A large producer who started 2010 with 30%+ in managed is not hitting his goal for new managed money, so he rolled a large variable annuity with a much higher death benefit into a managed account. If the senior client buys the farm then the Mrs. looses out on a $100K death benefit in excess of the cash value. But hey! That is what the RIA CFP "Fidicuary" does to keep his job.

Move that variable annuity straight from the insurance firm into the checking account then onto the "managed account", no one in compliance will ever know (or want to know).

[quote=TickTock]

A large producer who started 2010 with 30%+ in managed is not hitting his goal for new managed money, so he rolled a large variable annuity with a much higher death benefit into a managed account. If the senior client buys the farm then the Mrs. looses out on a $100K death benefit in excess of the cash value. But hey! That is what the RIA CFP "Fidicuary" does to keep his job. Move that variable annuity straight from the insurance firm into the checking account, no one in compliance will ever know (or want to know).

[/quote]

Ugh.  It's like one of those party game questions, would you steal to feed your family?  I would like to be high and mighty and say shame on the advisor, but I do not know the whole story.  Maybe, shame on Citi PWM for putting an employee in that situation. 

great article..

Tick Tock,

You're right, it is disgusting that management puts people in that position but it's also the responsibility of the advisor to work within good conscience. What more needs to happen to these advisors for them to realize that what was, isn't anymore and it's not gonna be. Most of my friends and former colleagues have left already, but there are still many left who are so afraid to make a move they keep bending over and accepting more and more crap from this company. I can't imagine what's going through their heads ....being on a "team", getting a "salary", everyone leaving around them. Don't they see that CPWM's future is bleak?? It's failing in every aspect, and when enough reps leave and they hire an outside RIA they will treat all reps like the 5th quintile reps....no severance ...nothing, they were treated like dogs.

By the way, that article hit it on the head!! So true in every way. Reps being bullshitted by management and yet , they stay.....I don't get it.

Come on people, write back and lets get some comments on that amazing top story on reg rep.com, "Citi's Covert Makeover". Great reading!!!!!

Nailed it?  What is covert about what is going on?  Where are the interviews of FA's who stayed?  Citi wants to shut down its brokerage?  If so, they sure picked an expensive way to do it.  The article is a pure hatchet job and cannot be referred to as journalism.

They did interview brokers who are still there...

Paperboy,

They interviewed them , but they were forbidden from speaking to the press. Big brother doesen't want their dirty laundry being aired outside of the combine.

It's covert because publicly and to their brainwashed employees, they're talking about a future, not being truthful like the article saysthat they'll be "farming out wealth management entirely". And as far as doing it expensively, if you've been there for awhile, i'm sure you've noticed lots of dumb and EXPENSIVE management decisions (ie Citipro...LOLOLOL!!!). You have to realize that managements job these days isn't to manage the business, it's to keep their jobs!! Nobody in management cares, especially upper management; they all have contracts so they will tinker with the business until their contracts expire. Then you and all the (fill in the blank)'s will be let go and your trailing 12 will be a joke and finding a new home will be much more difficult then it would be currently.

As far as the article being a hatchet job, i'm sure the truth hurts from the inside, but from the outside looking in, it's one of the finest pieces of journalism i've read in a long time. Trust me, when you do leave (hopefully by your own accord), you will agree with all that has been written and have your own opinions to add to the carnage.

All I can say is if you haven't started looking for a new home , you should be!!

Trust me and you can ask everyone else who has already left.....The Grass IS Greener!!!

Good Luck!!!

The article does a poor job on many fronts, but most importantly - regarding clients. The clients have never been told that:

1.) Choose quarterly fee or call center. Clients who don't say "yes" to managed accounts are just asked again a month later. Move your individual bonds into a 1% managed account? Dump that annuity...

2.) This summer, comes a new platform "Pershing", new account numbers, new web site, new links... Last time June 2001, Citi lost all of the cost basis information and still refuses to help clients retreive it.

3.) Trak Select - goes away - nothing like it on Pershing. SB Advisor with the individual stocks component - goes away. Yes, Citi compliance can't stand that stocks can be solicitated in a fidicuary account by reps in the field. They will loose the Smth Barney stock research and have no way to back up individual stock selection. They will try to move all clients to fidicuary discretionary accounts - no more custom allocations for clients. Its too probihibitive from a compliance point of view and with so many reps leaving. Oh yes, PM - its gone.

4.) Mutli-G hedge fund and others go away.

5.) Under $250K? say hi to Raj and 1800 wes-rewup

6.) By the time the transition is done, IRA clients will be begging for RPS to be the custodian again.

Oh and the quota for adding more $ into managed will go so far up, to ensure that they can guarantee 50% of last years pay or just can your butt.

Hey, compared to Citi's mortgage or credit card business - no one in upper management will notice the disaster. In fact, they will applaud that Debi "cleaned house of all those slacker/hacker FAs.").

I for one, am so darn happy to not have to deal with it anymore. No more "5 insurance leads a week", reports on referrels back to the bank, weenie support people who couldn't give a hoot, firedrills, oh statements with the team leaders name on them, not being able to use the Fax machine!, not being able to email clients a seminar invitation, havng an OSJ tell me that I shouldn't recommend covered call options to a client due to the "extreme risk". Waiting 2 to 3 days for the OSJ to give me an account number for a new account.

Citi could have kept 49% of the revene/profit if they had just let FAs choose to move to Morgan Stanley Smith Barney - I bet over 1/2 of those that departed would have stayed for MSSB.

Is Citi legal fighting any departing FAs with court "cease and desist" injunction orders? I mean more than the two threatening letters. If so, how are they cases being decided?

Tick Tock,

I hope you're right about everything..........I have a few questions.......

You said TRAK Select is going away, is that TRAK CGCM or TRAK NAV ?

How sure are you about your entire 3rd point?

And do you know when the accounts under $250K are going to the call center??

This place really did an injustice to their clients and their reps!!!

Tick Tock,

I hope you're right about everything..........I have a few questions.......

You said TRAK Select is going away, is that TRAK CGCM or TRAK NAV ?

How sure are you about your entire 3rd point?

And do you know when the accounts under $250K are going to the call center??

This place really did an injustice to their clients and their reps!!!

The TRAK NAV Stays - this was announced in Nov 09. The Track CGCM requires a research staff to pick the mutual funds and do the special timing allocations - all of this went with Smith Barney. SB Advisor with stocks, its very shaky if it will stay, to compliance it looks risky without having a research group and lots of the clients were using it as a wrap program for buying stocks only - not advisory. Exactly what the SEC/FINRA ruled was unacceptable 2 years ago.

Most of the country is running that new clients need to be $250K and managed to get paid. The rumor is that existing clients will no longer be grandfathered. But I can't confirm the when? Anyone?

 anyone notice the article in the New York TImes on tuesday, chatting up how great Citi is doing-peculiar timing with the article released by reg rep on thursday

Anyone have any updates on when accounts under $250,000 are going to the Call Center and when Pershing takes over??

Really looking forward to the next phase of this debacle.

Thanks!!

Next phase?  According to you and Reg Rep, there is no next phase - just a covert shut down.  Signing a contract with Pershing to supply a new platform beginning over Labor Day weekend is supposedly just a big smoke screen to hide a massive firing of recently established FA teams and newly hired IC's.  As to your question, accounts under $250,000 are not being sent to the call center unless it was a departing FA.  Accounts under $100,000 are being sent now as FA's are not being paid on them under new pay policy, although even this is not required.  Only accounts over $250,000 are being referred from the call center to FA's  (I have actually seen this happen).

Wow! It must suck to be at C,  or any other wirehouse these days!

But it was not to many years ago on these forums the wirehouse guys where bragging about how great life was. And the indy guys where trying to warn them  that they had little control of there future.

 I for one cannot imagine living life at a $#!t hole firm and the pressure you must be under.

Wow! It must suck to be at C,  or any other wirehouse these days!

But it was not to many years ago on these forums the wirehouse guys where bragging about how great life was. And the indy guys where trying to warn them  that they had little control of there future.

 I for one cannot imagine living life at a $#!t hole firm and the pressure you must be under.

today began the second wave of interviews for  the investment machines (IC's) at LIC. according to two of the potential lads looking for an employment opportunity- management couldnt give a clear, concise description of  how cpwm is structured or what their job function will be. the potential candidates described management as frenzied and in a rush to have them sign paperwork and start immediately. they declined to sign paperwork and asked to be placed on the citi dnc list.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, there was a Regional Investment Manager and 2 Area Investment Managers (down from 4 at one time).The RIM was laid off last month and now one of the two AIMs just quit to take a management job at Wells Fargo Advisors. He saw the light and jumped off the sinking ship. There have been a ton of departures and no new hires added to the teams. I still laugh when I remember how Debbie M. and Tim W. said CPWM was going to be the best place to work on the Street and attract top talent. Tim W. even claimed top advisors at MSSB were calling him wishing they could join the new CPWM RIA structure. Yeah, right! I heard a big management meeting was called in New York for all of the remaining AIMs and Market Leaders. I wonder what the announcements will be.

How long until Citi sells the remaining CPWM client assets to outside RIA firms in exchange for an ongoing 25bps?

He jumped off one turd and onto another!

Smart move.

Wells is done training a manhattan team and one team located in westchester. When does Manuel say enough and send Debby and Tim W back to the NIC