If you are a top producer looking to get hired by one of the wirehouses offering lucrative deals, you may want to know what won’t get you hired.

Even though wirehouses are aggressively hiring top producing advisors by sweetening their packages, they do have some standard guidelines. There are a few things to keep in mind on your job search.

We have seen some top producers that cannot get hired for a few select reasons, including your attitude. Hiring managers want to know you are a team player even if you are one of the highest producing brokers. Be confident without letting your ego get the best of you. They will ask why you want to leave your current firm. Is it because you cannot seem to get along with other advisors in the office? Be cautious when you state your reason for jumping ship.

With all the new regulations placed upon this industry, it should be no surprise that hiring managers want to see a clean compliance report. The more infractions on your FINRA report, the less likely they will want to hire you. If you do have an infraction, please be prepared to explain your situation thoroughly.

It is always a red flag when your FINRA report has you jumping ship every couple of years to another firm. This portrays you as an unstable candidate and not likely to stay with one firm very long. Hiring managers are not about to offer such high paying upfront bonuses to an advisor who won’t last through the contract. Try not to move more than twice in a period of 10 years.

Many high producing advisors have become so successful because they have built a business with high net worth clients. Keep in mind that wirehouses will take clients with a minimal amount of investable assets and may expect you to service them too.

Knowing more information about the hiring process with wirehouses and other firms will help prepare you for the questions that will come up during the interview process. Your answers will depend on whether you get hired or not.

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Most will agree that the financial services industry is a male-dominated world. So it is no surprise that women are less than happy with their current advisors.

When a husband and wife walk into the office to meet with their financial advisor, it used to be a general assumption that the final say on all finances was the husband’s. Now, the times are changing and many women are actually the breadwinners in the household. Yet women are still treated as the lesser equal.

Peter Damisch, coauthor of a Boston Consulting Group study, states, “We heard this sense of subordination time and again in our interviews. The problems that cause women to feel like second-class clients are deep-seated. They stem from experiences in the advisory process as well as the communication style of private banks and relationship managers.”

The percentage of women who control the wealth will continue to increase over the years. If financial advisors are willing to adapt to these changing times, there is no shortage of women looking for an advisor. Women aren’t looking for just female advisors either. Most women are indifferent to gender.

Women are looking for a qualified financial advisor who can provide them with solid investment planning advice. Because women also tend to live longer, they are going need help investing for their future if they survive their spouse.

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Working for a wirehouse, brokers have to work hard building a book of business to keep up with the production numbers that are expected from them. Retaining their clients is a major focus as well. This is why it is not surprising for most clients to follow their wirehouse brokers when they breakaway to an RIA/independent.

According to a report from the Aite Group,

Wirehouse brokers tend to breakaway because the brand name of the wirehouse has been tarnished. After the financial meltdown, wirehouses still managed to make a fortune leaving a bad taste for advisors and clients alike. In fact, some clients initiate the process of leaving wirehouses for RIA firms on their own.

Since wirehouse brokers already have clients who will follow, the transition from wirehouse to independent is much smoother. Advisors don’t have to build a book from scratch and have a solid foundation. According to the Aite survey,

“Sixty-eight percent of independents who originated from wirehouses have chosen fee-only or dually registered RIAs.”

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OK, so you might ask…what does a financial recruiter DO in December?

It’s that time when everyone is busy with the holidays, it’s hard to get together with clients and most advisors are focusing on closing out the year and making their numbers for the year in the fourth quarter…so who’s even thinking about recruiting new advisors or moving to a new firm?

Yeah, it’s tempting to pull back and wait until we ring in the new year before thinking about “making it happen” all over again. But, hold on…this is an opportune time to actually make some things happen.

I tend to be a “social” person; I enjoy meeting with people for coffee, lunch, dinner, or a sporting event. I like nice places and especially this time of year with the holiday decorations out in full force. It’s also a perfect time to meet, mingle and engage the company of friends, colleagues, and yes, potential prospects.

People make time in December for social events, so use this to your advantage. This is the time of year to start “filling your pipeline” for the new year! Be subtle and strategic; you’ll enjoy yourself, and come January, you’re off and running again!

Cheers!

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I didn’t think we’d see it for some time, but looks like the “big houses” are beginning to open up their doors again for Financial Advisor Trainees.

As recruiters, we placed some excellent candidates with our clients, but then saw the demand drop drastically in mid 2007 with the beginning of the recession. By last Fall, the doors were shut for anyone looking for an advisor training position.

Now, just in the past two weeks, we’ve had clients calling us telling us they “must” hire a certain number of trainees before year’s end.

The hunt for top candidates hoping to break into the wealth management industry has begun; but I warn you, the screening requirements will be more stringent than ever..

If you have that raw determination and drive for it, give us a call at Willis-Consulting, Inc. at 310-373-7400.

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So what’s this? An interesting way for Financial Advisors to solicit business from physicians.

The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) announced at their conference in Washington , D.C. that members who pay an annual fee, can be listed in the MD Preferred Financial Advisor Network directory and can display the MD Preferred financial Advisor Medallion in their offices or on their websites.

Physicians who want to hire a financial advisor can use the network and search the directory for “advisors who are affiliated with NAPFA and who demonstrate a commitment to the highest of ethical standards…”

Okay, so does it really pay off for these advisors? Anyone have any stats on this, let me know…and who’s setting the standards?

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For all the talk of going independent and starting their own RIA practice, it appears that that’s what it was…talk.

Most of the financial advisors fleeing the wirehouses and seeking independence are opting to JOIN an existing independent broker dealer model. ( As reported by Paul Menchaca’s “Soft Landing” on July 1 for Financial Planning.)

As financial recruiters we have seen this exact trend these past several months. When it gets right down to it, starting your on RIA is taking on more stress and added burden to an already demanding profession. Especially one that is in such turmoil.

Dissatisfied with the wirehouses, many of these fleeing advisors want some kind of business structure in place. Thus the rationale for “partial independence.” But aside from that, what we HAVE seen and is confirmed by Mr. Menchaca, is that these financial advisors are bringing in a ton of assets and have seen their book of business grow by up to 30% in just a few short months.

Just kind of boils down to what the clients are looking for – someone to serve them better, and that’s exactly what our independent broker dealer clients are looking for in recruits.

This is a trend that looks like it will continue in the upcoming months.

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Over the past two years, both of these wirehouses paid out massive claims of discrimination against female brokers. (There were other firms too, but it’s nice to see some positive moves being made now.)

The 2007 Morgan Stanley settlement required the firm to put in place training programs and account distributions to help female brokers, and Smith Barney’s former parent company Citigroup paid out $33 million to settle a case brought by 2,500 female brokers.

Now, the new MSSB venture is reaching out to women by launching a blog to help women interested in becoming financial advisors. Andy Saperstein, head of wealth management at MSSB said in a statement to OnWallStreet‘s Helen Kearney on July 7:

“We are committed to making Morgan Stanley Smith Barney the firm of choice for the world’s best financial advisors and this initiative is part of our efforts to cast a wide net for talent and support women in their careers and professional development.”

Check it out…and kudos to MSSB!!

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Just an FYI and interesting tidbit…

Well, you knew more regulations were on the table, but the new measures the SEC recently passed to combat more Ponzi schemes like the Madoff one leaves doubt by some securities attorneys as to how effective they really would be. (Registeredrep.com, May 15, by Kristen French)

The idea of surprise exams and reviews by third party accountants independent of the advisor would affect SEC registered investment advisors who maintain discretionary authority over their clients’ funds.

The thoughts are that this would not only be expensive and cumbersome, but would really not uncover fraud more effectively. And had the SEC done their job in the first place, they would have uncovered the scheme long before people lost their life savings…you know, sometimes the regulators need regulating.

Your thoughts? Oh well, back to financial recruiting.

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