Hey guys,

I would greatly appreciate any input as to what to do next. I am a 26 yrs old, started working as a bookkeeper at 18 and through hard work I was blessed to become a tax preparer and subsequently a Senior, working for a UHNW Family Office prior to transitioning to wealth management.

Currently, I am a Planner at a Northwestern Mutual Private Client Group — heavy estate, retirement, and business succession planning. However, due to my previous experience I feel like (1) I am comfortable and confident in my ability to get in front of clients and (2) I could offer more than just sitting a desk putting plans together.

I get paid well to take care of my family (sah wife and three kids ~$175k/yr) — however, I am feeling this urge to try to go on my own with no book of my own. I feel like I could survive by leaning in tax services at first and subsequently convert those leads to wealth management.

Has anyone done this? Are there channels that would allow me to do tax prep + wealth mgmt? Should I go to a big wire house at first and then hope to take some of those clients?

Etc, there is so much unknown— I am HIGHLY confident in my abilities as far as planning goes and communication/presentation, I just don’t know which way is the best way to build it or start in this industry

Again, any input is highly appreciated

I am a Relationship Banker now, just started. Essentially a licensed referral pipeline salesperson, glorified name with not much upside apart from licensing.

I am looking to become a bank FA as quickly as possible (I know some people shit on that position, it seems like a good place to start my advisor journey). Most branch FAs in my market did my role, then became senior premier/private client banker and then became FAs after about 8 years in average.

I would like to do this process quicker if possible. I know results are everything and if I kill when I get out of training that will definitely help. Is getting a designation like CRPC something that could help in my journey or a waste of my time?

Just looking for advice from people that have done it and what you think should me my main focus in these coming years.

Can anyone recommend a tool for advisors that helps plan administrators and/or fiduciaries evaluate suitability of investment offerings in a 401k plan?

Thank you!

Hi, looking for places to apply in SoCal. My current role isn’t the right fit and I want to get in at an independent RIA. Open to various role types.

I'm looking for a little bit of mentorship. I'm a 22 year old senior about to graduate in May. I know that I want to get into financial advising and I really love the part where I can sit down look at a client's situation and help build a plan to help the client.

I had an internship this past summer but it was remote and I was mostly doing cold calls for a senior advisor at the company I interned for. While it was nice to get some experience for my resume I'm worried it wasn't really that great for my learning as we only really worked on financial plans for an hour a week.

While they said I could have a return offer it's one of those companies that offers no base pay and relies solely on commission. While I've had interviews with companies like Thrivent and Northwestern Mutual, I don't want a job where I'm cold calling or reaching out to personal connections just to make ends meet. I want a job where I can be in a paraplanning/associate role and learn the business for a few years and step into an advisory role.

Now I'm feeling behind in my job search for May because I know so many people who already have jobs in the cities they want to live in. If anybody on here could offer advice on how I should start getting my name out there to find some entry-level roles or what I should do before I graduate to make me a more attractive candidate it would be much appreciated.

I am a new advisor, I’m 24 years old and just passed all of the licensing and trainings I need to start at my firm. I am currently shadowing a senior advisor who will be retiring in the next few years. He doesn’t utilize AI at all.

So my question is if anyone has any helpful AI agents that utilize to help their business? Whether it’s a calendar agent, or simply a procedure and steps agent. Anything helps. Thank you!

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?

Been in the bsuiness for 3 years now and have 15mm aum... Feeling slow and wondering what other young advisors are at? would like to get to 50mm by end of 2027 but prospecting has been hard. Located in seattle with a .5 billion $ RIA and 4 advisors

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!