I will say this.....Trust the process.  You have the support of a wonderful company behind you. We believe in you, but you have to believe in yourself and roll up your sleeves and get to work. We are celebrating 100 years of a process from Ted Jones that flat out works, but only if you work. Put your head down and get out there.  This is a family here and we will support you along the way. Your regional leader has your back if you need him. The table is set for you to stand out in your community as a respected leader. 

My offer was 100k base salary, with standard scale down over 4-5 years. 

I am already in the office I will most likely stay at in a multi-FA (two advisor) situation, and the advisor I am paired with is a level 5 with 50-60m in assets.

I am interested in knowing what my Goodknight size will be? I get the sense that they were only going to give me 5-6m based off of my hiring conversations, but couldn't get them to be solid on that number. From what I have read on the forums, such a small GK is a bit of a joke. Is there room to negotiate a higher amount, and how do I go about doing that?

NajaESG

I lost my Job due to layoffs at the director level at the startup i was working for, my boss, me and 2 other directors were let go within a month of each other. Was unemployed since February. I was driving Uber since May to make ends meet while interviewing literally everywhere I could. Ultimately, I landed on wealth management and financial advising as a career path that interested me. Also, I wish my weeks were only 60 hours, more like 80-90 hour weeks, and it was literally killing me.

Because he was probably working 60hrs/week and he wants to make $500k working 30hrs/week?

Because he was probably working 60hrs/week and he wants to make $500k working 30hrs/week?

Make that 700k or more working 15 hours or less  every other week and now you get the beauty of this career. 

My offer was 100k base salary, with standard scale down over 4-5 years. 

I am already in the office I will most likely stay at in a multi-FA (two advisor) situation, and the advisor I am paired with is a level 5 with 50-60m in assets.

I am interested in knowing what my Goodknight size will be? I get the sense that they were only going to give me 5-6m based off of my hiring conversations, but couldn't get them to be solid on that number. From what I have read on the forums, such a small GK is a bit of a joke. Is there room to negotiate a higher amount, and how do I go about doing that?

NajaESG

If you have already accepted an offer of employment and started studying, there is basically no ability to negotiate a larger GK. However, Jones almost never does scratch starts anymore so you will get something. If the other FA is a level 5 with $50mm, you can expect about $5mm. And it will be complete dogshit. Trust me on this.

I did a $12mm GK with a new FA when I only had $45mm AUC, but that was highly unusual. I’ve done several more and the quality of the clients increases each time, but the first one was entirely low-revenue time vampires, PITAS, and non-responsive clients. If this is your FA’s first one, you will NOT be receiving good clients. 

However, if you put in the work, have a good attitude and go out of your way to meet your region, you will likely have additional asset-sharing opportunities down the road. It will help tremendously if you are a woman, identify as one, or are dark-complected. If you’re a straight white man, it will be tougher. Just stating the facts. Also, it’s considered bad form to ask for GKs. If you come across as entitled, it will turn people off. Be grateful for what you receive, but remember that a $5mm or $10mm GK is NOT a sustainable business. Build your own, get a fast start, and you may be surprised at the opportunities that come your way.

Agree with the other posters about prospecting using CDs and money market. Rising rates means our brokerage products will be very attractive compared to the rates at your local banks and credit unions. This will be one of the greatest asset-gathering opportunities of your career. Treat it as such. Good luck!

I lost my Job due to layoffs at the director level at the startup i was working for, my boss, me and 2 other directors were let go within a month of each other. Was unemployed since February. I was driving Uber since May to make ends meet while interviewing literally everywhere I could. Ultimately, I landed on wealth management and financial advising as a career path that interested me. Also, I wish my weeks were only 60 hours, more like 80-90 hour weeks, and it was literally killing me.

First. Congrats. 

Second. What were you doing before? Saw you mentioned your a career changer. 

Third. I'm shocked they gave you a hundred thousand. Shocked. You have no idea how lucky you are to start out with that much. 

There are many ways to build a business but I really believe in working a niche. 

If you came from the startup world, you could absolutely make a niche out of startup employees. Stock compensation pre-IPO is a major financial planning topic for those people. You could look up every pre IPO unicorn in your area and start hitting up the employees 

No doubt. I made 80k - a 50k cut from my previous salary. Sucked. 

Gary!

Gary!

Gary!

Gary!

Gary!

what

My offer was 100k base salary, with standard scale down over 4-5 years. 

I am already in the office I will most likely stay at in a multi-FA (two advisor) situation, and the advisor I am paired with is a level 5 with 50-60m in assets.

I am interested in knowing what my Goodknight size will be? I get the sense that they were only going to give me 5-6m based off of my hiring conversations, but couldn't get them to be solid on that number. From what I have read on the forums, such a small GK is a bit of a joke. Is there room to negotiate a higher amount, and how do I go about doing that?

NajaESG

Gary!

Gary!

Gary!

Gary!

Gary!

Passing the 7 and 66 was no joke.

Passing the 7 and 66 was no joke.

Love how they changed “can sell” to “can serve” phrase now EJ is fiduciary!!!

Your business is in Hawaii? 

Yes, nobody wears suits and you can knock doors wearing shorts in December.

Any openings there?

I heard somewhere that business dress in Hawaii is slacks and a high end silk camp shirt (like Tommy Bahama)…true or false 

I heard somewhere that business dress in Hawaii is slacks and a high end silk camp shirt (like Tommy Bahama)…true or false 

I heard somewhere that business dress in Hawaii is slacks and a high end silk camp shirt (like Tommy Bahama)…true or false 

Of course you haven't, because Jones is corporate bullshit of teasing but not promising just like every other big company.

Every new FA signs a goodknight agreement. The amount of assets is not given. All hired advisors now start with at least a very small crappy goodknight plan and signing the form is required by the vet to hire the candidate too. 

Every new FA signs a goodknight agreement. The amount of assets is not given. All hired advisors now start with at least a very small crappy goodknight plan and signing the form is required by the vet to hire the candidate too. 

Is this firm policy now? I’m no longer involved with growth team or new FA training so I legitimately don’t know. We’ve been pushing to eliminate scratch starts, and virtually all new hires DO start with assets, but are they signing GK docs the same time they sign their employment agreement? 

Used to be they got hired, took their exams, did some prospecting and THEN got their GK agreement. Has that changed?

Is this firm policy now? I’m no longer involved with growth team or new FA training so I legitimately don’t know. We’ve been pushing to eliminate scratch starts, and virtually all new hires DO start with assets, but are they signing GK docs the same time they sign their employment agreement? 

Used to be they got hired, took their exams, did some prospecting and THEN got their GK agreement. Has that changed?

BOXED IN! 

Yes and no. I’ve done two decent sized GKs and a couple smaller partner plans. It’s nice to have an opportunity to see the new FA’s work ethic and competency prior to committing assets to them. I’ve never seen Jones hire someone under false pretenses just to intentionally shaft them. I have seen a few bad hires who would not have been good fits and was thankful there was no obligation to transition clients to them.  

This reminds me of windy. Like he gets one high net worth client and suddenly pretends that the the other 200 are also high net worth 

It’s possible to get hired as a new FA and be placed in a legacy plan where you have a physical branch to work from but don’t receive assets from the hosting FA. I know because I’ve done 3 of these plans in the last 5 years. I later opted into doing GKs with 2 of them but that was after they’d been in my office for a while. The third one sucked and he washed out. But there was zero requirement I give him assets when I agreed to host him in my branch. Neither I nor the firm promised that to him. 

I agree Jones has, in practice, phased out scratch starts, but I’ve never seen an actual policy that mandates asset sharing on day one. We’ve just accepted it greatly increases their likelihood of success if we do it. The actual amount will vary widely by region and market. In my region (rural, low growth) we’ve made a decision as a region not to hire anyone unless we have at least $20 million in pooled GK assets to share. Occasionally it has been much more than that. 

And yes, it does make the new people soft as fuck. Most have ZERO idea how hard it is to gather $20 or $40 or $60 million on your own. It’s just given to them and they assume that’s how it was/is for everyone. They don’t understand or appreciate they just got a 5-10 year head start in the business. Entitled is a good word to describe it. 

I’m definitely a PAB. 

100%

It’s possible to get hired as a new FA and be placed in a legacy plan where you have a physical branch to work from but don’t receive assets from the hosting FA. I know because I’ve done 3 of these plans in the last 5 years. I later opted into doing GKs with 2 of them but that was after they’d been in my office for a while. The third one sucked and he washed out. But there was zero requirement I give him assets when I agreed to host him in my branch. Neither I nor the firm promised that to him. 

I agree Jones has, in practice, phased out scratch starts, but I’ve never seen an actual policy that mandates asset sharing on day one. We’ve just accepted it greatly increases their likelihood of success if we do it. The actual amount will vary widely by region and market. In my region (rural, low growth) we’ve made a decision as a region not to hire anyone unless we have at least $20 million in pooled GK assets to share. Occasionally it has been much more than that. 

And yes, it does make the new people soft as fuck. Most have ZERO idea how hard it is to gather $20 or $40 or $60 million on your own. It’s just given to them and they assume that’s how it was/is for everyone. They don’t understand or appreciate they just got a 5-10 year head start in the business. Entitled is a good word to describe it. 

What are the differences between a Legacy plan and a GK?  From the veteran and newbie perspectives.