Series 7

[axeman462]

So I have a 2-15 License (Life, Health and Annuity) I have been talking to this one lady that has been telling me that she has $250K in an annuity, but she is not happy with it because she keeps losing money because of high management fees, and a low interest rate.
i explain to her the concept of an Indexed Annuity, she really liked the concept.
I asked to see her financial statements at one point to help compare apples to apples the two annuities, and when she brought them out, to my surprise, IT WASN'T AN ANNUITY AT ALL!

Her "annuity" was a Mutual Fund!

At this point, I was so thrown back, it took me a minute to gather the words to try and explain to her the difference, and the possibility that someone may have lied to her about what she was putting her money into.

So After being forced to kick this to a Financial Advisor because this is obviously outside of my license, and being forced to split yet another large commission, I have decided I want to get my series 7 license so i never have to split another deal like this again.
Does anyone know what is involved in the state of Florida to get this license? (fees, where to test, miscellaneous etc..)

 

[VolAgent]

A Series 6 and 63 would be sufficient to move mutual funds.

You are going to need a B/D to sponsor you. Depending on the E&O and any Florida specific fees, you could easily spend $5,000 or more a year to have a Series 6 and that goes up for a Series 7.

You should start by seeing if any of the insurance companies you do business with will sponsor you for the license. They can also tell you exactly what it will cost you.

 

[Norwayguy]

Or you don't speak about thier product. You explain yours let them decide and then ask them were the funding is coming from.

Yes I know I am skirting source of funds but if you don't speak about what they have and the client informs you of where the funding is coming from I don't see how your giving securities advice. The other option is getting a seeker 65 as you do not need to be sponsored and can give securities advice you just would not be able to sell securites for commission.

 

[sman]

So I have a 2-15 License (Life, Health and Annuity) I have been talking to this one lady that has been telling me that she has $250K in an annuity, but she is not happy with it because she keeps losing money because of high management fees, and a low interest rate.
i explain to her the concept of an Indexed Annuity, she really liked the concept.
I asked to see her financial statements at one point to help compare apples to apples the two annuities, and when she brought them out, to my surprise, IT WASN'T AN ANNUITY AT ALL!

Her "annuity" was a Mutual Fund!

At this point, I was so thrown back, it took me a minute to gather the words to try and explain to her the difference, and the possibility that someone may have lied to her about what she was putting her money into.

So After being forced to kick this to a Financial Advisor because this is obviously outside of my license, and being forced to split yet another large commission, I have decided I want to get my series 7 license so i never have to split another deal like this again.
Does anyone know what is involved in the state of Florida to get this license? (fees, where to test, miscellaneous etc..)

As has been pointed out, you don't need a Series 7 for mutual funds.

As for the costs associated with a securities license, it will vary from company to company. Some of the costs are set, such as your annual securities registration. I have a 6, 63 and 65. My 2013 FINRA Renewal and State IAR (for the 65) for GA and FL was a total of $575. My E&O (many Broker Dealers now require you to purchase through them) is $1,883. If I didn't have the 65 it would be $1,371. Some BD's have technology fees and fees if you don't meet certain production requirements. Not to mention the office inspections and the limitations on what you can and can't do. Some BD's have limitations on Index Annuities. Some require that you run Index Annuity business through them which means you take a haircut on the commissions. You could add that into the cost of having a securities license if you went with that type of BD.

I'd say if you aren't going to be doing at least $50k in GDC per year, it probably isn't worth having. The BD I'm with (ONESCO) is fairly liberal when it comes to Index Annuities. They allow it and don't require that it run through them. That means no haircut on commissions. They also have a fairly low minimum GDC requirement. $10k is the minimum and $20k is needed to avoid a fee. And their payout is more than fair. They also count any commissions from Ohio National Life business toward your GDC levels.

 

[hammerken]

If you do not actively want to solicit Securities just take the 65. Less hassle.

 

[xrac]

As has been pointed out, you don't need a Series 7 for mutual funds.

As for the costs associated with a securities license, it will vary from company to company. Some of the costs are set, such as your annual securities registration. I have a 6, 63 and 65. My 2013 FINRA Renewal and State IAR (for the 65) for GA and FL was a total of $575. My E&O (many Broker Dealers now require you to purchase through them) is $1,883. If I didn't have the 65 it would be $1,371. Some BD's have technology fees and fees if you don't meet certain production requirements. Not to mention the office inspections and the limitations on what you can and can't do. Some BD's have limitations on Index Annuities. Some require that you run Index Annuity business through them which means you take a haircut on the commissions. You could add that into the cost of having a securities license if you went with that type of BD.

I'd say if you aren't going to be doing at least $50k in GDC per year, it probably isn't worth having. The BD I'm with (ONESCO) is fairly liberal when it comes to Index Annuities. They allow it and don't require that it run through them. That means no haircut on commissions. They also have a fairly low minimum GDC requirement. $10k is the minimum and $20k is needed to avoid a fee. And their payout is more than fair. They also count any commissions from Ohio National Life business toward your GDC levels.

Good advice from someone with experience. There are a lot of agents on here who drop the securities license because it was too big a headache and restricted what they could do too much!

 

[LGilmore]

sman has it pretty much spot on. I just parked my 6 and may not use it again. I just got tired of the hassle assoicated with it.

Plus the E&O got crazy. The fees for this and that started stacking up and they wanted in on everything.

 

[branmak]

We're a BD and FMO in South Florida. We can count your FIA and perm life biz towards your GDC requirements (no haircut). Our minimum production levels are 50k. E&0 will be $1600 per year. Monthly affiliation fees range between 0 and $200, based on prod levels. PM me if interested. Without knowing more about your situation, the Series 6 sounds the like the way to go. Unless of course you want the ability to liquidate brokerage accounts with individual stocks in them.

Good thing you were smart enough to walk away from that sale, or at least bring an RR in to help. I just read an article yesterday about an agent in Illinois who didn't do what you did. Fined 10k and has to slap this on everything he sends out:

"I AM ONLY LICENSED TO SELL INSURANCE PRODUCTS. ANY ADVICE OR SUGGESTIONS I MAY GIVE
YOU RELATE ONLY TO INSURANCE PRODUCTS. IF YOU WILL NEED TO SELL, OR ARE CONSIDERING THE
SALE OF, OR ARE IN NEED OF ADVICE REGARDING THE SALE OF, ANYSECURITIES IN ORDER TO HAVE
FUNDS TO PURCHASE THE INSURANCE PRODUCT(S) THAT 1 MAY RECOMMEND, YOU WILL NEED TO DO
SO INDEPENDENTLY"

 

[SWM]

As mentioned, no need for the 7 regarding to your specific question. I am a 6, 63, 7, 26, and 65. I just wrote a $1935 check for my registration fees, state IAR fees, and firm element. My monthly E & O and Affiliation fees total $400. Unless you are serious about being in the financial advisory business, these fees can be obstructive, but are necessary. Obviously, if you are only registered in one state and settle for only the 6/63, fees would be considerably less. You might consider one of the insurance BDs like those associated with Ohio National and Penn Mutual. Good luck with your decision.

 

[nsure2day]

We're a BD and FMO in South Florida. We can count your FIA and perm life biz towards your GDC requirements (no haircut). Our minimum production levels are 50k. E&0 will be $1600 per year. Monthly affiliation fees range between 0 and $200, based on prod levels. PM me if interested. Without knowing more about your situation, the Series 6 sounds the like the way to go. Unless of course you want the ability to liquidate brokerage accounts with individual stocks in them.

Good thing you were smart enough to walk away from that sale, or at least bring an RR in to help. I just read an article yesterday about an agent in Illinois who didn't do what you did. Fined 10k and has to slap this on everything he sends out:

"I AM ONLY LICENSED TO SELL INSURANCE PRODUCTS. ANY ADVICE OR SUGGESTIONS I MAY GIVE
YOU RELATE ONLY TO INSURANCE PRODUCTS. IF YOU WILL NEED TO SELL, OR ARE CONSIDERING THE
SALE OF, OR ARE IN NEED OF ADVICE REGARDING THE SALE OF, ANYSECURITIES IN ORDER TO HAVE
FUNDS TO PURCHASE THE INSURANCE PRODUCT(S) THAT 1 MAY RECOMMEND, YOU WILL NEED TO DO
SO INDEPENDENTLY"

Read that article too. I am in SoFL looking for a BD sponsor for various reasons. Insurance only now. Cannot PM yet (20 posts) Please respond if you can help