# Starting a Financial Advisor career



## seww (Oct 29, 2017)

Hey guys,

So being a bit sick of my boss, I started looking for alternative jobs. As I don't like being locked in a 9-5 position, which is rarely only 8 hours, I found this interesting financial advisor thing.

Still a bit unsure about it since it's all commission based however, the idea behind the products I really like. It's nothing about investing aggressively but to plan for the long run. 

Already long post, but if anyone is interested in something that will help you out for retirement, college for kids, mortgage, debt management and such, please let me know.

To get the information is all free until you decide which solution you want.

If this is out of forum rules, delete it immediately.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Good luck.


.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Are you rich? Among all the good folksy advice my dad gave me other the years, he once said: "Don't take advice from financial advisers that work in big companies, if they were so smart they'd already be rich and retired. Go get advice from the billionaire down the street". 



-DallanC


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## High Desert Elk (Aug 21, 2012)

To become rich with cash on hand, you first need cash on hand and the willingness to take a risk. If you cannot afford to lose the investment, don't invest.

There are a lot of investment vehicles out there to suit what purpose you may have - not all of them fit everyone and most of us don't have the time to watch our portfolios the way we wish we could.

Good luck in your endeavors with this new career venture. I know that my FA's do a much better job with my accounts because, honestly, work gets in the way of me doing it myself.


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## seww (Oct 29, 2017)

DallanC said:


> Are you rich? Among all the good folksy advice my dad gave me other the years, he once said: "Don't take advice from financial advisers that work in big companies, if they were so smart they'd already be rich and retired. Go get advice from the billionaire down the street".
> 
> -DallanC


No I'm far from rich.
And I agree with your dad's advice. Some of these guys have made bank in this business but I'm keeping an open mind to it all.
That's why I'm only trying it out part time while I'm still working.

But they do seem to have many good products for the average joe, that can't afford help from Goldman Sachs or similar places. 
I'd rather help a regular family than some rich douche.


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## seww (Oct 29, 2017)

High Desert Elk said:


> To become rich with cash on hand, you first need cash on hand and the willingness to take a risk. If you cannot afford to lose the investment, don't invest.
> 
> There are a lot of investment vehicles out there to suit what purpose you may have - not all of them fit everyone and most of us don't have the time to watch our portfolios the way we wish we could.
> 
> Good luck in your endeavors with this new career venture. I know that my FA's do a much better job with my accounts because, honestly, work gets in the way of me doing it myself.


You are right, and it's not only investments either. It can be helping someone paying off their house or car.
Getting more spendable income.

And this company has some really good partners, Prudential, Jackson etc. So they seem to be able to offer some good stuff.

We'll see how it all goes, thank you!


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

Best of luck on the new venture!


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## Steve G (Nov 29, 2016)

Good luck to you and when you can out perform the S&P 500 after fees and commissions send me a PM.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

seww said:


> No I'm far from rich.
> And I agree with your dad's advice. Some of these guys have made bank in this business but I'm keeping an open mind to it all.
> That's why I'm only trying it out part time while I'm still working.
> 
> ...


I reread this thread and want to apologize if that came across snarky or negative. I do indeed wish you well in your endeavours! There are PLENTY of people who need serious help when it comes to finances. And honestly, there aren't that many "billionaires living just down the street" most people can hit up for advice.

I worry we are on the verge of a massive recession, and people who are furiously treading water to barely keep their head afloat are going to get clobbered by what's coming. I've yet to meet anyone in casual conversation that even knows the US Debt passed the US GDP... its going to be a epic mess when the music stops playing by that band on the Titanic.

-DallanC


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## High Desert Elk (Aug 21, 2012)

Agree Dallan, the reckoning could be very ugly indeed. There is wisdom in you managing your debt vs. it managing you.


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## seww (Oct 29, 2017)

CPAjeff said:


> Best of luck on the new venture!


Thank you!
Small investment to start so you just never know!


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## seww (Oct 29, 2017)

Steve G said:


> Good luck to you and when you can out perform the S&P 500 after fees and commissions send me a PM.


Maybe I will...


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## seww (Oct 29, 2017)

DallanC said:


> seww said:
> 
> 
> > No I'm far from rich.
> ...


No sweat DallanC, I understand where you're coming from.

This business claim that they want to help the middle American who cannot access the same financial tools the rich can.
The future will tell, at least me, if its true or not.

But I need to find those in need and it's not that easy being fairly new in town...


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## seww (Oct 29, 2017)

High Desert Elk said:


> Agree Dallan, the reckoning could be very ugly indeed. There is wisdom in you managing your debt vs. it managing you.


So true.
Hopefully what they keep telling me is true and I can actually make a difference for someone, would be awesome! Really tired of working for the man and not even helping anyone.. should have become a doctor.


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## brisket (Mar 3, 2015)

DallanC said:


> I worry we are on the verge of a massive recession, and people who are furiously treading water to barely keep their head afloat are going to get clobbered by what's coming. I've yet to meet anyone in casual conversation that even knows the US Debt passed the US GDP... its going to be a epic mess when the music stops playing by that band on the Titanic.
> 
> -DallanC


I agree. We're at or near the top of another Federal Reserve manipulated business cycle. With the amount of money they've pumped into the system this time via quantitative easing this one could be ugly. Likely far worse than the dot com and housing bubbles.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

seww said:


> No sweat DallanC, I understand where you're coming from.
> 
> This business claim that they want to help the middle American who cannot access the same financial tools the rich can.
> The future will tell, at least me, if its true or not.
> ...


Well... hmmm how do I put this. There is a dominant religion in the area, and that religion offers "support" for various things, among those are financial classes. Individuals with financial backgrounds help those who are interested / want help. I dont know more than that, my wife went to one "meeting", which was mis-represented in retrospect about what it was.

The religion is organized into large regions called "stakes" and within a stake are 4-6 "wards" which themselves are neighborhood sized (200ish people). Various Stake presidents could point you in directions to help.

-DallanC


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

seww said:


> No sweat DallanC, I understand where you're coming from.
> 
> This business claim that they want to help the middle American who cannot access the same financial tools the rich can.
> The future will tell, at least me, if its true or not.
> ...


Well... hmmm how do I put this. There is a dominant religion in the area, and that religion offers "support" for various things, among those are financial classes. Individuals with financial backgrounds help those who are interested / want help. I dont know more than that, my wife went to one "meeting", which was mis-represented in retrospect about what it was.

The religion is organized into large regions called "stakes" and within a stake are 4-6 "wards" which themselves are neighborhood sized (200ish people). Various Stake presidents could point you in directions to help.

-DallanC


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

DallanC said:


> Well... hmmm how do I put this. There is a dominant religion in the area, and that religion offers "support" for various things, among those are financial classes. Individuals with financial backgrounds help those who are interested / want help. I dont know more than that, my wife went to one "meeting", which was mis-represented in retrospect about what it was.
> 
> -DallanC


If you're thinking of the same classes as I am, then I'll just add that in a lot of cases, those individuals who help don't even have a financial background. They simply volunteered (or were asked to volunteer) to help. The course is less about capital management, and more about getting your life and your spending under control so that you have money to save and invest in the first place. I wouldn't say that it negates the need for a financial advisor and/or further knowledge of capital management.

Not sure how much that applies to the situation or this thread, but I figured I'd throw that out there.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

We had some neighbors who were well over their heads financially and having a rough go. We dropped off a turkey on their porch one night in the dark for thanksgiving, did the secret santa thing for them the next month. Others stepped in to help out with bills and whatnot. They had a miracle happen and got an influx of a few thousand $$. They immediately spent it on jeep repairs so they could goto the Moab safari over Easter weekend.-O,- Few months after that they lost their house and got evicted.

Had a relative that got SEVERELY hurt on a job, nearly lost both feet. Alot relatives started pitching in spare $$ to help with bills and whatnot. After a year Dr's saved his feet and he even got his old job back. With lots of bills still outstanding, his first paycheck he went and bought a new ATV 

Some people are destined to be poor and have a really rough path through life.


-DallanC


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## NVDuckin (Apr 18, 2016)

brisket said:


> I agree. We're at or near the top of another Federal Reserve manipulated business cycle. With the amount of money they've pumped into the system this time via quantitative easing this one could be ugly. Likely far worse than the dot com and housing bubbles.


So should I sell my house while real estate is still hot?

Mostly kidding...


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## High Desert Elk (Aug 21, 2012)

NVDuckin said:


> So should I sell my house while real estate is still hot?
> 
> Mostly kidding...


Wish I had that option, and not even kidding either...


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## seww (Oct 29, 2017)

brisket said:


> I agree. We're at or near the top of another Federal Reserve manipulated business cycle. With the amount of money they've pumped into the system this time via quantitative easing this one could be ugly. Likely far worse than the dot com and housing bubbles.


And this is where I come in, to help people to plan for these darker times, since the gov't can't be counted on to come and bail the regular Joe out.

One reason I wanted to leave Sweden, people depended and trusted the gov't to take care of them like none other.
It doesn't matter who is in control, you're on your own.


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## seww (Oct 29, 2017)

DallanC said:


> Well... hmmm how do I put this. There is a dominant religion in the area, and that religion offers "support" for various things, among those are financial classes. Individuals with financial backgrounds help those who are interested / want help. I dont know more than that, my wife went to one "meeting", which was mis-represented in retrospect about what it was.
> 
> The religion is organized into large regions called "stakes" and within a stake are 4-6 "wards" which themselves are neighborhood sized (200ish people). Various Stake presidents could point you in directions to help.
> 
> -DallanC


I think that's something else.
This is a multi-billion company that's establish all over the world. However, they do seem a bit religious sometimes, but we are in America and we are in Utah so hard to tell.


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## seww (Oct 29, 2017)

DallanC said:


> We had some neighbors who were well over their heads financially and having a rough go. We dropped off a turkey on their porch one night in the dark for thanksgiving, did the secret santa thing for them the next month. Others stepped in to help out with bills and whatnot. They had a miracle happen and got an influx of a few thousand $$. They immediately spent it on jeep repairs so they could goto the Moab safari over Easter weekend.-O,- Few months after that they lost their house and got evicted.
> 
> Had a relative that got SEVERELY hurt on a job, nearly lost both feet. Alot relatives started pitching in spare $$ to help with bills and whatnot. After a year Dr's saved his feet and he even got his old job back. With lots of bills still outstanding, his first paycheck he went and bought a new ATV
> 
> ...


Hey, that's the American dream right?
Spend, spend, spend!

But yeah, many people are not very well-educated when it comes to finances...


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## caddis8 (Sep 10, 2007)

DallanC said:


> We had some neighbors who were well over their heads financially and having a rough go. We dropped off a turkey on their porch one night in the dark for thanksgiving, did the secret santa thing for them the next month. Others stepped in to help out with bills and whatnot. They had a miracle happen and got an influx of a few thousand $$. They immediately spent it on jeep repairs so they could goto the Moab safari over Easter weekend.-O,- Few months after that they lost their house and got evicted.
> 
> Had a relative that got SEVERELY hurt on a job, nearly lost both feet. Alot relatives started pitching in spare $$ to help with bills and whatnot. After a year Dr's saved his feet and he even got his old job back. With lots of bills still outstanding, his first paycheck he went and bought a new ATV
> 
> ...


Dallan, It's unfortunate that you're right on this part. Having been on the administrative side of situations like that, there are a lot more where people are so grateful for help and don't fritter it away. (I just said fritter)

I have learned two phrases in a lot of this and it helps keep me grounded.

"There is a difference between being poor and needy."

"Poor People have Poor Ways."

Poor people often throw money out the window in any quantity. If people don't live within their means and spend less than they make, then it's a problem. That's not religious. That's a fact.

There have been more than several times where people got a little snippy with me for my unsolicited advice on what my expectations were on the plan moving forward. My response is always the same (in a nice way). "If we're helping you and buying dinner then we have bought a seat at the table and we get to set some rules and guidelines."

My thought is sustain life and not lifestyle. If someone gets caught up and then burns money up on something dumb, well then that's going to be the end of help from us. I've done it before many times.

Anyway, back to the debt and financial situation. I agree Dallan, that the foundation is mighty shaky, the consumer debt load is high. I'm watching people build crazy expensive houses that are my age and I'm wondering "How do they afford that, along with the trailer, ATV/UTV, boat, monthly vacations, etc.?" Maybe they're knocking out some serious coin, and if they are and can afford it, awesome and great for them. I'm making a good living and don't owe a penny to anyone, and still can't or won't afford what they're doing. Oh well, I guess my risk appetite for fun isn't as high as others.

Good luck Seww on your venture. There's a lot of resources available and hopefully people can get on a better financial foundation because I see a tippy house happening. With interest rates low for so long, there's not a lot of room to wiggle there. There's already too much liquidity from QE 1,2,3, Operation Twist, and other machinations that leave the Fed without much ammo in the magazine. Consumer debt, student loan debt, and other debt forms are high and aren't sustainable. Throw in stock buy backs with the commercial debt load and corporate level very leveraged to make share look better or levered buyouts of companies, and it's fixing to get dicey.


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## caddis8 (Sep 10, 2007)

DallanC said:


> We had some neighbors who were well over their heads financially and having a rough go. We dropped off a turkey on their porch one night in the dark for thanksgiving, did the secret santa thing for them the next month. Others stepped in to help out with bills and whatnot. They had a miracle happen and got an influx of a few thousand $$. They immediately spent it on jeep repairs so they could goto the Moab safari over Easter weekend.-O,- Few months after that they lost their house and got evicted.
> 
> Had a relative that got SEVERELY hurt on a job, nearly lost both feet. Alot relatives started pitching in spare $$ to help with bills and whatnot. After a year Dr's saved his feet and he even got his old job back. With lots of bills still outstanding, his first paycheck he went and bought a new ATV
> 
> ...


Dallan, It's unfortunate that you're right on this part. Having been on the administrative side of situations like that, there are a lot more where people are so grateful for help and don't fritter it away. (I just said fritter)

I have learned two phrases in a lot of this and it helps keep me grounded.

"There is a difference between being poor and needy."

"Poor People have Poor Ways."

Poor people often throw money out the window in any quantity. If people don't live within their means and spend less than they make, then it's a problem. That's not religious. That's a fact.

There have been more than several times where people got a little snippy with me for my unsolicited advice on what my expectations were on the plan moving forward. My response is always the same (in a nice way). "If we're helping you and buying dinner then we have bought a seat at the table and we get to set some rules and guidelines."

My thought is sustain life and not lifestyle. If someone gets caught up and then burns money up on something dumb, well then that's going to be the end of help from us. I've done it before many times.

Anyway, back to the debt and financial situation. I agree Dallan, that the foundation is mighty shaky, the consumer debt load is high. I'm watching people build crazy expensive houses that are my age and I'm wondering "How do they afford that, along with the trailer, ATV/UTV, boat, monthly vacations, etc.?" Maybe they're knocking out some serious coin, and if they are and can afford it, awesome and great for them. I'm making a good living and don't owe a penny to anyone (not even my house), and still can't or won't afford what they're doing. Oh well, I guess my risk appetite for fun isn't as high as others.

Good luck Seww on your venture. There's a lot of resources available and hopefully people can get on a better financial foundation because I see a tippy house happening. With interest rates low for so long, there's not a lot of room to wiggle there. There's already too much liquidity from QE 1,2,3, Operation Twist, and other machinations that leave the Fed without much ammo in the magazine. Consumer debt, student loan debt, and other debt forms are high and aren't sustainable. Throw in stock buy backs with the commercial debt load and corporate level very leveraged to make share look better or levered buyouts of companies, and it's fixing to get dicey.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Two more "true'isms" from my dad:

"Only two things you need to know about Interest, you either collect it or pay it... and its alot more fun to collect it"

"You can't make Chicken Salad out of Chicken Sxxt"


-DallanC


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## caddis8 (Sep 10, 2007)

DallanC said:


> Two more "true'isms" from my dad:
> 
> "Only two things you need to know about Interest, you either collect it or pay it... and its alot more fun to collect it"
> 
> ...


Both are absolutely true. I love the second one. That may be used in the future.


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## KRH (Jul 27, 2015)

No offense but I would never trust a "part time" financial adviser, and I think you'll have a hard time selling yourself to someone if you're not fully committed. I have several friends who are successful FA's and they love their jobs, but they work full time and very hard. 

Just my two cents, best of luck.


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## seww (Oct 29, 2017)

KRH said:


> No offense but I would never trust a "part time" financial adviser, and I think you'll have a hard time selling yourself to someone if you're not fully committed. I have several friends who are successful FA's and they love their jobs, but they work full time and very hard.
> 
> Just my two cents, best of luck.


No offense taken.

Yeah I understand it's a lot of hard work to establish a solid client base. The company does have a great support system so we'll see. Apparently many FA's that does it part-time.

Anyways, we'll see. Got a lot to do at work so it's hard to get started...


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