In the 80s and part of the 90s, the stock broker was the job to have. The great bull market fueled the need for these guys. No one had access to online trading yet and so there was a great need for professionals like these as a medium between Wall Street and Main Street. Now I see many positions open for the job of "financial advisor". Has the job of "stock broker" transitioned into this new position?
It must be pandemic because my own "financial advisor" was trying to lure me into working in the industry. No thanks, Investors Group.
yes and no. stockbrokers of the 80s and 90s were mostly punks, not talking about the major institutions. most of financial advisors are older with graduate degrees.
Uhm no they are not. No college degree required. Even by top tier B/Ds like Morgan Stanley. You can check on this, Morgan Stanley has an ongoing recruiting program, no college degree required.
To answer the question - yes. "Stock Broker" has a negative conotation and now "Financial Advisor" is the title to have. It's the same thing, but the title sounds more fancy now.
From what I understand, here are the differences.... A Stock Broker is different from a Financial Advisor. Some Stock Broker's call themselves Financial Advisors but they are really stock brokers. The SEC (& state) requirements for Financial Advisor are different from that of a Stock Broker. Financial Advisors usually have to pass the Series 65 Exam, and Stock Brokers usually have to pass the Series 7 and 66 exams. Financial Advisors make their money by charging a fee for their services or a percentage of assets under management. Stock brokers make their money by charging commissions from selling stocks/mutual funds or other securities. Yes, one can be a Stock Broker & Financial Advisor. This is becoming the more common way to go from what I've seen. From the US Dept of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos259.htm http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos122.htm Frank
I saw a news feature in which they were saying the older crowd is being increasingly recruited by certain companies as salesmen because they appear more trustable, knowledgeable and customer friendly. Indeed, I do feel better when I am being helped by someone older in a store then a person of younger age. I saw a job listing for "Financial Advisor" by UBS and it basically stated that they were looking for an "experienced" (translation: older) person. Its nice to know that an older individual with some financial experience can still get a job in the realm of Wall Street. I think the tables have turned though. Now the younger 20-somethings are the ones behind the trade desks and the older then 30 group is now the new age "stock broker". Just yesterday, it seemed like the other way around. . .
A financial advisor typically has both an insurance license and securities licenses (series 6/7,63, 65/66) Sometimes financial advisors have multiple designations such as CFP, CLU, CHFC, Registered Investment Advisors (Series 65/66), CPA, CFA...the list goes on. A Financial advisor takes care of an individual persons or organizations full financial picture A stock broker on the other hand has a series 7/66 and often just Handel a stock portfolio for clients. A stockbroker is a specialist. Most stock brokers have their insurance licenses because they can deepen client relationships by managing their insurance products as well as securities.