From the article: Financial Advisor
Financial advisors fill key positions in the financial services industry, and are key drivers of profitability in major securities firms. Moreover, as the crucial interface between these firms and the investing public, financial advisors have a highly visible role. If you're a financial advisor, used to be one, or are attempting to become one, please share your experiences with our readers. What are the chief pros and cons of this career path, as you see them? Would you do it again? Would you do anyhting differently? What tips can you offer our readers who are interesting in this line of work? Thanks for your time! Share Your Experiences
Weighing Pros and Cons
- In the midst of my career at Merrill Lynch, I explored becoming a financial advisor. I used my contacts to discuss this with several leading (and former) FAs with the firm, then I set down on paper a balance sheet of pros and cons, including my own strengths and weaknesses. It all came down to this: on the positive side of the ledger were my confidence in my analytical abilities, my own success as an individual investor, and my communications skills; on the negative side, I felt that my sales skills were not strong enough, and I was sure that I wouldn't sleep easy, worrying about my clients' accounts. So, I decided to stay in administrative roles rather than take the plunge.
- —mkolakowski
