Poll: What's your salary?

posted by iclfan2

I definitely get how you can make that much, I use an advisor myself, where there are people with way more money than me. Just figured a rando in NE Ohio would be hard pressed to make that much. But like I said, f’n kudos for doing it.

A lot of small business owners in the Cleveland area worth millions.  And a financial adviser can have clients anywhere in the US, although the rich old farts still want to look you in the eye.  There are some adviser types who operate kind of like a fund manager and might get carry, which might be a better explanation - if you're making them as much as the hedge fund guy charging 2 & 20, then you can get a lot more than just 1%.

Hahaha, reminds me of some the questions people asked while doing their "due diligence".  They really didn't have a clue how to judge/evaluate expertise and competence, so they fall into tropes like "honesty" and "trustworthiness" and other bullshit that has little to do with talent.  Not to mention, if a guy is a con, sitting down to "look him in the eye" is playing right into his hands.

Just look at Madoff.  He was even helped by unwitting professional advisors funneling money and clients to him.  But those professionals' only real talent was raising money, because anyone who actually understood hedge fund strategies saw hordes of red flags with him.

posted by jmog

Dang, at one point I had a job offer to be a financial advisor with my math degree background…it was $75k plus commission. They told me that the first few years it would be near zero commission because I had to build a client base, then it COULD take off.

Guess this guy got it to take off and is doing really well. 

Maybe I made the wrong decision. 

The 75k would have been a pay cut at the time, but I am not making anywhere NEAR what he is.

My total compensation varies based on a yearly bonus that is never below 10% of my salary but could be as high as 30%. 

Salary is about $140,000, throw in my wife’s $25k and my bonus and I clicked the $150-200k. 

$900k would be nice. 

His wife is also a financial advisor and claims to make $150k. So he must do significantly better than her. 

posted by kizer permanente

His wife is also a financial advisor and claims to make $150k. So he must do significantly better than her. 

There's your pay gap. 

posted by jmog

Dang, at one point I had a job offer to be a financial advisor with my math degree background…it was $75k plus commission. They told me that the first few years it would be near zero commission because I had to build a client base

LOL, therein lays the problem - you have to be good at sales, like REALLY good, to even have a chance to make a living in that business...because you will be trying to build a client base as a 20-something cold calling people to give you money while you barely know anything about investing.

And to stay in the business, you'd have to become really good at research and valuation.  Bear markets wash out most because most are complete hacks that just repack/regurgitate sell-side research (also known as stock picking for fools).

posted by gut

LOL, therein lays the problem - you have to be good at sales, like REALLY good, to even have a chance to make a living in that business...because you will be trying to build a client base as a 20-something cold calling people to give you money while you barely know anything about investing.

And to stay in the business, you'd have to become really good at research and valuation.  Bear markets wash out most because most are complete hacks that just repack/regurgitate sell-side research (also known as stock picking for fools).

I will give him that. Throughout college he always had various sales jobs somewhere and was always the top performer and and by a surprisingly wide margin.  I remember he got a job at Verizon in college after leaving another sales job and was right off the bat making 75k a year when everyone else was making like 30k.  He’s a super personable guy but I honestly have no idea how much of its his salesmanship or actually knowing what he’s doing investing. 

posted by kizer permanente

but I honestly have no idea how much of its his salesmanship or actually knowing what he’s doing investing.

I doubt even the big shops formally train their people in research - my guess is they focus on relationship management and retention. His job is to dial phones.  Too much overhead involved for sales people to waste time doing research.

There's a lot one can teach themself about investing, but IMO fundamental research isn't one.  If you don't have the technical knowledge/training to build a DCF, you're just winging it. 

If he has a good pipeline of research, maybe in-house or other 3rd party, he might do a little supplemental work on his own.  That's probably what most successful advisors do.

Off Topic… Moving to Texas we need a new financial advisor. How did you guys find someone you trust. In Ohio we just used a guy who worked for a few other family members and done a good job so we knew we could trust him. Here it’s hard because we don’t anyone.

posted by kizer permanente

His wife is also a financial advisor and claims to make $150k. So he must do significantly better than her. 

$150k is what I have heard is a more “normal” range for an experienced FA. 

Friend of mine from HS does it and said he ranges from $130k-200k depending on how well the year goes.

posted by gut

I doubt even the big shops formally train their people in research - my guess is they focus on relationship management and retention. His job is to dial phones.  Too much overhead involved for sales people to waste time doing research.

There's a lot one can teach themself about investing, but IMO fundamental research isn't one.  If you don't have the technical knowledge/training to build a DCF, you're just winging it. 

If he has a good pipeline of research, maybe in-house or other 3rd party, he might do a little supplemental work on his own.  That's probably what most successful advisors do.

Any investor with half a brain just follows what congressmen are doing. 

posted by sportchampps

Off Topic… Moving to Texas we need a new financial advisor. How did you guys find someone you trust. In Ohio we just used a guy who worked for a few other family members and done a good job so we knew we could trust him. Here it’s hard because we don’t anyone.

If you are happy with your old guy, I don't see why you would need to change just because you are moving.

I still say a diversified, low-cost basket of ETF's is the way to go.  That 1% or whatever you pay your advisor to underperform really adds up over time.

Buy a few books and save yourself those expensive fees!