days. point was: our prior retention did not mean anything as we have no access to it–for 25+ years in my case.
i’d propose the same question as i did to the pru guys when they had to be rescued years ago: if things were so great, why did a bigger player come along and have to rescue you?
Has WS not bought age BEFORE the market’s current turmoil, GD good chance it would be BROKE in this current environment…then ludeman and gang would have not been such a terrible alternative.
to all AGE reps, please forgive Wheat-ie. The last thing I need, other than more silence from WFC, is for all you guys to go on a rant how profitable you guys were for decades, and how Stifel is killing it right now, and you would to. Let's stay on point......we all hate WS right now. Say it all together with me....WE HATE ________.
I wonder how long it will take for management to wake up at WFC. Banks have never gotten it right because you have bankers running the show. No wonder they didn’t take or receive bonuses or only receive 20% of their bonuses…BECAUSE THEY’RE ALL ON SALARIES. They have no clue what it’s like to be on fees and commissions, then a down market, then a sell out of the very firm we work for. They have no clue what it’s like to have your income vary 30-40% in a year while they still receive their salaries. The crap hit the fan this past Fall and their paychecks didn’t change a bit. That’s why every FA should have a retention package. They got WS for pennies on the dollar vs. MER/BAC. BAC gave retention first, then management didn’t take their bonuses. That’s the way it is suppose to work. Here, WFC foregoes bonuses first and then no retention? Are they crazy? Whenever you have bean counters in charge of a sales force you always lose. We pay their salaries. We’re the front line. If we’re not profitable, the whole thing implodes. It’s a downward spiral and a self-fulfilling prophecy. Each salaried employee is a liability, and that’s why jobs get cut to reduce expenses in various departments (because they don’t produce the revenue). Does WFC want to fire their salesforce? I hope not, because that’s what they’re doing with NO NEWS! We are voluntarily leaving to be associated with other firms that focus on our needs. If our current firm would do that, no one would leave. How simple is that? No one would be sitting in a due diligence situation with other advisors from all over the country and from all firms, searching for the best fit, if our current companies would just get it right!
Good Grief Charlie Brown...Wow. Nice rant, vet20! I bet it would do wonders for you to repeat
this to yourself a few times every morning while you’re shaving! It all boils down to asking the right question. Instead of asking yourself this:
[quote=Vet20]I wonder how long it will take for management to wake up at WFC.
you should be asking yourself this: I wonder how long it will take for me to wake up?
WFC management is wide awake. Their silence is not accidental. Your options are pretty simple: accept the situation and make the best of it, or leave. OK I guess technically there is a third option: you can just continue to huff and puff and threaten and bluster like so many others, most of whom in the end don’t have the nads to do anything but bend over and take whatever comes their way. But hell and 'tarnation - they’ll be mad as hell about it!! I’m tellin’ya!! Don’t think I don’t mean it!!!
Over a hundred pages - probably a thousand or more posts - on the ‘when oh when will we get retention’ topic, mostly full of wishful, hopeful longing and idle threats, and still no one knows a thing because them that know ain’t talking, and them that are talking don’t know! Talk about pissing in to the wind! I can’t imagine how many posts there would be if there was ever any actual information to digest and consider!
I can confidently predict this: once something official is < finally > communicated, there will be a whole new round of huffing and puffing and threatening and blustering, tarnation!!, but when all is said and done, much much more will have be said than done. Obviously that is what WFC is predicting as well.
Conversion is when legacy AGE & WS will be on one system. Currently, AGE is still operating on its legacy system which legacy WS reps don't have access to. Conversion will occur over Presidents Day weekend.What is the definition of “conversion”? Is it when the AGE/WB deal was/is officially scheduled to be 100% completed (Q1 09)?
I though Vet20 was making valid points -Until I read Morphius’ reply. (See- we can agree on some things)
I’ve already accepted an offer to leave and will start the transition timeline soon. The only thing that would stop me is if the retention is large enough to keep me in my seat and save the headache of transitioning all my accounts. I DO have the nads to leave and won’t look back if that is in fact what happens.
WFC now runs the shop and there will never be any mention of retention. Just do a Google search on Merrill retention and then Wachovia retention. Actual news stories pop up under Merrill retention but yet nothing comes up under Wachovia retention except links back to Registered Rep posts. Not the same situation I guess. WFC can simply wait to see if anyone leaves and then make a decision at that time to replace them with new recruits if they feel the need to. They know that it is going to be tough to leave in these markets. Clients care about money, not relationships in this environment.
I dont understand your point. If we take our clients to a new firm do they automatically lose money? Client are going to go with you in any market as long as the relationship is there and not only that do you think that in this environment the client rather have a new Financial advisor whom they now nothing about or someone whom they have been working with for 5 to 10 years and know all about their financial situation? We had about 7 FA leave in the past year and a few in the past few month and they transferred most of the assets to the new firm.
If this keeps up there may not be any WS brokers in St. louis anymore. three more moved to RJ today. The least any of the three were in the business was 26 years. All three brought their assistants with them.
How about this possible game changing event:
Morgan S and Smith Barney combine up very quickly. “Deals” and options change up very quickly. Not to the upside. No more urgency or need to meaningfully retain Wachovia brokers… the bigs don’t need or want them. Game over.
Just a scenario that could very well play out this very weekend or within days.
Who saw this coming???
If you’re at Morgan or Smith Barney, think about this outcome- more competition within the walls of your firm than ever before. No more chasing the other firm’s clients. I know that’s an impediment in some ML offices in some small markets where the Bull has a huge share of managed assets already at the firm. We’re talking 16k+ brokers in a new combo firm here.
Saw a DL email today, actually looked to see if there was a trickle of retention mentioned…I did not see any. Sounded like it was a heads up for WFC and WS guys to not steal biz from each other.
[quote=Fortune1]If this keeps up there may not be any WS brokers in St. louis anymore. three more moved to RJ today. The least any of the three were in the business was 26 years. All three brought their assistants with them.[/quote]
Just a little rumor i heard this afternoon. WacSec looking at RJ. RJ does have an ARS problem starting to brew. True? Who knows, but i heard the SB/MS talk late yesterday, and seems that is brewing.
Any of you guys familiar with the profit formula model at Wach. They hybrid inde/wirehouse model? Seems alot of wirehouse guys are coming over and setting up under this model.
One guy in our office is with profit formula. Under profit formula you start off at 75% payout before paying your expenses. You operate your own P&L, but you work out of a PCG branch. You are able to brand yourself a little better in profit formula as well. Kind of a quasi-independent platform. Only stipulation is your gross must be above $1.2million effective 1/1/09.Any of you guys familiar with the profit formula model at Wach. They hybrid inde/wirehouse model? Seems alot of wirehouse guys are coming over and setting up under this model.
just a little rumor i heard this afternoon. WacSec looking at RJ. RJ
does have an ARS problem starting to brew. True? Who knows, but i heard
the SB/MS talk late yesterday, and seems that is brewing.
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So I guess we will have Wachovia FA’s up an down main st, usa. Between ISG Fa’s, PCG, AGE, Finet and now profit formula offices, we will add RJ? I got RJ right next door.
Quasi-independent model within PCG branch network. 75% payout b/f expenses. Operate under your own P&L. More flexibility with self-branding. Minimum ttm gross of 1.2million to qualify. Excellent option is expenses are to the moderate to low side.Any of you guys familiar with the profit formula model at Wach. They hybrid inde/wirehouse model? Seems alot of wirehouse guys are coming over and setting up under this model.
Bullshit...Not in a million years.[quote=Fortune1]If this keeps up there may not be any WS brokers in St. louis anymore. three more moved to RJ today. The least any of the three were in the business was 26 years. All three brought their assistants with them.[/quote]
Just a little rumor i heard this afternoon. WacSec looking at RJ. RJ does have an ARS problem starting to brew. True? Who knows, but i heard the SB/MS talk late yesterday, and seems that is brewing.
arent profit forumula reps being set up in their own little shops also. sort of like an inde? I have heard this. Could be mistaken.