Career Links
The moderated usenet group misc.invest.financial-plan often carries interesting conversations having to do with a career in the financial services industry. This link should get you there via Google: http://groups.google.com/group/misc.invest.financial-plan/topics?gvc=2
There are several more places I’ve found over the years which contain good information too about the career. I’ll post links to those as time permits.
The career is an excellent one for many, many people of diverse backgrounds and interests. As a sales manager for MetLife (in various capacities) for about five years I know a good deal about the industry and the career, although for sure I’m by no means an expert. Be advised however my knowledge and experience derives much more from the “protection” side of the financial services industry (life insurance, annuities, disability, long-term care), rather than from the “investing” and/or “wealth creation” side of the house (mutual funds and equities).
So take my advice and counsel for what it’s worth. In addition, there’s an old adage “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.” With respect to my tenure as a financial services industry sales manager this is absolutely true. So again, caveat emptor. Nevertheless there are a lot of folks who can’t play centerfield worth a lick, but surely can offer sound advice (use two hands!) for those just starting to play.
Again, for the right person this is absolutely a fantastic career choice. No question about it. The devil is in the details though; whether it’s the right career choice *for you* (or anyone person in particular) is almost impossible to know in advance. By ‘right career,’ I mean one which is rewarding in all the ways a career should be rewarding (meaning: not just lucrative financially). There are many, many different aptitude tests which supposed can determine who will be successful and who won’t. And while I don’t disagree that on a macro scale these tests are probably accurate (although I have not seen the figures), on an individual level in my experience the tests are not worth a whole lot. I’ve recruited “can’t miss” agents (in my opinion) and who scored well on the aptitude tests, but who then left the business within weeks, as well as those who I though didn’t have a snowball’s chance and who turned out to be successful.
So here a few ‘rule of thumb’ items I’ve come up with: How many people do you have in your cell phone or Palm Pilot? If the number is ‘many more than average,’ (without even knowing what ‘average’ means), that’s a great sign. If you can and do enjoy starting conversations with people on the bus, or with the cashier, or with the person next to you whereever, that’s another positive sign. Are you an analytical type who likes computers and math? Bad sign. Sorry to say; very bad sign. Moreso than most businesses or professions, the financial services business is about people to people contacts and connections. It’s who you know, and more importantly, who knows you, which is the number one determinative of success. As everyone knows, this is what life is about and is the same in every business. But it’s even more important in the financial services business.
Have you ever met a politician; shaken someone’s hand who was running for office, or who had been elected? There’s a reason why politicians go out of their way to shake as many hands as possible: once you meet someone it’s a lot harder to dislike them (and not vote for them). Lots of issues are overlooked when you feel you know someone personally. Same in the financial services business. Networking is (one of several) critical aspects of success in the business. Once you shake someone’s hand and speak with them warmly face to face, *and then let them know what you do for a living and ask them to do business with you*, you’re halfway home. At a wedding do you just mingle with the people you know and perhaps meet a few new people from the other side, or do you meet a dozen new people and their spouses (or more)? If meeting new people and having a generally (more or less) positive disposition towards doing so is part of your personality, then that’s a very positive attribute tending towards success in the financial services business.
Far less important is having a background in finance. Much, much less important. By and large the folks who have the ability to sit for the CFA classes and exam, for example, if you know what that is, would tend to be far less successful as a sales representative for life insurance or annuities or financial planning than someone who was sold electronics as Best Buy. Surely there are exceptions, but in my experience this analogy is appropriate.
An interesting organization which I’ve recently become familiar with is Lennox Advisors, a full service financial planning firm. Their website and marketing are top-shelf, so there’s obviously a lot of money being generated out of this organization. They’re affiliated with National Financial Partners, another investment and/or insurance organization I need to find out more about. Lennox is somehow affiliated with Howard Cowan’s MassMutual agency, as these two organizations occupy adjacent floors at 530 Fifth Avenue. An important issue throughout the financial services industry is separating the BS from the reality. I can’t for certain weigh in on whether Lennox delivers on what they claim. I’ll keep you posted.