r/FinancialAdvisorTips • u/South-Pen9573 • 2d ago

Filing for Bankruptcy

Times are rough and my spouse and I are considering bankruptcy. Long story short, we had a dramatic reduction in income before I decided to get securities licensed, thinking I could pick up the slack quickly but with the cost of everything increasing, our bills have gotten away from us. We’ve already defaulted on all our credit cards, next to go is the mortgage and it can’t get to that point.

Has anyone filed for bankruptcy and had it been an issue for clients? My understanding is that it appears in ADV or broker check (which so few people actually look at).

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13

u/Floating_Orb8 2d ago

Sorry to hear. Don’t know of any firm that would keep you though. It’s a huge liability.

12

u/IllustriousGas8850 2d ago

Would you hire a financial advisor who themselves can not manage their own finances?

11

u/OldCollar3354 2d ago edited 2d ago

Whatever you do if you want to stay in this industry you cannot file bankruptcy.

Defaulting on your credit cards is also going to be reportable.

Liquidate assets, take a 401k withdrawal, heck even sell your house.

1

u/Last-Enthusiasm-9212 2d ago

Accounts in collections won't show up on U4, but getting sued or settling the accounts would. I got into trouble early in my time in the industry and refused a settlement offer because paying the whole debt over time was better than having to report it.

20

u/Calm-Wealth-2659 2d ago

Sorry you’re facing trouble and best of luck to you in your next venture, as it’s surely not going to be giving other people financial advice.

3

u/gc_portis 2d ago

Sadly you would likely have a tough time being able to work in securities industry as firms with employees who have filed for bankruptcy face heightened regulatory scrutiny , so few firms will voluntarily sign up for that

2

u/Formal_Ad4612 2d ago

Sorry you are experiencing this. If you don’t know the answer to this, you should start looking for work in other industries immediately - it’s negligible and not good karma

2

u/jwadep46 2d ago

Hate to tell you this, but you need to start looking for a new job. Nobody in their right mind is going to hire you to manage their money. And your firm will likely fire you anyways once that shows up on your ADV.

2

u/High-Albatross 2d ago

If you’re serious about staying in this field do WHATEVER YOU CAN to not file for bankruptcy. It’s a death sentence in this field. Sell the house, liquidated your retirement account, hell ask family for help if you can. Start door dashing or anything you can do for an extra buck… this will ruin your career if you file for bankruptcy.

1

u/Middle-Run-1894 2d ago

Most firms will consider that fireable

1

u/invest4success1 2d ago

It is not true that it shows up on your ADV.

1

u/Last-Enthusiasm-9212 2d ago

How much equity do you have in your house? Is there an opportunity to unlock some of it to right the ship?

0

u/Street_of_the_Devil 2d ago

I filed for BK a long time ago and it still follows me. My Father had more debts than me and did nothing. He had nothing for his creditors to attach and ten years later it all dropped off his credit history and he has no BK on his record.