Just wondering if you are good at sales, i can usually sell any fund or product to a client in retail banking if he is in my office. I think it comes natural to me because i have worked tough sales call center job while studying at university and found out i was better then most.
Once i pass my level 3 what kind of jobs should i be going for currently i am a mutual fund sales champ at my bank.Unfortunatley it is the only fund product i can sell at the moment.
Why don’t you go into sales for different products? You can make a lot of money if that is what you like to do.
Thanks for the reply ohai can you elobarote what kind of roles should i be targeting for. I usually like to work on base Plus commison rather then commision only jobs. My bank wants to make me an FA in a few months but then again id be restricted to banks mutual funds and maybe some 3rd party MF no ETF or fixed income products(apart from GIC). I want to have access to entire investment universe for my clients.
Get out of retail and try to move to the institutional side of your bank.
^ What this dude said. There are lots of institutional sales jobs out there. More lucrative and ethical than pitching 2.56% MER funds to poor ol’ mom and pop.
^What this dude said. There are lots of institutional sales jobs out there. More lucrative and ethical than pitching 2.56% MER funds to poor ol’ mom and pop.
^What is unethical about investing mom and pop in a 2.5% MER which is highly diversifed and based on their risk tolerance/time horizon etc when if they do not invest, their money will earn 1% and can not even beat inflation?
Thanks for the input guys i really appreciate all your feedback… On that note what would be the best way to transition from retail banking to institutional sales…? How do i leverage my sales skill plus soon to be CFA designated to get into institutional/capital markets any thoughts appreciated.
It’s unethical because it’s still not what’s best for the client. Just because one alternative is to not invest, how about another alternative for them would be to invest in a variety of MFs that will satisfy their needs/goals - all with MERs lower than the 2.56%.
The mentality you have sounds like it’s coming from someone from IG, Edward Jones, Sunlife, etc?
If so, not only are nearly all of the MERs that high (or higher!) but the product is terrible as well. I would guarantee that there are more suitable MFs (if that’s your thing) for the clients that would allow them to pay lower fees but hey, that’s just me…
If you’re good at sales, you will make good coin in any industry.
So you guys think that institutional sales is somehow very ethical? Wherever you work in sales, your purpose is to raise money. I don’t think anyone has to be embarassed about that. It would be unethical to lie or promise things that you can’t deliver. However, it does not seem like OP has done anything like that. There is a difference between “unethical” and not screwing yourself for the benefit of the client. On a scale of 1 to 10 that goes from total asshole to Mother Theresa, don’t kid yourself and say you aim for an 8+ if you want to work in finance.
To OP: why don’t you look for some sales jobs on eFinancialCareers or another website? This will give you some idea about the profile that these jobs look for.
Screwing over mom and pop by selling them overpriced garbage and screwing over a corporate that SHOULD know better or hire someone to cover their ass is completely different world. When two parties that ought to be knowledgable transact, then so be it. When someone comes begging for advice and you toss them a 2.56% MER fund that has failed to outperform the index (at a 0.5% MER) and don’t explain the alternatives available, then that’s just garbage. Sorry but it is.
Selling junk ABS to a corporate treasurer that has his head up his ass, whatever, he should know better, he’s paid to know better. Some 70 year old factory worker won’t know better.
I’m sick of seeing this industry screw people over and just laugh it off as no big deal, just making my targets. These are people’s lives we’re talking about. If you went to the doctor because of a sore arm and he convinced you into amputation without explaining that you could just get a massage, you’d be pissed.
Or if a electrician came into your house and told you that you needed gold plated wiring and you didn’t know any better and paid 5x the cost for something you didn’t need, you’d be pissed.
And the public is right to be pissed at this industry.
My two cents. I know you guys need to make a living and I respect that. I’m just sick of it coming on the backs of exploiting people that are incapable of knowing better.
totally true
Check out mutual fund wholesaler jobs. You may have to start out as an internal wholesaler, but once they see you can dominate you will be out in the field closing deals. You can call on anyone from financial planners (get ready to bring bagels for morning meetings!) to institutional consultants (Mercer, Callan, etc.) depending on which market you cover. The CFA plus your sales background should make you a strong candidate for plenty of asset managers, especially if you are comfortable with being on the road a lot.
Absolutely this.
Edit: We also can’t forget about the DSCs, etc. In no way shape or form are these for the benefit of the client, it’s strictly to put money into the advisor’s pockets. I understand what Ohai’s saying that you don’t have to “screw yourself for the benefit of the client” - obviously it’s a business transaction and both parties need to get something out of the deal. But when these people are putting their clients into things like this (2.77% MER and is by no means shooting the lights out performance wise), saying that’s their best option is horse shit and an embarrassment the the industry.
I don’t know how I missed this glorious post the first time around but it’s absolutely true. This part of the industry is just praying on the vulnerable. You can try to convince yourself you are helping people but at the end of the day you are giving them a solution that is marginally better than them doing it themselves. You are not giving them the best solution. The amount of money eroded away over 10 years by MERs makes you sick when these people already do not have much money to begin with. I have seen this first hand and it’s infuriating when people say they’re doing things in their client’s interests. These are people’s lives man.
Yes, I’m with geo too.
A favorite quote of mine is that “a professional is someone who is paid for the value they create for people, as opposed to the value they can extract from people.”
This could be a bit more of a sticking point for Canadians (I’m noticing the Canadians in this thread, myself included) in the business as well, not because we’re ethically superior but simply because we have some of the highest MF fees in the world.
Having worked in the industry in both Canada and the USA, I’ve personally seen the difference in the way people look at MFs in each place. Given this could be due to a small sample size, but MFs in Canada are kind of looked down upon in a sense because there are few that provide a good product at a reasonable price, whereas in the States it’s much easier to find a solid product for 1-1.25% MER.
That being said, If anyone else has a differing perspective I would love to hear about it.
Yes, perhaps it is primarily a Canadian issue. I find here the big5 banks and those in their employ have essientially the moral fortitude of a hungry ferral dog.
If I have some time this afternoon I’ll post up my personal story on why I have such a disdain for these people.
+1
They’re worse than the dishonest mechanic or slimy used car salesman because we are talking about much more money here.