HELP!!! HOW TO GET Series 7, ANY INFO APPRECIATED!

[Mac1958]

Mr. Bright, my two cents, worth every penny...

I'm a financial advisor, 7/63/65, L/H. I would STRONGLY recommend that you take a simple, two step approach.

First, decide if helping people with their financial and retirement planning is really what you want to do. Talk to a few planners. Read a couple of books on the career. Get the pros and cons. After doing this due diligence, you may decide that it's not for you. Or you may decide to proceed. Your first few years are going to be TOUGH, so you'd better freakin' LOVE it.

Should you choose to proceed, I would absolutely have you go straight to the following companies and have a good, long talk with the local manager. As in insurance, the training and support of the local office can make or break you. Try to talk with other reps there. Find out what they think of the training and support at THAT PARTICULAR OFFICE. And, by the way, they'll help you prepare for your 6, 7, 63, 65, whatever.

I would visit ALL of these:

Edward Jones
Merrill Lynch
Northwestern Mutual
New York Life
Mass Mutual
Guardian
Met Life
Prudential

I know you're concerned about being "captive" and not "independent" enough. Frankly, I don't care. The training and support you receive from the company will more than make up for it. Good marketing support, sales support, compliance support, product support and planning support will MORE than make up for that.

Stay patient. Learn the ropes, get good. Then, maybe in two or five or ten years you will decide to go indy. Fine. Or maybe you'll be all nice and warm and comfy and stay right where you are. But the training and experience you have received to that point will serve you well for the rest of your career.

As I said, stay patient. Get the fundamentals down. And this notion that the pay is great - not sure where you got that. Sure it is after a few years, but not at first. Make sure you understand the compensation structure at each company, as well as their production expectations of you.

And here's a great forum: Registered Rep Forums |

Good luck!

.

 

[mjhprep]

I had to submit my "personal" bank statements to my ex-B/D. 7's required if you're going to take individual securities orders but who does that nowadays? 65 will allow you to apply for your state investment advisor license. You either specialize in investments or insurance. You can't sell insurance and gather client assets on the side and you can't gather assets and sell insurance on the side. Take your pick.

I understand the argument to specialize, but dont the big mutuals have a lot of agents that do both?

Have the agent go through a full fact finder with a prospect & recommend life insurance & managed money/mutual funds?

 

[achuwsb]

I guess it depends on the office a lot of the local mutual offices here in honolulu start their agents off selling WL to everyone they can find. regardless of their situation.

 

[Franz Kafka]

I understand the argument to specialize, but dont the big mutuals have a lot of agents that do both?

Have the agent go through a full fact finder with a prospect & recommend life insurance & managed money/mutual funds?

That's what I did when I first started so yes there are a lot of new agents who do both but I've never seen successful veterans (I mean those who make 200K plus) who didn't specialize. As a matter of fact I think every respected veteran on this form specializes. FWIW

 

[dlvhi]

Hello all

This conversation has been very interesting and I thank everyone who has posted.

I have been doing insurance part time for 4 years and in 4 months will become full time. I like insurance, but I also want to be able to help people with their overall financial plan. As boomers go through the transition from working to retirement, I think there is going to be a lot of work to be done.

I have studied up for the Series 6/63 twice but didn't proceed because of lack of time and the horrendous regulations, which really don't seem to do much to protect the clients.

What I have a hard time understanding is how one can do an effective job on the insurance side without getting into some type of discussion of the client's investments. Hence I see the need for at least a 6/63.

I appreciate the comment from the person in Honolulu about the shops that seem to focus on whole life, sometimes it seems that these outfits really only have one tool in the toolkit.

Please keep this thread going, I would appreciate any additional insights that anyone can share.

 

[xrac]

.....I have studied up for the Series 6/63 twice but didn't proceed because of lack of time and the horrendous regulations, which really don't seem to do much to protect the clients.

What I have a hard time understanding is how one can do an effective job on the insurance side without getting into some type of discussion of the client's investments. Hence I see the need for at least a 6/63.............

Absolutely horrible regulations that benefit no one unless it is FINRA in my opinion.

.......What I have a hard time understanding is how one can do an effective job on the insurance side without getting into some type of discussion of the client's investments. Hence I see the need for at least a 6/63..................

With just a 6 you cannot really talk about their individual stock porfolios.

 

[VolAgent]

What I have a hard time understanding is how one can do an effective job on the insurance side without getting into some type of discussion of the client's investments. Hence I see the need for at least a 6/63.

Actually, it is extremely easy. Insurance is for the oh sh** in life. Investments are blue sky.

So ask yourself, do you want to protect people against the disasters that happen to us all in life, or do you want to be pitching the latest and greatest investment idea. There is good money in both, but it pays to focus on one or the other.

 

[achuwsb]

I think if your biggest reason to get your 7 is to be able to discuss investments and not really focus on them then I feel that getting your 65 would be a better route. series 65 allows you to be an Investment advisor to have those discussions. (charge a fee for advice). or IAR( help your client open accounts with third party money managers.) no b/d necessary no GDC quotas, significantly lower in fees(associated with being affiliated with a b/d).