Career Help!!

dunstonh

Would i be right to say it would be alot more difficult to sell with a bank environment due to the reduced variety of products available?

Excluding mortgages, bank products are generally expensive and lower quality than the open market. An IFA can beat them every time. What the banks offer though are lots of customers who wouldnt know a good product from a bad one. You get the custom and the business. Although its easier at some branches than others.

Do banks provide the high level commission i wish to earn?

No. They either have salaries with bonuses or very low commissions. Yet the consumer pays the charges as if full commission is being taken. Thats because of pension, sick pay and the fact that the customers are coming through the door. Also, the banks cover all your charges for giving advice. That should not be underestimated. My running costs are more than what 3 or 4 bank advisers typically earn. Its not cheap giving advice.

Another benefit is that you have no personal liability for the advice you give whilst you work for a bank. As a new adviser, that means you get to make all your mistakes without having to worry about it.

mgulzar

Cool guys!!

Much appreciated!!

I think i should target the small firms and banks and building societys

Would you advise applying through agencies or direct??

JoeK_3

Both

JoeK

Scott

I'm in a similar kind of situation, sitting my CeMAP at the moment, but I've been working for a bank for the last 3 years in a regulated mortgage position (service, not sales). Would the kind of knowledge/experience be seen as a plus in the advice business, or would it be incidental?

mgulzar

How was your exp working within a bank?

UK007BullDog

Sorry, I disagree with some of the comments here.

Banks prefer older people as it will be very hard as a 20 yr old to "advise" people 2x your age. So is the general thought process currently. I have yet to meet an adviser younger than 28 years of age. However there are many roles where you could sell over the phone or email or in some sort of admin, underwriting or support role. The recruitment agents will be able to help you by discussing all the different options open to you. Make sure they tell you exactly which firms they are targeting as you don't want your CV to end up on a potential employers table more than once, this also prevents the agent from becoming uninterested in you.

As for applying for jobs if you cover all the banks and large estate agents yourself you leave nothing for the recruitment agent. So I suggest you work with the recruitment agent as they can coach you for the interview process to help you move through the recruitment process. Also they know exactly what the potential employer is looking for.

I have just changed jobs from one bank to another and know what I am talking about. You will not become rich in a bank but you will get the training as having CeMAP means nothing when you sit in front of customers.

Right now you have nothing to offer except CeMAP, are quite young so maybe you should continue with your studies and go for Cefa and so forth and then also look at a sales assistant job like mortgage administrator or Junior para planner, to get the foot into the door.

As for the comment that banks sell inferior products is not true. You might be able to get the products cheaper elsewhere, the product itself is the same if bought through the net, from an IFA or from a bank or building society. However some people just cannot afford to pay for advice so going to their bank or building society is better than trying to do it completely on their own and getting it completely wrong.

Scott

My position wasn't one within a sales-focussed area, more in the "fix broken mortgages" area, but working from within a bank obviously offers a better safety net while you learn.

dunstonh

I have yet to meet an adviser younger than 28 years of age.

I was 23 when I first became a full adviser at Lloyds. I had been doing insurance brokerage at the branch previously (this is when they still did it). A few years later, I became a field trainer (whilst still being an adviser) and I trained an 19 year old. Far to young in my opinion but it was a trend that was coming. Most of the advisers in our area were in their 20s, although at the later end.

The trend at that time and one of the reasons I left was that the advice role which was classed as a management role and saw you earning 40-60k a year (back in early/mid 90s, that was good) was being replaced with bank clerks giving advice as part of their other job and earning 12k a year with the role being downgraded.

Obviously, different banks have different stances on how they treat their staff and what they expect from their staff.

Going forward, the FSAs RDR proposes a two tier advice system. One is higher than the current level and one is lower. The lower one is perfect for the banks. It will reduce liability, reduce training and increase profitability as they can effectively make most frontline staff simple advisers. If I was working in a bank as an adviser now, I would be quite concerned for the future. Although I also see a lot of IFAs giving up their IFA status and becoming mortgage advisers as well so there will probably be an influx of experienced advisers in a few years time which will hit trainee advisers at that time.

As for the comment that banks sell inferior products is not true.

It is. Even where there is an external insurance company link, the adviser will either have limitations on what advice they give or have a cut down version of the product. Try going into LTSB and getting the best Scottish Widows product? Or try and going into Barclays and find the L&G life cover anywhere near the price of an IFA offering the same product, even if the IFA takes full commission.

the product itself is the same if bought through the net, from an IFA or from a bank or building society.

Its not. Pricing is the most common difference. That difference can also lead to different pricing from different IFAs.

However some people just cannot afford to pay for advice so going to their bank or building society is better than trying to do it completely on their own and getting it completely wrong.

No offence bulldog but thats not correct. Currently no-one has to pay for advice directly if they do not want to. They can go to a bank and get "free" advice but will pay for it in charges on the product. That same method exists for most IFAs. The difference is the IFA has the choice of fees (and lower product charges) or commission.

You dont realise how much difference there is in products and pricing as well as servicing between tied and indpendent until you have experienced both sides.

homer_j_3

I'm under 28 at the moment BullDog and I do pretty well at my job.

I was a Financial Adviser at the age of 21 so indirectly you have met someone under the age of 28 who is an advice position.

You can disagree with some of or all of the comments but getting more qualifications under the OP belt without work experience in the industry is mad. My experience tells me that people are less likely to trust you with their pension/investments etc at a younger age than with their mortgage.

If you were to do a like for like comparison, the product may be equal between a bank and an IFA, however, it will often be cheaper through a non-bank route. I beat quotes everyday of the week from banks own insurances. You have to remember too that someone with more than one choice of provider may offer a different provider with equal cover at an even lesser price than the like for like.

Im not having a go here and I don't want this to go off topic. Banks are the starting ground for people getting into the industry - this is because you get little reward for effort. People move on and don't look back normally. You like the bank environment which is good but you sacrifice earning potential for the environment. I appreciate money is not the be all and end all of a job and you have made a choice for your career.

mgulzar

I am reading mixed messages but one thing you all agree on is getting the exp!!

I initially thought of doing the CeFa aswell in order to give myself the edge and diversity but now i am thinking twice.

Which firms do you work for guys?
&
Any stories to tell?