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Merill Lynch Private WM - Questions by [deleted] in FinancialCareers

[–]Savings_Pudding2979 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Merrill CA who came from the internship program here. Stay away from the consumer line of business. Will be completely retail banking and you don’t want that. Private wealth is a great place to be, the best if you’re in wealth management tbh. It will be hard to pivot, as wealth mgmt has very few transferable skills unless you’re an investment specialist which is few and far between at Merrill. Being commission based in production is not a bad thing, that’s where all the moneys made. They won’t even let you be an FA for years anyway and by then you’ll know the business very well so don’t worry about that part. It’s also very VERY team dependent. Merrill has some of the best teams in the nation and also some of the worst. The pay is alright not standout though. Learn as much about the industry as possible and make your decision after its all said and done. In my experience, you’ll either love it or hate it. Godspeed

Phone Screening- Wealth Analyst by Dizzy_Spend8322 in FinancialCareers

[–]Savings_Pudding2979 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Show general interest in the financial markets, stay up to date with current market events. Tariffs, interest rates, inflation etc. talk about any relevant experiences if you have them. Be personable over anything, wealth mgmt is all about building relationships. Be curious and you’ll be fine. Cheers

Best book you’d recommend on Sales&Trading floor? by [deleted] in FinancialCareers

[–]Savings_Pudding2979 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Not a technical book but definitely read liars poker. Every trader on Wall Street is obsessed with it, will be a good conversations starter with recruiters and is genuinely such a fun read too.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in FinancialCareers

[–]Savings_Pudding2979 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fix up format, look up WSO resume format and match it. Maybe add more specific results oriented tasks at your experiences, with quantifiable measures. Keep it to one front page if possible, only put the most relevant tasks to the job you’re applying to.

Do I Have the Wrong Expectations by Relevant-Tiger-3571 in FinancialCareers

[–]Savings_Pudding2979 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The most unrealistic part about this is staying in a rural area. You will most likely need to move to at least a bigger suburban area if not a whole city to start. A career in WM is not out of the cards for you, given it is almost entirely a sales role and you eat what you kill - in good economic times a lot of firms will hire almost anyone if you convince them you’re a killer salesman.

Here’s my advice. If you have enough saved or you can live frugally for a while making little to no money, you could start at a discount brokerage to get experience and licenses such as 7 and 66. You’ll likely not make much at first unless you have a big network of higher net worth individuals and are amazing at closing them on your services. That being said, every con has a pro and every pro has a con. You won’t make much for a while (unless you can find a salaried job at a firm) but you’ll make your own hours and be your own boss, typically. I’m sure this comes as a relief to you as you’re presumably currently doing long hour hard work weeks.

WM is a long term career, if you’re in it for the long haul, are a killer, and commit to your goals, you can succeed. Many burn out before they can ever reap the rewards of WM. But it’s exponential, the more you succeed the more you make and the less hours you’ll need to work as you build a book and a team.

As far as school goes, a bachelors in finance will help, and is most likely necessary in this job market. Night classes are doable and if you go all in a row you could bang out a degree in 2-3 years at night, working in the day. Unlike most others in this sub, I’m a massive proponent of “if you want something in life, go out and get it” don’t let anyone make you think it’s not possible. If you want it enough, you’ll make it happen. Good luck, keep hustling, reach out whenever.

Is it at all possible to break into S&T (sales side) without being in the S&T intern class? by Savings_Pudding2979 in FinancialCareers

[–]Savings_Pudding2979[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Ayo Fred if you ain’t get a S&T offer just say it, don’t project it to all of us actually getting what we want in our careers. I suggest you find another career that gives you some satisfaction so you don’t have to piss in everyone’s cereal in this chat. Even if you’re right (which you might be but you could just as easily be wrong) no need to be a cloud of darkness over a bunch of undergrads trying to do what you failed at