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RESOURCE GUIDE
Double Your Income As
An Independent Financial Advisor
Exclusively for Course owners Double Your Income As An Independent Financial Advisor © 1999-2007 Javelin Marketing 03/07
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Table Of Contents
In each section, you will find a description of services and at the end of the section; you will find contact phone numbers and web site addresses. The Resource Guide alone is worth many times the price of the entire program. There are resources listed here that would take a solid 5 days, 8 hours a day to find. Software and Hardware................................................................................................................... 3
Software ...................................................................................................................................... 3 Contact Management .............................................................................................................. 3 Portfolio Management ............................................................................................................ 4 Financial Planning .................................................................................................................. 5 Communications ..................................................................................................................... 6
Hardware..................................................................................................................................... 6 Computers ............................................................................................................................... 6 Fax........................................................................................................................................... 6
RIA Registration ............................................................................................................................. 7 Fee-Based Managed Money ........................................................................................................... 9 Third Party Money Managers ....................................................................................................... 11 Broker/Dealers .............................................................................................................................. 13 Credentials & Designations .......................................................................................................... 16 Securities Licensing...................................................................................................................... 17 Equipment/Supplies ...................................................................................................................... 18 Recommended Publications.......................................................................................................... 19 Attorneys....................................................................................................................................... 20 Office Space.................................................................................................................................. 21 Insurance ....................................................................................................................................... 21 Sales Assistant .............................................................................................................................. 23 Phone Script to Announce Your Move to Your Clients ............................................................... 25 Sample Release Letter .................................................................................................................. 26
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Software and Hardware Get the right tools, spend a little more up front, and you will save tons of money later and you will make money through increased office efficiency. We tell you at the end of this section whom to contact for items discussed.
Software Contact Management You may need a few different pieces to complete the picture. You must have contact relationship management (crm) software. This is simply for keeping track of your clients and when to call them. It stores birth dates, keeps a record of your conversations and allows you to do campaigns (e.g. send a letter to everyone who has expressed interest in tax-free income). Below we discuss your choices for Portfolio Management Software and many Portfolio Management packages come with CRM add-ons. Here’s the basic tradeoff—if you want an integrated package, you will give something up. Either the package will be better at Portfolio Management or better at CRM. My decision was to go the non-integrated route and get the best of both. The popular packages in the market are Brokers Ally, ACT!, Goldmine and Maximizer. These are all good packages and you can get a demo of each and see which you like best. It’s really a matter of personal choice and feel. I’ve used Goldmine for 10 years and rank it a 9 on a scale of 10. It’s great for marketing support and the marketing features were important to me. Brokers Ally is good because of its simplicity. However, it is not very flexible and not very high powered. This package is a good choice for 50% of the financial professionals. You can get a demo copy. And take a look. You may find it perfect for your needs. Brokers Ally was designed for stockbrokers, but will work well for any financial professional dealing with retail clients. You can probably get them to send you a demo copy by emailing [email protected]. ACT! Is an all-purpose program designed for anyone in sales that must keep track of clients. It's fine, but we use Goldmine, which PC Magazine called "ACT! on steroids." Goldmine is the most powerful contact management package we have seen because of its flexibility and power. Specifically, Goldmine makes it easy to do "wave" marketing. Here's an example. We have an annuity marketing system, which generates calls from annuity owners interested in making an exchange. Once their name is entered into Goldmine, we have it programmed to send a follow-up letter every 15 days for 2 months. We do not need to think about it or remember to send letter on days 15, 30, 45, etc., the software manages it. However, you need to feel comfortable with computers because the more powerful a program, the more the
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user needs to know how to use that power. You can get a demo by downloading from their web site at www.frontrange.com. Portfolio Management In addition, you may need portfolio management software. It allows you to download daily transactions in your clients' accounts directly to your computer from the broker/dealers computers. The software then allows you to maintain that information so that you can send out quarterly bills (for fee based accounts), rate of return statements showing clients how much they're making (the software calculates time-weighted rates of return for periods you select) or capital gains reports for client's tax returns. You can also subcontract this out to third parties so that you never need to touch this software: Linda Bready, B-Ready Software Solutions, 704-933-4488, www.b-readysolutions.com Jeff Gurnett, OutsourceThis!, 925-209-3837, http://outsourcethisonline.com/, [email protected] Note that you will find a host of people you can subcontract to listed at http://www.daviddrucker.com/files/Virtual%20Resources%20List.doc If you are going to manage assets for a fee, you will need portfolio management software or someone to subcontract its operation for you. Most advisors use PortfolioCenter (previously Centerpiece) or Advent. PortfolioCenter (http://www.schwabpt.com/default.asp) is the less expensive of the two packages. We use it and are satisfied with it but I would not rave about it. I don’t think it is designed intuitively or to make the advisor most efficient. Remember that these are specialized packages and expensive. I believe PortfolioCenter is now $3000. However, as an RIA, you may find that the custodian you select (e.g. Schwab, TDAmeritrade, Fidelity) will subsidize the price for you. The other packages are Advent (expensive) and Captool (cheaper). Advent is built for larger investment advisor packages and is more expensive. But they may have a low-end version for the one-person investment advisor. I reviewed Captool about 5 years ago. It is the lowest cost package and was fully functional but was a little cruder. However, it may be the best choice now for the one-person shop. There is no way to run a fee-based practice without one of these programs unless it’s your first few months in business and you calculate and print client quarterly bills using an excel spreadsheet. Note that there are always new competitors in this market. Intuit, the maker of Quicken and Turbotax just introduced portfolio management software for advisors. This and other new packages are reviewed in the June 2006 issue of Financial Advisor Magazine: http://www.financialadvisormagazine.com/past_issues.php?idArticle=1251&idPastIssue=110
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I recommend that you talk to members at your local FPA chapter and see what other advisors recommend, get a demo copy and see if the software is intuitive within 10 minutes. Also, check any updates in Financial Advisor Magazine as they regularly cover this topic. As to other software: Microsoft office (essential for any business) Morningstar Principia Pro (depending on your business, you subscribe to separate data modules for mutual funds, stocks, variable annuities, etc) Contact Information Brokers Ally 610-321-1910 www.brokersally.com Power, Portfolio Management Software (800) 528-9595 http://www.schwabpt.com/products/portfoliocenter/ Advent (800) 579-7720 www.advent.com Goldmine Software 800.776.7889 www.frontrange.com Least Expensive through CDW catalog 800-656-4239 Captool 800.826.8082 www.captools.com Financial Planning I personally do not use any financial planning software that spits out gobs of boilerplate non- sense. I have never seen package designed for the senior market (people age 60+) that was of value. There are many vendors of financial planning software and if you do a search on Google, you’ll find them all. However, the J&L Retirement Planner is very impressive and for $129, does an incredible job or showing when people run out of money. Also, you may want to incorporate Monte Carlo analysis in your recommendations (a good idea to do for your own records as proof of your diligence) and that’s also included in the J&L software.
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So when I need to put together recommendations, I simply type them up with MS Word and maybe I also use Excel to make a spreadsheet. To convince investors to move their money to me, I subscribe to the Morningstar Principia CD ROM service. This service allows me to print our reports on virtually any fund or stock owned by my potential client and shows them how badly it's performing. Morningstar Phone: 800-735-0700 Outside the U.S. call 312-696-6000 Fax: 312-696-6001 (Address fax to Product Sales) J&L Retirement Planning Software http://www.jlplanner.com/index.html Communications
Register for www.gotomypc.com so that you can link to your PC at the office from any PC in the world. That way, you can work from anywhere.
Hardware Computers You need two PCs, one for you, one for your assistant. I highly recommend you get them from Tiger Direct at 800-888-4437 (www.tigerdirect.com). They can even arrange for installation and set up at your office. You do not need networking software. Built into the operating system (Windows) is the ability to network computers together. You just need 2 networking cars and a router. You can get it all in the Linksys starter kit for less than $200. Call Tiger Direct and they’ll tell you what to buy or go to Best Buy. Fax If you have a cheap fax machine, keep it and use it for outgoing faxes. For incoming faxes, get an efax account (www.efax.com) and have your faxes come in your email. That way, you can access them from anywhere.
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RIA Registration To become a Registered Investment Advisor, you must register in your State (complete an application), send a fee and possibly take an exam. The contact info for your State is on the following pages (some States require that you pass the NASD series 7 and series 66 exam, or the series 65 exam). Even though you do not get involved with the NASD or BD to become an RIA, these exams are administered by the NASD. You need to contact your State for specifics, or hire a firm to get you registered. The list on the next page was cordially provided by National Compliance Services and may be out of date. Please see the most up to date information at http://www.nasaa.org/QuickLinks/ContactYourRegulator.cfm for the contact in your State if you will register as a State RIA. There are a number of people who will complete the SEC and State RIA registration form (form ADV) for you. Their fees are typically $700 and up. I used Peter McPhee and was very pleased with his speed. If you want to file on your own, the States have converted to an on-line filing system so you just enter everything on line. Once you become an RIA, there are some record keeping requirements. You will get a list of these once registered. You have got to keep your records in order as an auditor can walk in at any time. It's nothing for them to fine you $5000 just because your checkbook was not up-to-date. If you need assistance with programs to keep you in compliance, first ask at the securities firm you select to custodian your client accounts (i.e. Schwab, TDAmeritrade, etc). Alternatively, these people below are compliance consultants that can assist you. State vs SEC Registration If you have assets under management less than $30 million or expect your fees to come from planning services rather than asset management, register with your state (state offices http://www.nasaa.org/QuickLinks/ContactYourRegulator.cfm). If you assets are over $30 million, register with the SEC http://www.sec.gov/divisions/investment/iaregulation/regia.htm Contact Information Peter McPhee –inexpensive registration services Tel: (386) 760-2116 (Florida-winters) Tel: (208) 773-5601 (Idaho-summers) • Beth Dickinson, Dickinson Regulatory Alliance, 231-386-5808, www.riaserve.com,
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• Melissa Dehn, TDA Compliance, 925-778-2390, www.tdacompliance.com, [email protected]
• Nancy Lininger, The Consortium, 805-987-6115, www.liftburden.com, [email protected]
• Linda Shirkey, Shirkey Consulting, 281-397-9550, www.shirkeyconsulting.com, [email protected]
• ComplianceMAX http://www.compliancemax.com/Portal State Agencies Regulating Investment Advisor Registration
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Fee-Based Managed Money If you want to manage no-load funds on a fee basis (as well as stocks and bonds), these firms have systems set up to support the independent financial advisor. For no-load funds only, Schwab’s program is great. Hands down, Schwab's system and technology are the best for supporting the independent fee-based advisor. That's why they have 5600 advisors housing their clients account there. However, Schwab is not interested in advisors that have less than $50 million under management. For the smaller advisor, TDAmeritrade is a top choice. Datalynx will also take on small advisors. At this writing, Fidelity (http://www100.fidelity.com/invprof/) is coming on very strong to compete for advisors, so definitely give them a call. As to how you manage the money, you have too many choices: I use the Dow Dividend Strategy as explained in Beating the Dow by Michael O'Higgins. It's easy (see www.dogsofthedow.com), my clients love owning those big blue chip stocks, the performance is great and the system takes little of my time. I rebalance each portfolio once annually using the list at www.dogsofthedow.com. You can find other systems in the “S&P Outlook”, a weekly publication by S&P (800-221-5277). Their models, such as the platinum portfolio or fair value portfolio, have beaten the market. However, the changes will be more frequent than annually but you just look to see what they bought or sold and follow the model. The ValueLine system is great and clients have been happy with that performance (www.valueline.com). How we use it is explained in the Mechanical Money Management binder and we only rebalance annually. If you want to manage the accounts yourself, you probably already have a method or system but the choices are limitless. Just start searching the web and you’ll find tons of systems available. I do recommend that you use a system where you simply implement rather than any system where you need to do any calculations. For example, the CANSLIM system (www.canslim.net) invented by William O’Neill is great but you have no time to look at charts or monitor lists. You need a system that tells you what to buy and what to sell and when. Contact Information TD Ameritrade http://www.tdainstitutional.com/ 800-934-6124
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[email protected] interested in small advisors or RIAs just getting started
Charles Schwab http://www.aboutschwabinstitutional.com/public/html/index.html 800-626-0026 Wants advisors that can bring in $50 million+ within a few months. Fidelity Investment Advisor Group http://ibg.fidelity.com/default.html 1-800-735-3756 No stated prerequisites for advisors—aggressively recruiting DataLynx www.fiserviss-advisorservices.com. Taken over by public company FiServ They are an unknown quantity Shareholder Services Group http://www.shareholdersgroup.com/pages/index.htm Phone: 800-380-7370 / 858-530-1031 Email: [email protected] Reputation is that they make significant efforts to help RIAs, small size and personalized service TradePMR http://www.tradepmr.com/advisordemo/ 1-888-723-3767 TradePMR claims that their technology platform is so good it eliminates the need for an advisor to have their own Portfolio management software Foliofn http://www.folioadvisor.com/ia-index.shtml These folks will custodian your accounts but only for your clients using their system. They have a pre-structured set of portfolios that you can buy for your clients or you can design your own (or use a third party money manager to build and maintain a portfolio). You pay Foliofn say 30 basis points and charge your clients appropriately (say 150 basis points). It’s an interesting model but probably not for the advisor who done not want to build their own portfolios. If you want others to take total responsibility for managing the money, and all you want to do is gather the funds, then read the next section.
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Third Party Money Managers These folks will do all the work. You get the client and collect fees. I know very little about these firms, as I have never used them. If you believe in asset allocation using the lowest cost funds, check out Dimensional Fund Advisors http://www.dfauk.com/service/fa/. These are very low cost funds, managed with low turnover and no style drift. They are index funds. All you need do is develop simple allocations for each client (DFA can give you a model for this). However, DFA will not accept business from every advisor so you need to apply to work with them. For traditional warp fee type business using a third party money manger, most of the custodians like TD Ameritrade provide that. For example, they use the Envestnet platform where you can choose from 200 managed account providers (http://www.envestnet.com/). You simply select the managers appropriate for your clients and they handle the buying and selling. Other popular asset managers are listed below. For example, if you like the idea of asset allocation using funds and want everything done for you, SEI provides an asset allocation system using a diversified group of funds and they will also act as the custodian for these accounts. Here's what I would look for: 1. Reasonable fee structure, where you get at least 1% annually and total fees to the clienty
should not exceed 2%. 2. A reasonable story–i.e. A structure and system that clients will want to buy. Ask yourself,
"Would you buy it?" 3. A system that makes your life easy–they do the billing and fee assessment and send out
understandable good-looking reports (ask to see one). Just about every provider has a web site, so you can get the story on all of these firms in about 2 hours in front of your PC. These are just some of the many managers that will handle your clients accounts.
Firm Phone Number Web Site AssetMark 800-664-5345 www.assetmark.com
Brinker Capital 800-333-4573 www.brinkercapital.com Clark Capital Management 800-766-2264 www.ccmg.com
Clarke Lanzen Skalla 800-635-3427 www.clsinvest.com Frank Russell 253-572-9500 www.russell.com
LBS 800-477-1296 www.lbs.com Lockwood Financial Group 610-695-9150 www.ma-link.com
Meridian Investment Management
800-828-4881 www.iconfunds.com
SEI Investments 800-SEI-1003 www.seic.com\iag
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Note that there is no “best” manager. It’s a combination of what you like and what’s appropriate for your clients. For example, if you believe that ETFS are a great way to invest because of their low fees and passive approach, then ETF advisors may be the third party manager that works for you (http://www.xtfadvisors.com/ForAdvisors/). How can you find third party managers?:
1. your custodian will have a list and a review of each 2. subscribe to Financial Advisor and Investment Advisor Magazines which continuously
review new managers 3. do a google search on what you’re looking for
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Broker/Dealers If you want to have a 100% fee based securities business, you do not need a BD. You only need a BD if you want to get commissions (as opposed to fees). Being an RIA allows you to charge any time of fee for advice: financial planning fees, hourly fees, money management fees, etc. Before you talk to any broker/dealers, have this checklist to complete for each one. Broker/Dealer Check List–Questions You Must Ask (Make copies of this & complete for each broker/dealer you consider) 1. Did you receive a product list? 2. Is the product list extensive and does it match what you need? 3. Any proprietary products? 4. What is the payout? 5. What costs and charges will the broker and/or client incur? 6. Can the rep do business with insurance companies directly? 7. Does the rep need to be a principal (series 24)? 8. How easy will it be to move the book (including life, variable life & managed accounts) if the rep doesn't like the broker/dealer? Will they permit a block transfer? 9. Can the rep manage money outside the broker/dealer through his own RIA? 10. Who does the broker/dealer clear through and are the statements clear? 11. Who pays for errors and omissions insurance and what does it cover? Does it cover business the rep does directly with insurance companies? 12. Does the broker/dealer underwrite any securities? 13. What are the ticket charges for stocks and bonds? 14. Are outside activities allowed? Examples are the sales of trusts, insurance, long term care, disability, health & medigap insurance etc.
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15. Does the broker/dealer have a transition team available to help you get set up? 16. Will the broker/dealer provide legal representation if the need comes up? 17. How long has the broker/dealer been in business? Is it possible to speak with 3 other veteran reps? How many reps are bring supported? How many reps were being supported 12 months ago? Do they have special departments for transfers, funds, and stocks? Can the rep buy funds and stocks electronically? 18. Is the rep required to sell any minimum of any specific product or overall? 19. Can the broker/dealer feed the rep info on client positions and purchases via modem or Internet on a daily basis? What does the broker/dealer software look like? 20. What research is available from the broker/dealer and what is the cost? 21. Talk with 3 reps who have joined the firm in the last 12 months and get their feedback on the above issues.
GET ALL THE ANSWERS TO THE ABOVE QUESTIONS IN WRITING
OR DO NOT SIGN ON.
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The selection of the right broker/dealer is a personal matter. For example, you may do a lot of muni bond business so you need a broker/dealer with a large muni bond inventory. Alternatively, you may want a good mutual fund wrap program so you want a broker/dealer that offers that service, or you may want a broker/dealer with a good research department for individual stocks. Please review the 21 questions we gave you in the main binder to this program. If you are going to do fee-based business or primary importance are broker-dealers who let you operate as an independent RIA. Many broker/dealers no longer allow this. They force you to use one of their in-house fee based programs (and of course, they take a part of the fee).
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Credentials & Designations In the main program, I mention two designations that are quick to obtain–Certified Senior Advisor and Certified Estate Planner. Contact information is on the following pages. Below is contact information for other credentials. These take longer to obtain: CFP Information College of Financial Planning 800-553-5343 CFP Board of Standards 303-830-7543 CLU, ChFC The American College 888-amercol www.amercol.edu Certified Retirement Financial Advisor (if you specialize in seniors) www.crfa.us.
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Securities Licensing If you need any securities licenses as explained in the main binder, these will be scheduled through your broker/dealer. Or, if you are leaving a BD and becoming an RIA, then you schedule these exams directly with a Thomson Prometric http://www.prometric.com As to materials to help you pass the exams, I recommend the self-study programs because you can do these at your own pace and to fit your own schedule. The two largest providers: Contact Information: Securities Training Corp 800-422-8STC www.stcusa.com Kaplan Financial http://www.kaplanfinancial.com/kfs/index.asp Note: Some States require that you pass some NASD exams before you can become a Registered Investment Advisor. In that case, you do not need sponsorship by a broker/dealer, as you will not be selling securities for commission. However, contact your State first (listing appears in earlier pages) to determine which NASD exams you need to pass than contact Thomson Prometric to schedule your exam.
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Equipment/Supplies Plantronics (headsets) 800-843-5432 Hello Direct–Cordless Headset 800-444-3556
Path (visual presentation aids) 800-752-6637 Paper Direct (for birthday cards etc...) 1-800-A-PAPERS Office Depot (for all your office supply & furniture needs) 800-685-8800 (they offer free delivery) Business Cards, Letters, Stationary etc.... Just because you are an independent, doesn't mean you are totally free. Remember, Compliance is still there waiting for you (assuming you have a broker/dealer relationship). Get everything approved through your new compliance department prior to having anything printed.
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Recommended Publications Almost every one of these publications is available free: Financial Planning Magazine www.financil-planning.com Of value to any professional involved in any aspect of financial planning Registered Representative Magazine www.rrmag.com A magazine oriented for stockbrokers Advisor Today http://www.advisortoday.com/ For the life insurance/annuity producer Financial E-news and FSJ ON-LINE www.fsonline.com Free E-zines that come right to your email. Targeted to the insurance agents, but useful for all in the financial planning arena Journal Of Financial Planning Publication of the Financial Planning Association—technically oriented http://www.fpanet.org/journal/ On Wall Street www.onwallstreet.com Investment Advisor http://www.fa-mag.com/ For the Fee-Based Investment Advisor Financial Advisor Magazine http://www.financialadvisormagazine.com/
AAII Journal Superior Research Publication covering all aspects or personal financial planning including investments, insurance, estate planning www.aaii.com Investment News For Financial Advisers–contains mostly industry news www.investmentnews.com Books: Beating the Dow, Michael O'Higgins What Works on Wall Street, Oshaugnessey How To Build a $100 Million Investment Advisor Practice, Prins (maybe out of print) Creating Equity, Bowen (maybe out of print)
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Attorneys When you leave your broker/dealer, there may be restrictions on your client contact. In the course, we told you how to get your clients calling you with your own cell phone. We also provided text that is not solicitous in the course exhibits. However, if you want to call or write your clients and solicit them, first review your contract with you current broker/dealer. If you have questions, if the lines seem to be gray and you need some help, contact an attorney. There are lots of attorneys that will help you with this. Many will waste your money and tell you the obvious. So, we have provided the following so that you do not waste any money. Questions you need to ask an attorney prior to retaining their services
1. Is there a charge for the initial consultation? 2. How do you charge? What is the rate? 3. How many people have you advised on this same issue? 4. Can I get reference of others you helped with the same issue? 5. What is the worst case you handled where a firm went after its rep for taking clients? 6. What could that rep have done to avoid those problems? 7. Is there a safe harbor way of soliciting my clients that operates in this State?
Note: Conventions may differ from State to State. If you are close to a State border and can open your practice in either State, ask about the differing rules.
8. To help me, how many hours of your time will be required? The answers will let you know if this attorney knows anything and seems competent. Generally, I never pay an attorney hourly rates. Such a system is an incentive for them to be inefficient. If the attorney says it should only take 4 hours to review your contract and then meet with you about various actions, and assume they charge $250 an hour, you say: Great. I want to use you, but I never pay attorneys hourly. This is not a personal reflection, but attorneys always seem to estimate half of the actual billed time and I find that really annoying. So here is a check for $1000 up front (start writing out the check). If it takes you 2 hours, then you keep the $1000. If it takes you 8 hours, then you keep the $1000 and that’s it. Fair enough? Don’t be intimidated. This person needs the work. They need to chase half of their clients to collect. You are handing him a check up front. If they are resistant, assure them that if you do not use their services, you certainly won’t be able to refer others to them. Attorneys advertise in the back of financial planning and registered rep magazine. One excellent attorney is Bill Singer http://www.rrbdlaw.com/bios_singer.html
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Office Space To find office space, look in your Sunday paper under "Office Space". Also, if you want to share space with an attorney or CPA you can find those that have excess space advertising in local trade publications. In most cities, there is an attorney newspaper called The Daily Recorder. Also, there maybe other local trade publications–call the local Bar chapter and the local CPA society chapter. Also look in your regular daily newspaper. Another consideration is to ask for referrals from your clients or personal CPA or attorney. See if these people know of other professionals looking for someone to share space. Most of the CPA chapters and attorney chapters have an on-line ezine and you can probably place an inexpensive ad. Or have your assistant take the yellow pages and type in the names of every CPA and Attorney in town (as well as financial planners). Then send a mailing telling them you're looking for office space. Yes, it might cost you $150 to have this typing done–a small price for the right office. Also, you'll be able to use the list for other marketing. (You can probably rent the same list from infousa.com for $300) Under no circumstances are you to sign a lease longer than 12 months when you first start out. For executive suites, look in the yellow pages under "Office & Desk Space Rental Service.” Also, the Sunday paper will have these services listed under "Office Space for Rent". If you know of a nice office complex in which you would like to be located, odds are that they have individual offices with complete services for monthly rent. The largest renter of executive suites is http://www.regus.com/ with suites in every city.
Insurance Remember to get insurance on your contents and you definitely want E&O insurance. First, if you have E&O insurance as an insurance licensee, you may be able to add RIA coverage to that policy. If not, here are some brokers that handle this: Theodore Liftman Insurance http://www.liftman.com/ Manning Ridell 800-437-4433, ask for Stacey Hendrix. CalSurance https://tipu.calsurance.com/calsurancecom/calsurance/ProgramDetail.aspx?mpid=1&pid=101&lid= Some RIAs practice uninsured. You may decide to do this but then you may want to set up an
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LLC or other entity to insulate your personal assets from your RIA assets. Check with an asset protection specialist like Robert Mintz www.rjmintz.com.
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Sales Assistant I had the best luck hiring college students with a B+ average or better. I asked for references, why they left their last job and their GPA. I would never hire someone with any experience. To hire a college student, simply call the college and ask for the employment office. In my part of the world, the college referred me to a service they use. It is called "JOBTRACK" and they do the help wanted ads for the colleges. These guys were great. Call them to see if they deal with your area. They can be reached at 800-999-8725. They will fax you a form, which you can fax back, and immediately start advertising for your assistant. A couple tips based on experience that will keep you from regretting your hiring decision: 1. Give them a test. Just write up 5 math problems–addition through division that they must do long hand (no calculator). Also ask them to write a paragraph about what they did on their summer vacation (or whatever topic you like). You'll be amazed at how many seemingly intelligent people can't do simple math or can't spell. In my present case, there was no spelling or math problem, but I cannot read the person's handwriting! 2. If they are not working, have them start immediately on an hourly basis and have them do a project for you. There's nothing like actually watching someone for 2 days to determine if you want them for years. Tell them it's a great opportunity for you both to get a better look at each other while they earn some money and they can keep looking for work. 3. Never have job candidates call your office directly. Have them call into voice mail or machine set up specifically for the job. On the message, leave a brief description and ask three questions. • Brief description of last job • Why you left • Why this job sounds like a good match Then, all you need to do is listen to the messages and call those people that sound good. Call and ask them to fax over a resume. You’ll save a tremendous amount of time this way. You can also have them fax the resume from your ad. Then you call them and ask the three questions on the phone without committing to an interview. Then invite only the people who look and sound good. By using this technique. You'll need to meet 4 or 5 people to find the right one, not 20.
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You can also do the following. Call the major securities firms in your town. When the receptionist answers ask, “I am looking to hire a sales assistant. Are there any sales assistants in your office that are interested in making a change?” The person who answers the phone is either the receptionist or one of the sales assistants and you are likely to get a lead as someone is always dissatisfied and looking to make a change.
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Phone Script to Announce Your Move to Your Clients
you : “Hello. Mr. Blausknowski, this is Larry Klein, (this client knows you so you don't say that you are calling from your old institution. That would be misleading.) Have I called at a good time?”
client: “Yes, well I was just going out....what can I do for you?”
you: “I wanted to call to let you know this is my last week at (the Dean Witter, Bank of America, Met Life etc...) and I am opening my own office next week to better service my clients.”
client: “Larry, what happened?”
you: “As you know Mr. B, I've worked hard serving you and my many other clients over the past 5 years. As I got more involved in the profession I learned about other investment options which I became very excited about. For some reason, (your old institution) just was not interested in expanding. I think that the world is changing and I need my firm to change with the times. That is only fair to clients, don't you agree? For example, there are many excellent no-load mutual funds available. My firm does not want to deal in no-loads. I have put together a service so that I can get these funds for clients and manage them for a very reasonable annual fee. This is just one item I can do for clients in my own practice that I cannot offer at (your current firm). (talk to the client about managed money, long term care etc....pick one item they would have interest in that your new firm does not accommodate.) Does that sound like something you'd want to learn more about?” client: “Absolutely.” you: “GREAT! Lets set up a time for next week to review where we are with the current investments and see if any of these new programs would be beneficial for you. (set the appointment and close with.....) You know Mr. B, I am really happy that you and I will be continuing to work together. That’s exactly the reason I decided to make this change. I do want to ask you a favor.” client: “What?” you: “I think that you have the right to decide with whom you want to do business and of course I appreciate your choice in continuing to work with me. My old firm, however, would probably not be too happy about you and I talking because they do not want to lose clients. Do you mind keeping this conversation between you and I?”
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Sample Release Letter Unless you have a series 24 license, you will probably be forced to work under a principal if you join a BD. This person will get an override on your production. You will want to free your self from this person as soon as possible by passing the series 24 exam. To get this all agreed to up-front, execute the following letter by signing and having it signed by the principal you are assigned to. I can not guarantee that your broker/dealer or a court will accept this letter. In fact, to be sure you should consult your attorney. Still, I used the following letter to guarantee my principal would allow me to leave him (and stay at the same broker/dealer). This letter was signed by both of us and faxed to the broker/dealer. Only when the compliance department gave me a written confirmation that they would accept this letter, did I agree to sign on. I (state principal's name) understand that (your name) has agreed to work under my principal's license at XYZ Securities. The consideration that I will receive from (your name) is x% of gross production revenue. The consideration that I am giving to (your name) is my supervision and also my promise to allow (your name) the ability to obtain his/her principal's license at any time and with 30 days written notice to me, I agree to allow (your name) to work under his/her own license and I will relinquish any and all further overrides or fees of any kind. Signed, Signed,
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Dear Financial Pro, This little tip will significantly increase the results from your correspondence. On every letter, include a picture of yourself. Here's how:
How to have your Digitized Photo Made:
1. Go to a professional photographer, and have your picture taken. Comb your hair and shave first!
2. Have a wallet size photo developed, in black & white. 3. Take that wallet-sized photo to your local Kinko’s. 4. Tell the Kinko’s clerk that you want to have your photo scanned and that the final product
should be black & white so that you can print booklets with your photo inside. 5. Other specifications they need to know are (a) scan photo at 200 dpi and (b) save file in jpeg
format. Just keep some blank letterhead with your photo saved in a file on your computer. Then, use it anytime you write a letter. To save time, I do not sign my letters. My signature is computerized. I had my signature converted to a font. The firm is now out of business but you can find others through an Internet search on keywords “font signature” This saves a whole bunch of time when you are doing a mass mail campaign. P.S. Always use a powerful postscript at the end of each letter. People read these so make a new point here or reiterate the most important point in your letter. Alternatively, use a deadline for action.
