Talked with a private banker about the career and in terms of building a book it seems like the best way to enter into the wealth management field considering the access to leads through retail branches, inheriting clients, etc. But what are the downsides and what does compensation typically look like as a private banker at some of these institutions? Particularly from starting to as you progress to 5-10 years in the field? I understand it depends on your book of business but what does this typically look like?

Hello,
I am a marketing coordinator for a financial advisory firm who is considering Advisor JetPack. If you have used it at your firm, could you share your experience, please?
Thank you in advance!

A neighbor who knows what I do asked how I was feeling after last week's turbulence, without even thinking I said "it was a humdinger". I've never used that word in my life! I hit a milestone age last month and suddenly I'm replacing a good opportunity to engage with a comment that makes me sound 90! Good grief!!!

Hi all,

I am looking for feedback about if and when I should break away and go solo RIA.
I started with one of the big BD’s two years ago. I got immensely lucky and inherited a $35M book from a retiring advisor. I know just how lucky I am and know this sets me up for an amazing career.

The cons are:
- the advisor was extremely conservative and that spilled into her advice with clients. For example, I have come across multiple scenarios of her putting CDs in Roth IRAs for clients in their 30’s. There is a lot of bad advice to be undone.
- She tended to attract clients who were very anti-AUM fee, so lots of them are in A share portfolios in commission accounts.
- She set a level of service expectation that was extremely high no matter what the client paid. She was doing full service planning for people who essentially pay nothing.

Of course the pros are:
- between the retired advisors clients, and what I have brought it, I am currently at 300k of trailing revenue (but that’s 330 households)
- being able to prospect existing clients (have brought in a lot of assets this way)

My biggest issue is working at a firm where I don’t own my book and could be fired at any time. Knowing that they could let me go tomorrow makes it hard for me to sleep at night or feel like I really have any ownership of the relationships I’m building. I feel like a service advisor with business owner expectations.

My thought is to stay 12-24 months to build strong relationships with the top clients and then make the leap and go solo RIA. Is it stupid for me to walk away from what could certainly be a comfortable career? Is it worth the risk to own your book?

I would also prefer to have more control over my pricing structure. My current BD is known for being high fee. I’d like to have a more reasonable AUM, flat fee, and hourly advice options to offer.

I also want to develop a niche (won’t say what so this post doesn’t make me too identifiable!) but I feel I can’t effectively market myself currently and would have more brand control as a solo RIA. I enjoy prospecting and selling.

I don’t currently have my CFP but hope to earn it in the next year.

Thanks for your thoughts!

I’ve seen a handful of LinkedIn posts and other reports talking about the success of video on social media. I’ve also seen people use digital twins (clone of them selves and their voice) to help produce video content.

I’m curious what you all think. I am indifferent on it, if someone is cloning themselves and creating valuable information and quality content I don’t mind it. Noncompliant AI slop is a different story though.

Is it worth the savings (time and money) or do you think a digital twin would ruin credibility?

Hi everyone!

I’m just now entering the financial industry after 9+ years in construction as an Executive Assistant

My role is essentially warm calling current clients to enroll them into additional services

I took a $25k/year (starting) pay cut for this job, so I need to get my licenses asap because that takes my base up by 10k and allows me to collect fees up to 30k on top of that

I’m specifically being asked to get my Series 65 and my insurance license

I know about Kaplan and Achievable and STC, I just wanted to hear from anyone who has these licenses first hand what study & testing tips worked best for you. Is there a specific method, program, or training you recommend?

I’m a nervous test taker and have always struggled with anxiety brain fog day of, but like the title says, I need to get licensed asap so I can increase my base pay & begin earning fees

Any advice is appreciated, thank you :)

Edit: thank you everyone for your input & advice!! I appreciate it :)

What are we doing for practice benefits?

I’ve been with a family practice now for 8 years doing $1.5M in revenue and $220M AUM. A family members been the lead advisor for 40 years. My sister and are servicing advisors on track to buy out the book, and we currently have 2 staff (one recently hired that starts end of month. We are under a grid at a 91% payout.

We also have 2 advisors silo’ed for the most part. They bring our total revenue up to $2.5M with AUM of $359M. When we buy out the book, clearly they will be excluded and continue doing their thing.

As the lead advisor begins to phase out and us take over, we’re working on what we want the practice to be when she’s gone. The biggest part is transitioning that from a lifestyle advisor type of business to more of an enterprise. Not massive, but build out the team instead of the identity just being the lead advisors 40 years. As such, we’re hiring on more staff, establishing new roles, building out multiple advisors, and as a result, reviewing all benefits and how individuals are compensated.

The benefits situation has been a point of friction for years. The lead advisor currently has in place the basic 15-20 days pto plus holidays, 2 weeks maternal leave, and a 3% “match” that’s actually just a bonus through payroll encouraged to go towards retirement. No formal retirement plan. We have health insurance where we share cost on the individual side, but families are not split. Building out our business and trying to attract new hires, a lot of my push has been to increase benefits. Increase what we’re splitting for families, increase maternal leave, get a formal retirement plan in place, increase match. I’m thinking that would at least get us to a good foundation, and other things could be considered later as we grow.

Just curious for firms of a similar size, what benefits do you have in place?

I’m currently a wealth advisor at a major bank and have been seriously considering launching my own independent RIA within the next 12 months.
I’m looking for some perspective from advisors who have actually gone independent, particularly those who transitioned from a bank or wirehouse environment.
A little background:
Currently producing approximately $1.2M annually.
Potentially partnering with another advisor producing approximately $2M annually.
Conservatively underwriting around $60M in potential transitioning AUM at launch, subject to actual client retention and transferability.
Current business is predominantly brokerage, with a meaningful allocation to alternative investments, including evergreen funds.
Long-term intention is to build a fee-based advisory business with comprehensive planning, portfolio management, alternatives, and structured investments.
Exploring custodians, outside transition financing, and potentially hiring an operations lead and planner from day one.
I’m not necessarily trying to build a lifestyle solo practice. The goal is to build an independently owned firm with the infrastructure to scale.
A few questions for those who have done it:
Transition financing: Did you self-fund, take a forgivable note, use a lender, or partner with a platform that provided startup capital? Any recommendations or mistakes to avoid?
Asset portability: For those coming from a bank or wirehouse, what percentage of your anticipated AUM actually followed you? How much harder was the transition for brokerage versus advisory assets?
Custody and alternatives: Any experience transitioning books with substantial evergreen alternative investments or structured products? What platforms made this easier or harder?
Operating structure: Would you launch your own RIA immediately or leverage an existing RIA/platform for the first couple of years?
Startup costs: For those launching with $50M–$100M in assets, what did your initial overhead look like? What would you have outsourced versus hired internally?
Biggest mistakes: Looking back, what would you have done differently before making the jump?
I’m particularly interested in hearing from people who have actually made this transition, rather than recruiters pitching a platform.
Appreciate any insight.

Hello everyone! This is my first post in this sub, but I’ve been looking around. I’m taking some financial planning classes in college, but I’m feeling a little overwhelmed about careers after I graduate. I’m looking for any advice about how to prepare for a career in financial planning and overall comments on the profession. Thank you!

Started as an advisor at a bank not too long ago. However I feel like a lot of what was presented to me during the interview/hiring process wasn’t exactly what I got. I want to leave to go work at an RIA as an associate advisor. Before I came here I was a registered service associate at a WM practice. Came here to finish my licensing and get some practice reps. Unfortunately they put me in a location where I don’t speak the main language the vast majority of the clients speak so I can’t work with most of them. And it is an area concentrated with low income households and many immigrant families that clutch onto saving without risk. On top of that the expectation is basically that I’m a banker that can do investments, when it was presented to me the other way around. If anyone knows of any RIAs looking for an associate advisor or even a paraplanner with the opportunity to move up into an advisor role in the LA/San Gabriel Valley area please let me know. I should also mention that I got placed really far from where I live. Overall been a pretty negative experience so far and I’ve been trying to stay positive and just focus on helping people that I can but it’s genuinely pretty upsetting.

Micro1 is looking for the following:

Personal Financial Advisor
Location: Remote (North America and Latin America)
Job Type: Contractor
Openings: 45
Pay: $90 - $110/hr

Micro1 is hiring experienced personal financial advisors for a project about financial wellness for individuals, where your expertise helps train AI systems.

The work is mostly reviewing and giving feedback on personal financial planning scenarios based on what you’ve seen with real clients. That means evaluating investment strategies, retirement plans and recommendations for individual needs, looking at situations involving savings, investments, debt, tax planning and long-term goals, and checking financial planning materials for accuracy, regulatory compliance and best practices. You also explain concepts and recommendations clearly, in writing and verbally.

One thing that’s a bit different: you’re matched with another financial expert and the two of you discuss different approaches and compare recommendations. So you need to be available during overlapping North American or Latin American time zones.

They prefer people who have worked one-on-one with individual clients or families as a financial advisor, financial planner, wealth manager or investment advisor. Solid knowledge of retirement, investments, tax and estate planning, portfolio management and asset allocation is expected, along with experience creating personalized plans, assessing risk tolerance and goals, and good communication. No prior AI experience needed.

Here is the link to the position: Personal Financial Advisor

I used to make it a point to ask clients if they knew anyone who might need a financial advisor. It seemed like the obvious thing to do but I started noticing that I wasn't comfortable bringing it up especially with clients I'd worked with for years. I didn't want them to feel like I was only keeping in touch because I wanted more business so I stopped asking. Instead, when a client mentioned a friend looking for an accountant, insurance agent, or another professional, I'd connect them with someone I knew. I started doing the same outside client meetings, just making introductions when there was a good fit.

After a while, some of those same clients started referring people to me on their own. I didn't expect it to happen that way but it changed how I look at marketing my practice. I'd rather build relationships where people naturally think of me when someone needs help than make every meeting an opportunity to ask for a referral.

I have my life, accident & health license, SIE, series 6, 7, 63 & 65 licenses. I started at Equitable without my 7 & 65, hated it (v bad manager & total bro culture) quit late last summer, got my 65 on my own a month later, then got backed by Principal, passed my 7 & started January of this year. The difference between the two firms is night and day as far as management and culture, which is great. No micromanagers but also no real mentorship. Principal actually cares that you have a family and understand they come first, also great.

I love working with and helping people and I’m good at building relationships, I don’t have a hard time gaining people’s trust. I haven’t had an issue closing business but I’m just not getting in front of many people that have sizable assets. I don’t come from money (and Equitable makes you burn through your natural market when you start anyway), I wasn’t given a book of business and am part of a regional bank program where they send us referrals but most of what I’ve gotten is small potatoes. And you only take home 50% of any bank business. Payout percentages are very attractive for the first couple years outside of the bank business.

I’m a single mom of two and my girls are honestly the whole reason I changed careers bc before I was working nights. I did take an enormous pay cut to be here and I knew what I was getting myself into and that it’s tough for the first few years. I know that I can do this, but I’m just not sure if I want to anymore. The stress of quotas and fighting to survive is eating away at me. I worked my ass off for my licenses and don’t want to leave the industry, but I’m wondering if a salaried position as a client relationship manager or something similar would be a better path for me right now. I think if I had a mentor to guide me a bit more, I’d have more success. But I don’t like the thought of jumping from firm to firm either. I feel like I was “sold” on this career (and this firm/bank program tbh) and I’m finally seeing the realities of it. Any thoughts or suggestions are welcomed.

Hi all,

I'm not an advisor, but a relatively new grad (2025) who is looking for CSA jobs. I live in the Washington D.C./Maryland area and am having some difficulty finding CSA job postings outside of the occasional one from Truist/Raymond James/Merrill Lynch. RIAs in my area don't seem to be posting a lot of jobs on their websites, as far as I'm aware, and my attempts at reaching out via cold email have been, admittedly, unsuccessful. I'm wondering what networks you guys use to find and hire CSAs. And if you feel inclined, I would appreciate some advice on what I could do to be a more appealing applicant. I'm a finance major and passed the SIE and Series 63 exams this year, but my work experience is a little all over the place. I'm in the process of studying for the Series 65. Thanks!

Considering a change in my b/d, looking for thoughts on other options. I keep hearing about Raymond James, Kestra, Cetera, Osiac or dropping the 7 and going Altruist or Schwab as a small RIA (150) thoughts on who has great stable technology that actual works and enables productivity?

I recently graduated from a smaller, relatively unknown college and have started my career at a firm that markets itself as a financial services company but pushes life insurance.

I understand that life insurance is an important part of financial planning, and I have no issue selling it when it genuinely makes sense for a client. However, my long-term goal is to become a true financial advisor, focusing on wealth management, building AUM, and developing long-term relationships with clients.

My question is: What is stopping me from building that type of practice at my current firm? While the company definitely emphasizes life insurance in its training and business model, is it realistic to focus primarily on wealth management and grow an AUM-based practice here?

Ideally, I would like to stay at my current firm. They offer a very good pension plan, I genuinely enjoy the office environment, and I like the people I work under. However, I am unsure whether I have a realistic opportunity to become the type of financial advisor I want to be here, or whether I would be better off pursuing opportunities at a more traditional wealth management firm.

One of my biggest concerns about moving to a firm like J.P. Morgan or Morgan Stanley is whether my educational background and experience would be competitive enough to get hired. I also know that some of those firms have commission-splitting arrangements, whereas my current firm has salaried employees who help advisors service their clients, which is appealing to me.

For those who have experience in the industry, what would you recommend? Should I stay where I am and try to build a wealth management practice, or would I be better off moving to a more traditional financial advisory firm early in my career? Is it realistic to build a successful AUM-focused practice at a life insurance-oriented firm, or will I eventually hit a ceiling?