05.15.23
Here’s How Schwab, Merrill Lynch and RayJay Hire, Train New Talent
by: Sam Del Rowe
Charles Schwab, Merrill Lynch and Raymond James are using nontraditional recruiting and training methods to add advisors, according to branch managers speaking at a recent industry event. At Raymond James, for example, the firm’s support staff can avail themselves of a training program to “learn the basics” of becoming an advisor and subsequently transition into that role, according to Chris Fils, complex manager for Chicago at Raymond James. That program feeds into the firm’s two-year Advisor Mastery Program, which focuses on developing relationships with clients and prospects, according to a Raymond James spokesperson. Schwab, meanwhile, has been expanding its Financial Consultant Academy, a one-year program that provides training to become a financial consultant. While that program has traditionally been based in Schwab’s call centers, the firm has recently expanded it to its branches. “We’ve been challenging ourselves and trying to innovate how we attract, develop and retain talent,” Michele Moskonas, regional market executive for the Southeast region at Schwab, said at the conference. Merrill Lynch has “four different doors” for recruiting, according to Kathleen DeLong, managing director and senior market executive for West Los Angeles at Merrill. One is its trainee program, which allows the prospective advisors to interact with clients in the firm’s financial centers, according to DeLong. Another entry point is a program that allows advisors to add a family member or acquaintance to their team and have that person be trained while being “latched onto a team immediately,” DeLong said at the conference.
Read the full article on Financial Advisor IQ