[lookout123]

OK. I like what I do. What do I do? I'm glad you asked - I help people identify and solve their financial issues. or as TW always put it - i'm a shiny shoe whore. anyway, i make a decent living. i can make a phenomenal income right where i am. the problem is that i'm not satisfied with the direction i see my firm taking. what i love about it is that, up to this point, all i had to do was be ethical and profitable and nobody would bother me for months at a time. that is still what they are saying but they thanks in part to an overreaction to that political hack elliot spitzer and partly due to corporate greed things are changing behind the scenes. new rules. incredible restrictions. in word they are "for the benefit of the client", but the problem is they don't benefit the client - they do benefit the company's bottom line. profit is good, but if i have my choices of investment selection limited so someone else (other than the client) profits? uh-uh, i'm throwing the bullshit flag.

anyway, there are reasons to leave my firm. strictly speaking money isn't it. i'm ok where i'm at.

the two avenues are independent or employee. so far i've technically been an employee but operate as an independent. yeah, confusing but that's the way it is.

as an independent i will keep about $.90 on the dollar but have to pay rent, salaries, benefits, etc out of that. last year would have been slightly more profitable to me than where i am. i would have had about $25K extra in my checkbook at the end of the year. as my business grows the expenses take a smaller and smaller percentage of revenues as they are fixed but income isn't. make sense? in the long run this is the golden egg. the single most profitable way of doing what i do. BUT. every broken desk, fritzed computer, customer issue, benefits increase, employee issue, lease issue, etc. is mine. all mine. want to go on vacation? better make sure i can always be in contact in case Mr Smith wants to sell some something.

The other route is an employee of a regional bank. ( i won't go to one of the grindhouses that are nationally known in this business) I have a regional sales director, national sales director, etc. I'll see them a couple of times a year. hear from them a couple times more, but generally will be left alone as long as i'm ethical and profitable. my payout (percentage of revenue I get to keep) is much much lower, but the production is much much higher due to the very nature of the bank structure. call it low hanging fruit, call it small accounts, call it what you want. but when people get money they don't know what to do with they first take it to the bank to deposit it. i have access to deposit information and can discuss their options with them. this is a huge plus. the hours i spend prospecting at civic and social gatherings, cold calling, etc, to produce one good client can be whittled down due to dealing with A) existing clients of the bank, B) who have money, C) aren't sure what to do with it.
it isn't magic or the ONE TRUE WAY.
the downside is it is harder to develop real client loyalty in that environment. the upside is that i actually like working with smaller accounts that are commonly found here ($1MM and below) because i don't really like prospecting with the ultra wealthy because A) they are the target of every advisor in america, B) they know it, C) they treat advisors like crap.

the rent, employee issues, equipment issues aren't mine.