With all the “big buck” recruitment packages being offered top producers, the question crops up - why are we seeing such a fierce focus on training positions suddenly being opened up?

Merrill is looking to hire 2,000 financial advisors and is revamping their 42 month trainee program, which was practically non-existent the past two years, and Wells Fargo is looking for 1400 financial advisors with its focus on its training program.

Well, as financial industry recruiters we see a lot of the experienced advisors not ready to jump ship; competition is fierce, the deals remain large but a lot of them are locked into retention packages as a result of the mergers and acquisitions in the industry.  Read more...

Check out the March Issue of OnWallStreet to see what firms are offering as basic pay based on production of $200,000, $400,000, $600,000 and $1000,000.

The editorial staff has published some rather revealing comparative charts to show advisors where they can make the most money based on their production.

Oh, and don’t neglect to read the “assumptions” part of the article…

I partnered with my father as a financial advisor for nearly 9 years before he retired and I left the brokerage business to pursue a career in financial recruiting. During the time we worked together, he related many stories and antidotes about “how the business used to be,” and what changes he had seen and made over the 35 years of his practice in order to remain successful.  Read more...

In a meeting with their advisory group on February 2, 2010, TD Bank Financial Group told financial advisors that their role would no longer exist, according to spokesperson Susan Webb as reported to Pamela Black of OnWallStreet on February 3.

However, these “ousted” advisors could apply for a position at TD Ameritrade or TD Bank’s wealth management division for high net worth clients who have over $750,000 in investible assets.

So the question on the street is: “Is this another example of ‘big bank culture’ that doesn’t care about employees or clients who bought full service and were paying for it?”  Read more...