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Thread: Becoming a broker

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    Default Becoming a broker

    Ok. Don't laugh but ever since I've seen wolf of wall street. This is for me. I have tons of experience investing and I love high pressure sales and maketing myself. Are there any brokers here? I'm getting conflicting info. some places hire without passing the 7 and 151? I can get someone( a broker at a firm) to sponsor me? I think a full service firm would be for me though will be the toughest with quotas etc? Maybe a bank because I'm a great salesperson and I'll have a huge customer base. Can anyone give me any insight. I think this is my calling.

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    Default Re: Becoming a broker

    My goal is to get to 80% commission and have my own assistant!

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    Default Re: Becoming a broker

    In my first post I meant series 7 and 63 tests. I need to know if any brokers know what exactly is required and their experiences/advice.

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    Default Re: Becoming a broker

    My broker acquaintances in New York cite the Series 7 plus Series 63 exams as a bare minimum. Given recent 'cutbacks' in the industry, brokerage firms have enough 'fully qualified' candidates to choose from that they have effectively done away with the practice of hiring only partially qualified brokers to work exclusively in departments for which they are qualified.

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    Default Re: Becoming a broker

    ^I don't give a shit. This I KNOW is my calling. I'm going to get dressed up and sell myself to every firm in my area. If I can get in as an assistant and learn the ropes, I don't care. I've had customers offer me jobs at their firms but wasn't interested at the time. Time to start networking!

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    Default Re: Becoming a broker

    I also use to own a car dealership and my partner could vouch for my excellence in sales!

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    Default Re: Becoming a broker

    good luck !!! From a pure sales standpoint, selling stocks and bonds these days carries many similarities to selling Porsches and Ferraris !!

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    Default Re: Becoming a broker

    I don't know about that. I talk to guys all night in vip about stocks and funds they just bought. Also that's why I'll get my insurance license as well....

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    Default Re: Becoming a broker

    In my markets (mostly equities based) there's less need for brokers than 10 years ago. Retail clients use online brokerages + apps to trade the shares they like. Funds know what they want to buy and use 3rd party algos to buy their shares. Traders know what they want to do and do it all on computer. But then again, maybe I've just never been part of the ecosystem that full service brokers or boiler-room operations belong to and their business is booming.
    Last edited by person; 05-16-2014 at 06:20 AM. Reason: typo
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    Default Re: Becoming a broker

    ^^^ Person, my acquaintances in the brokerage business were essentially telling me the same thing. The people the brokerage houses are looking to hire these days aren't brokers per-se, but 'quants' with advanced degrees in statistical math and algorithm programming.

    Also, given the economic fact that only the top 10% of American earners now have the available 'disposable' income to invest independent of their 401k or whatever, the concept of cold-call 'boiler rooms' is all but dead.

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    Default Re: Becoming a broker

    Good for you, michele11
    Quote Originally Posted by michele11 View Post
    My goal is to get to 80% commission and have my own assistant!

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    Default Re: Becoming a broker

    Quote Originally Posted by Melonie View Post
    ^^^ Person, my acquaintances in the brokerage business were essentially telling me the same thing. The people the brokerage houses are looking to hire these days aren't brokers per-se, but 'quants' with advanced degrees in statistical math and algorithm programming.

    Also, given the economic fact that only the top 10% of American earners now have the available 'disposable' income to invest independent of their 401k or whatever, the concept of cold-call 'boiler rooms' is all but dead.
    They haven't made cold calls for years. Also since I work ion clubs and I'm in vip usually 4 hours of my shift, There are plenty of guys investing. I did rooms with several brokers. SOme who worked for huge firms on wall street and some who worked in smaller firms and I heard over and over ' My friend over there at the end of the table just got me 200 shares of whatever. I'm not going to give up. I'm top in sales in everything I do! I'll see for myself. I could always just day trade ( I have the funds to do so) but I think the place for me is a bank or full service firm since dealing with people is my forte. I could sell ice to eskimos!

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    Default Re: Becoming a broker

    Quote Originally Posted by person View Post
    In my markets (mostly equities based) there's less need for brokers than 10 years ago. Retail clients use online brokerages + apps to trade the shares they like. Funds know what they want to buy and use 3rd party algos to buy their shares. Traders know what they want to do and do it all on computer. But then again, maybe I've just never been part of the ecosystem that full service brokers or boiler-room operations belong to and their business is booming.
    Do you work for a firm?

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    Default Re: Becoming a broker

    Okay, I'm not a broker by any means, but I am someone who has a lot of interest in private investing and come from a family of brokers/day traders. My current long-term goal is actually to finish putting away the money I need to open a margin account with one of the online platforms my father and I favor. Up until now, he's taught me how to trade using his funds, but I've made it a priority to save up enough to do my own, get out of the adult industry, and generally give the 'real world' the middle finger. He and I have both taken a number of online and in-person classes in trading from international academies, played with a number of platforms, and generally gotten a good feel that allows us to make anywhere from a few hundred dollars per day to several thousand.

    What's my point? If brokerage type work is something you want to do, you might also consider saving up your own capital and learning to day trade. You mentioned that you have the funds to do it, so it might be a good place to start. You could always go back for a full brokerage license later, but there's no harm in day trading for a while. Besides, with all the options for trading (long term, short term, short selling, FOREX, research-research-reasearch! and everything else!) you would hardly be bored and there would definitely be pressure, especially if you're playing with your own money.


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    Default Re: Becoming a broker

    Where are you located? If you don't want to say you can pm me. I did di a few hours in vip with a guy who day traded. He says he bought like ( I can't remember) lets say checkers and sold at the end of the day as it went up a few dollars and made like 300 just off that one trade. I have a merril lynch potfolio and bank of america owns them I'm platinum status and can trade so many shares for free. I need to go in and speak with someone. I could definitely do that in between trips( since I'm off around 3-6 weeks) for extra income, to learn and feel like I'm not just sitting around doing nothing. Can you recommend the courses you took that are knowledgeable and not hard to understand. Thanks. A positive not doom and gloom post!

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    Default Re: Becoming a broker

    One opening comment, that there is a WORLD of difference between becoming a licensed stockbroker, and starting to make self-directed day trades.

    With that said, self-directed day trading ... with some long term investing piled on top ... is what I now consider to be my 'occupation'. I'm very 'positive' about self-directed investing and day trading, and it is obviously 'paying my bills' these days.

    In regard to the Merrill Edge trading platform you mention, as a result of recent rule changes this is now a pretty nice setup. If you maintain a $25,000 combined account balance at BofA / Merrill, you get 30 free trades per month ... with a $7 commission charged if your balance drops below the threshold or you exceed the 30 trades. Merrill Edge also allows 50% margin investing ( with the purchased securities pledged as collateral ), as well as options trading for 'qualified' ( experienced ) individual investors.

    Of particular interest these days, Merrill Edge also offers direct access to an array of 'fixed income' investment products, some of which are difficult to access through other trading platforms which are independent of a major bank underwriting said 'fixed income' investment products.

    In other words, Merrill Edge offers everything you need to start investing and/or day trading. And the type of direct investments which Merrill Edge ( and other standard brokers ) does NOT offer ... i.e. futures, commodities, currencies, short selling etc. ... can in fact be indirectly traded via Exchange Traded Fund offerings which can now be purchased via a standard brokerage account.

    As a 'ground zero' starting point on self-directed investing, I always recommend . As to speculative day trading, is as good of a starting point as any !

    In the way of any 'negative' commentary, all I'll say is that anybody who takes a serious interest in self-directed investing ... and especially speculative day trading ... is likely to experience a fairly significant change in their 'world view' as a result of their investing research !!! Also, where investing and especially speculative day trading are concerned, someone's 'gloom and doom' is often someone else's 'windfall profit' opportunity.
    Last edited by Melonie; 05-18-2014 at 05:28 AM.

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    Default Re: Becoming a broker

    On some accounts Melanie you're right but also the difference between day trading and licensed brokerage is that you understand the many concepts of being a stock broker in the finance and investments world. So the theoretical part is known. And depending on where you're working, can either be wild and crazy, or relaxed with a bit of intimidation. Yes it'll take a lot of time, sleepless nights, hard work and dedication but from experience that's the beauty of it and it's something you can be proud of. Even though there's tons of qualified brokers in the business and of course on wall street, there's still many uses for them such as private investors or firms, etcetera. Plus there's many things that can stem from a degree in finance and having the knowledge of the investments world. I'm all for education and big careers so I say Michelle go for it. Plus there's the positives on your side such as you being a woman and staying true to yourself and being different than the males who dominate this field, will definitely play in your favor. My motto has always been where there's determination, there's success. Good luck!
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    Default Re: Becoming a broker

    Quote Originally Posted by Melonie View Post
    One opening comment, that there is a WORLD of difference between becoming a licensed stockbroker, and starting to make self-directed day trades.

    With that said, self-directed day trading ... with some long term investing piled on top ... is what I now consider to be my 'occupation'. I'm very 'positive' about self-directed investing and day trading, and it is obviously 'paying my bills' these days.

    In regard to the Merrill Edge trading platform you mention, as a result of recent rule changes this is now a pretty nice setup. If you maintain a $25,000 combined account balance at BofA / Merrill, you get 30 free trades per month ... with a $7 commission charged if your balance drops below the threshold or you exceed the 30 trades. Merrill Edge also allows 50% margin investing ( with the purchased securities pledged as collateral ), as well as options trading for 'qualified' ( experienced ) individual investors.

    Of particular interest these days, Merrill Edge also offers direct access to an array of 'fixed income' investment products, some of which are difficult to access through other trading platforms which are independent of a major bank underwriting said 'fixed income' investment products.

    In other words, Merrill Edge offers everything you need to start investing and/or day trading. And the type of direct investments which Merrill Edge ( and other standard brokers ) does NOT offer ... i.e. futures, commodities, currencies, short selling etc. ... can in fact be indirectly traded via Exchange Traded Fund offerings which can now be purchased via a standard brokerage account.

    As a 'ground zero' starting point on self-directed investing, I always recommend . As to speculative day trading, is as good of a starting point as any !

    In the way of any 'negative' commentary, all I'll say is that anybody who takes a serious interest in self-directed investing ... and especially speculative day trading ... is likely to experience a fairly significant change in their 'world view' as a result of their investing research !!! Also, where investing and especially speculative day trading are concerned, someone's 'gloom and doom' is often someone else's 'windfall profit' opportunity.
    Thanks!b That was very helpful melonie. I got a letter about the free trading now I'm at that status( it's 50,000 balance in order to keep that status) If I go there will they help me get started? I have no idea where to begin as I had a financial advisor suggest what I bought and I did my research and brought stocks and mutual funds up that I wanted to invest and he gave me advise.

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    Default Re: Becoming a broker

    Quote Originally Posted by anacol View Post
    On some accounts Melanie you're right but also the difference between day trading and licensed brokerage is that you understand the many concepts of being a stock broker in the finance and investments world. So the theoretical part is known. And depending on where you're working, can either be wild and crazy, or relaxed with a bit of intimidation. Yes it'll take a lot of time, sleepless nights, hard work and dedication but from experience that's the beauty of it and it's something you can be proud of. Even though there's tons of qualified brokers in the business and of course on wall street, there's still many uses for them such as private investors or firms, etcetera. Plus there's many things that can stem from a degree in finance and having the knowledge of the investments world. I'm all for education and big careers so I say Michelle go for it. Plus there's the positives on your side such as you being a woman and staying true to yourself and being different than the males who dominate this field, will definitely play in your favor. My motto has always been where there's determination, there's success. Good luck!
    Hehe. We'll work on my other business plan too. Thanks for being supportive!

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    Default Re: Becoming a broker

    If I go there will they help me get started? I have no idea where to begin as I had a financial advisor suggest what I bought and I did my research and brought stocks and mutual funds up that I wanted to invest and he gave me advise.
    With the self-directed option, no ... or at least not for free. They'll get your account set up, and any existing stocks and bonds you might own moved into that account. But the buying and selling decisions will be yours to make, based on the concepts you learn and the research you perform.

    As to financial advisors, I actually subscribe to a couple of online analytical services ... based on the fact that my leisure time is worth more to me than the subscription fee they charge for doing the 'drudge' work.

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    Default Re: Becoming a broker

    Can you recommend what you use? I have a portfolio with Merrill but it isn't actively managed by an advisor anymore because the lost 80,000 of my money and there's not enough in there anymore. I pulled most of it out after that. I can call and get advise for free but I don't trust that. I did it once because I had their global allocation fund and wanted to see how it as performing and maybe invest in that again but what are the qualifications of those phone consultants?

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    Default Re: Becoming a broker

    Quote Originally Posted by michele11 View Post
    Hehe. We'll work on my other business plan too. Thanks for being supportive!
    You're welcomed. You know what you could do is visit one of the universities business schools in Florida and speak with a professor that teaches investments/finance, because majority of the times they're investors or also has worked in that career before. One of my professors in college who taught economics was a huge investor who traded for a long time. He was old as dust though! Lol, like freaking almost 80. But he was a great professor and worked as a broker and owned his own firm before getting into teaching. He was a very intelligent guy and owned many businesses outside of his career and still also invested his money in many different ways. He was also a loan shark, not the bad one though. Lol. But a few of my professors in the school of business were or had been in the field of brokerage in some way shape or form. And they love to talk about that stuff. So it could be free info you get.
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    Default Re: Becoming a broker

    Quote Originally Posted by michele11 View Post
    Do you work for a firm?
    Yep. Best wishes figuring out what you want to do.
    Once again, the conservative, sandwich-heavy portfolio pays off for the hungry investor
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    Default Re: Becoming a broker

    Quote Originally Posted by anacol View Post
    You're welcomed. You know what you could do is visit one of the universities business schools in Florida and speak with a professor that teaches investments/finance, because majority of the times they're investors or also has worked in that career before. One of my professors in college who taught economics was a huge investor who traded for a long time. He was old as dust though! Lol, like freaking almost 80. But he was a great professor and worked as a broker and owned his own firm before getting into teaching. He was a very intelligent guy and owned many businesses outside of his career and still also invested his money in many different ways. He was also a loan shark, not the bad one though. Lol. But a few of my professors in the school of business were or had been in the field of brokerage in some way shape or form. And they love to talk about that stuff. So it could be free info you get.
    I could just text you this but since I'm here...I'm excited! I have an appointment with a firm. I just saw the guy on my local daytime TV show. He is total customer written on him. I'm going to milk him for all the info I can get. Maybe I'll start a portfolio with them and get rid of my Merrill edge one. I can still trade for free with them online too.

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    Default Re: Becoming a broker

    what are the qualifications of those phone consultants?
    IMHO one of the most 'telling' factors regarding in-house consultants / advisors is their knowledge of the brokerage firm's 'proprietary' investment offerings ... sale of which offers the firm the highest profit margins, and which offer the consultant / advisor the highest commissions.

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