. I dropped my potential career in tech to pursue an interest in finance..now that too seems grey. I was going to begin studying for my series 7 to be a broker, but from what I've been reading, it seems that, that goal is a waste of time. I guess I could dust off my old HTML/ PERL books and re-enroll in ITT tech like a dog with its tail between its legs. Looks like I dont have a choice. If my trading never gets off the ground, I could join the army and hopefully die young. cm
I have been a broker for years and trader and know exactly what you are looking for. Do not go with a retail broker, this is really really not what you want, i mean really. Seperately managed accounts is what you are looking for, IB, for one has this. Penson wordwide also has these no out of pocket setups for your friends and family. You will not be selling and must trade directly under POA. If you want to sell for some reason get referred, telephones suck anyways. you will be netting almost all of your fams money, less commissions and admin fees(tiny). You have an active 7, which cannot be good. The way they are set up provides you with access to leverage, DA, and anything you would normally get at a trading firm. If you only have 5-10 guys you are dealing with, why put up with hassle?
its very easy to become an independent broker...i did it for many years and started with a raymond james office...rules have changed since then so i would look it up ( meaning you might need other licenses)...you can also call the larger clearing firms and ask them for names and numbers of BD's that might work for you...PENSON CLEARING is a good place to start ...i also worked with newbridge securities ( 877-447-9625 )out of ft lauderdale florida...i had mu own office with only a secretary so trading was not a problem....you can either declare it to your compliance department or not its up to you...but i can assure you that with the commisions going lower and lower you will find it a hard task to build a book nowadays...like one poster said...
If your intent is to simply trade for yourself and others, set up a CTA (assuming futures) and start trading! You can set up a block account / friends/family account at just about any broker. All the person does is sign trading authority over to you. Open ECry has a very nice block trading allocation program built right into their software. If you want to sell (and only sell), then being a broker is a good gig. I made very good money doing it myself and would recommend it to anyone wanting to be in sales. Forget any analysis on your end, as that is what the 'analysts' at your firm do. Your job is to smile and dial.
I was a broker for 5 years. And its the immediate gratification attitude of the new guys( and the managers) that kills their chances. Instead of churning up an account they should focus on asset gathering. A rolling 1% management fee starts to look real nice at about 10mm. Build on that and now your talking a real business. My brother in law works for a wirehouse. He pounded the phones for 1 year straight...now he works 2 days a week...oh and he`s 25 years old. Surfs the rest of the time. If you go to an independent firm get your series 65 so you can get paid an advisor fee. Forget commission based...its done
Only 1 year? I must say, your brother in law was definitely dealt a great hand. Even prior to the tech bust, you had to pound the phones for a few years to even consider working only 3 days a week. 1 year in that industry is instant gratification.
Yup. I was a broker from 96-2000 and he accomplished in one year what I couldnt do in 4. Oh...and he caught a whale that loves him...