500 or bust?
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Is this the same Danny that said on a conference call the wednesday before the Fdic almost siezed WB that the employees of WS were fortunate to work for such a financially strong parent company?? Danny might be a nice guy, but so was Barney Fife. The Pru merger was a disaster, the AGE merger was a disaster. Danny built his firm through mergers and large upfront checks, not organic growth, all the while touting the success of the "universal bank" model. He has yet to admit his failure. (Wells will probably reimburse him for the hit his WB stock took) Besides, WS is run by a former Merrill guy, Hayes, not Ludeman, so much for the regional culture. You can say what you want about ED Jones, Stifel and Ray Jay, but those firms have kicked ass in this period when it comes to hiring good people.Buki…you are probably right in comparison to ML, MS, SB etc Danny seems like a good guy…Ben Edwards he is not, but I also think he does not have the control and say that he once did. I think there will be a retention for some…not all, and it will probably not be what most are hoping for.
[quote=BukiRob2] [quote=fritz] [quote=BukiRob2] [quote=fritz] If there is no retention, producers will leave in droves… it will completely and totally gut the firm. I have no idea who you are talking to but both the regional mgr and the complex managers have stated repeatedly that we will see retention and it will be announced in about 10-15 days. So either you are full of it or DL is lying out his teeth. The guy has ALWAYS been a straight shooter and for guys running a brokerage firm he is by far IMHO the most honest of the group that I have ever been around
This is my point, guys have already left, If it was priority #1 to not have guys leave you would have seen retention in November..
It depends on which managers you talk to...
Do not think DL is lying, he is trying..and I am not full of it, just passing along thoughts and what I have heard..Just dont understand how any intelligent person can explain that nothing has been done for 3 months and think that does not raise questions. Also do you think WFC is going to cut 5,000,000,000 to 10, 000,000,000 in up front checks?[/quote] How long have you been in the business? As I said before, PEOPLE ALWAYS LEAVE DURING MERGERS. This is my 3rd merger and people always leave. Recruiters and rumors are ALWAYS telling you A) there isn't going to be retention or B) Brokers wont be happy with the retention that is announced. And YES I do believe WFC is going to cut checks that are probably SUBSTANTIALLY MORE than your figure. The check they cut for the Moran group with be EASILY Twice your figure.[/quote]
Agree the check would be larger than i put out there...where are they getting the money from. TARP II?? Can tell you that a buddy of mine who is in the top 5 in the nation for WFC brokerage has been told in no uncertain terms there will be no retention. Maybe things change, I dont know anything..but for people here who think its a "done deal" I'd be leary.
Guys at ML just go basically zero who where doing under 500K, so when you say people will leave if nothing, where will they go?? Guys doing over 1 million, sure they have options..just not the case for guys 500K and under now. How will ML or BAC pay up front for new guys when they dont even care if their own stay? Or Smith Barney they just slashed the grid for under 400K, dont think they will pay money now for guys in that range.[/quote]
Fritz, with all due respect I get the impression you have either not been in the business very long or have never gone through a merger.
It is not normal for brokers of the parent company to get retention. When legacy WS brokers got retention (all deferred) it was considered rather novel. So I am not at all surprised that WFC bank brokers are being told they are not going to receive a retention. Secondly, brokers who are captive to the bank do not normally receive retention and in fact I can not think of a single case where a bank broker received retention as a result of a merger.
Citing ML and BAC as example is a bad idea as the cultures are completely different. Once again, it is clear you have not spoken to recruiters. My phone is constantly ringing and I do under 500K and have MULTIPLE options.
Frankly, the smart move is to move independent. Raymond James, or Schawb Institutional even LPL. They pay small upfront and in addition you can get up to 20% in a loan paid back over 2-3 years.
[/quote] BAC bank brokers got retention in the MER deal..so that is your single case. You have probably been around awhile, you keep quoting the past. The industry has changed (on the wirehouse side) forever? who knows..but now the banks are calling the shots and they do not like spending money. Agree on the move to those choices, grid cuts going to kill guys under 500k such as myself, and for guys doing north of that I have NEVER understood why you would not get a bigger payout and pay your expenses..maybe they felt safety under the name firm, but all the names either gone or tainted now.
Buki says: “If there is no retention, producers will leave in droves… it will completely and totally gut the firm. I have no idea who you are talking to but both the regional mgr and the complex managers have stated repeatedly that we will see retention and it will be announced in about 10-15 days.”
So, let's start the count down shall we. I have heard there WILL be retention from complex, major mkt, regional, Danny & Hayes in the past month also. So it will come. What form, who knows. We'll just wait 10 more days and see, heck we've already waited 3 months what's a little more time....and yes, if there is nothing, watch the exodus that begins around mid- March, from BOTH AGE and WS brokers.[quote=shredder]Buki says: “If there is no retention, producers will leave in droves… it will completely and totally gut the firm. I have no idea who you are talking to but both the regional mgr and the complex managers have stated repeatedly that we will see retention and it will be announced in about 10-15 days.”
So, let's start the count down shall we. I have heard there WILL be retention from complex, major mkt, regional, Danny & Hayes in the past month also. So it will come. What form, who knows. We'll just wait 10 more days and see, heck we've already waited 3 months what's a little more time....and yes, if there is nothing, watch the exodus that begins around mid- March, from BOTH AGE and WS brokers.[/quote] If that were to happen the bulk of the exodus will be to regionals and independents.[quote=BukiRob2] Frankly, the smart move is to move independent. Raymond James, or Schawb Institutional even LPL. They pay small upfront and in addition you can get up to 20% in a loan paid back over 2-3 years.
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buki,
As a former wirhouse guy turned RIA, I (not surprisingly) believe that going independent makes a lot of sense for lots of established brokers, but be careful about lumping Schwab Institutional in with RJ and LPL, as Schwab (and Fidelity, TDA and other custodians) has a fundamentally different business model than the RJ/LPLs of the world.
The funny thing about the retention bonus is that it sounds great on paper but in actuality I know many people who took the WB bonus in 2007 (which was paid close to the mkt top) who wish they hadnt.
I dont see how WFC doesnt offer some sort of bonus bc while the numbers sound big, the rep is on the hook for the $. WFC will probably offer just enough to keep the majority of those who received 40-50% from leaving and taking 100% at another firm.Another day with no news. Our region has a Branch manager call tomorrow, I am sure it will be more of the same. Did anyone notice the email today about doing the best for the WFC shareholders…
You’d think Danny would have at least mentioned retention in his email today. A bunch of communique’s today and no mention of retention anywhere.
That email was to the masses and a retention comment would not have been apropriate.
albert…makes sense. I didn’t look to see the dist list. Assumed it was for FA only.
[quote=3rd ID]albert…makes sense. I didn’t look to see the dist list. Assumed it was for FA only.
[/quote]
I would assume it would go to the manager for them to tell the FA’s
[quote=JamesF] Did anyone notice the email today about doing the best for the WFC shareholders…[/quote]
That one stood out to me too!
Certainly not something Ben would have said. I am ready the Buckeye’s break my heart and we will find out no retetention tomorrow…
25% of AGE FC’s have already left the firm. Every week more legacy AGE and WS brokers are leaving. Those that leave are not leaving because there is no retention, they are leaving for the most part because they do not want to work for WS now WFC.
[quote=Fortune1]25% of AGE FC’s have already left the firm. Every week more legacy AGE and WS brokers are leaving. Those that leave are not leaving because there is no retention, they are leaving for the most part because they do not want to work for WS now WFC. [/quote]
What’s so bad about WFC?
[quote=Hank Moody]What’s so bad about WFC?[/quote]
I agree Hank. I LOVE their original recipe bucket of chicken, and the extra crispy isn’t bad either. Although “The Colonel” still seems like a very creepy guy.
Who wouldn’t want to work for them???
I will never ever ever understand how/why they would make us use the f-ing “VM”
I've never seen a worse piece of crap in my life. If there is anything that is screwing with my head it's the POS software.