Dominic0012

Hi Everyone,

Firstly thank you Pulaski, Noorah101 & ian-mstm. I am now a Permanent Resident and decided to do the CR1 and have now arrived in the united states.

I am now actively looking or work in my sector (DC pensions/Financial Planning).

I am encountering a problem. I am a part qualified UK financial advisor but I do not have the series 7,66 or series 65. I require to work at a U.S. firm to gain these certifications.

The trouble that I am finding, is that a lot of companies that I am hearing from in my job search offer sponsorship but the salary is 100% commission based. This is not my cup of tea as it is a moral hazard.

Is the consensus for those who have done this before, that I suck it up for a year get the series 7,65 & 66 and move on. Also those who work in the industry, would my resume be tarnished by working for this type of firm?

Many Thanks,

Dominic

Bob

In general, that first job is going to be the hardest thing to nail down. Get anything you're offered.

It's much easier to find something while you're employed. Also, it gets you US history and contacts, making it easier to bail as soon as something better comes along, which is one benefit to the right to fire kind of states.

livinginnyc

This ^^^

Be glad you're hearing back from companies you've applied to, many people on this forum (myself included) have enormous difficulty at this stage.

Pardon my ignorance (I have no clue on the finance industry), but how much does the training cost for series 7,66/65? and do they take a full year to complete (only asking as I know some universities here take into account your work experience to skip parts of the syllabus - no idea if that's possible with this though). If its expensive/time intensive - could you live on the commission and move on once accredited? (assuming they don't require you to stay with them for a certain period once accredited).

Orangepants

The actual costs are minimal (study material/registration/taking of the exam) but you have to be working for a broker to be able to register and take them. No it doesn't take a year to get the 7 which is the most comprehensive, if you are familiar with the material. You have to take the 7 to move onto the others.

I only took the exams (7 and 23) out of general interest because I was working for a hedge fund that registered as a broker/dealer so not familiar with career paths or types of firms. Good luck. I'd suck it up if that's what you want to do.

scrubbedexpat099

There is a company that advertises on the radio in Colorado stressing that their employees are not on commission.

Which suggest to me that this is not the norm.

No mention of bonus...

chris197337

It's pretty competitive in NYC for that kind of thing. What sort of level are you looking to work?

It's different over here, they have much more depth to the kinds of jobs. There are a lot of financial advisors in America due to the products like IRAs that are available to retail.

If it was me, I'd try to get a job as a junior for an FA and go from there. You could start looking at the big ones like Wells, Merrils and go from there, they will have jobs for branch FA assistants in NYC.

Or I think maybe Fidelity or TD have an office in NYC, you could go to a call centre type place who will put you through your licences, they don't pay too much (around 40k I think) but once you are licenced it would be easier to move on.

I imagine these people, paying decent money in NYC would be looking for someone with an existing book though. There are a lot more of those kinds of jobs in places like Salt Lake City, Florida, Charlotte, Milwaukee etc. Like everything in NYC, it's hard as you have so much more competition than smaller locations for not much more (or the same) money.