I got a call from Ameriprise to do the financial advisor position. A causal meeting time was suggested where I could learn more. Is this worth doing? The premise of helping others with their investments/finances seems great to me. And AMP has a reputable name. Has anyone done this?
CFAvsMBA Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I got a call from Ameriprise to do the financial > advisor position. A causal meeting time was > suggested where I could learn more. > > Is this worth doing? Nope.
+1
are you kidding? do some googling on this company. the company and their financial advisors are not respected in the industry. see for example this http://forums.registeredrep.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=6212&OB=DESC "Do yourself a favor and cross Ameriprise OFF your list of potential firms to work for. Unlike the gripes on this board about EDJ and othe firms, Amex is one of those firms (like Primerica) that isn’t right for ANYONE to work at (or invest with). They will use you to lock up your friends & family into shitty, high-cost products, and when you fail (which you probably will), they will be trapped. Even worse, when you fail, you will be LESS MARKETABLE to another legit firm (ML, EDJ, MS, ETC.), than someone who is new/new completely. "
Sucks. It’s the Wal-Mart of security business.
Primerica, Lol. I went to an “info session” with them and the guy kept going on and on about the DOW. I asked him how the DOW was comprised and how it derived value. I was told it is an “economy indicator that encompasses all companies in the United States and represents the past AND the future of our economy.” What a fucking joke.
First off, as someone who worked there for aprox. 6 months, let me give you my opinion… I went through there whole training class program, went to the the different interviews where they test your math, phone skills, etc… Anyone with a heartbeat they will call and say ‘we came across your resume and feel you would be a great fit with us’. It’s all sales from every standpoint. They don’t care if you know how the Dow is calculated and comprised bc it doesn’t generete biz. You’re on the phones smiling and dialing (dialing for dollars) random people you met through some ‘presentation’ you put on. At the time I worked there, they were big on doing ‘free lunches’. We’d take a group out, nothing too fancy restaurant wise, and give them a pre-canned speel about how we can help them, pick up the tab and have them fill out some cards, then start calling them when you get back to the office to try to set up appts for them to come in. I hated it; did OK for the 6 months but the money sucked, your commissions earned come like 3 months after you generate them, so you’re always living pay check to pay check. Think I was getting like $850/paycheck (paid every 2 weeks) and that ain’t much to live off here in San Diego. Plus, you apply nothing you learned in school or anything finance related. It’s all sales and how to close the deal. No one cares if you think AIG is going to tank and it does or if FSLR is about to break out. Did you get 5 new clients this week and throw them into some sort of insurance product to get a good commission and some BS mutual fund bc you don’t have time to pick out individual stocks?? Once you get the client, then you just hope the world doesn’t end or you have to service them very much, ie, put up with their BS questions, and nagging about the markets. All you look at is how much money/investable assets someone has and how much you can make off of it. If I was still there, no way I would have been able to study for and pass CFA L1 and L2. If you like sales and trying to hustle people/doing the hard sell, then go for it. But if you’re taking the CFA or an MBA program, then I’d avoid the AMP Financial Advisor program like the plague. CFAvsMBA, you can hit me up at AF username @hotmail.com if you have any other questions, I’ll be glad to answer them or share more of my time at Ameriprise with you.