Where to start...?

Hi people, I'm looking for advice on the best way to get into trading. I'd like to draw on people's experiences and maybe what route they took.

I've been looking online at the likes of 'beabroker' but reading through some posts they were shunned. What was attractive with them was the guaranteed job at the end of the course. I'd be expecting it to be bad to begin with but are the prospects afterwards really not good? Has anyone taken the course with beabroker?

Failing that I see the best way to get SII certs is through BPP, all well and good as it's cheaper which I am all for, but it won't necessarily get me a job. I've read on t2w that small cap firms are not so good, why is this the case and can anyone recommend some firms that will yield good experience and prospects for beginners?

Thanks for your time.

A course with a job at the end is almost certainly a scam of some sort. A reputable firm will find the right staff, hire them, THEN train them. That way round, not the other way round. I.e. they will be happy to invest their own money in training the right people to grow their business.

edit - I just looked at the website - looks like a total chop shop to me. Sorry mate - I know it's easier to believe the quick route will succeed, but in this case while they may get you a job, it's probably not one that you'd really want, nor will it be as a junior at Goldman Sachs. If I had to guess I'd say it would be cold calling prospects in a small boiler room. Basically telesales. But not a decent telesales job either. The sort of job that even telesales professionals don't like.

The only person coming out of that kind of job who seriously calls themself a 'broker' would probably be the sort of person who thinks the numpties on The Apprentice are heavyweight captains of industry. They would call themselves a broker every time they were down the local, and would be far more interested in having the job title than actually doing the job.

Sorry

GJ

yeah, tbh if you want to do the SII courses they claim they'll 'teach' you to do just go the SII website and get their textbooks, any moron can teach themselves after a day or two's reading

GammaJammer said:

A course with a job at the end is almost certainly a scam of some sort. A reputable firm will find the right staff, hire them, THEN train them. That way round, not the other way round. I.e. they will be happy to invest their own money in training the right people to grow their business.[/I]

Sorry

GJ

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Thanks for the advice Gamma, that's the feeling I'm getting. As an alternative I was looking to do the course through BPP and save £££. I know it's a tough time to find a job but not coming from a financial background and having just finished uni I thought if I had SII Certs then it would show potential employers and agencies I'm interested and serious about getting a job in trading.

What are your thoughts? Shall I just apply for firms anyway like you said if they like me they will train me? Given the lack of financial work experience I thought the courses would be a good idea.

Honestly you don't need to pay anyone to do that course other than SII, the textbooks are more than adequete.

Hi Fugu, I went through beabroker and they got me a job pretty quick, I'm starting in 2 weeks, but Gamma is right they can only get you a job with the smaller firms, not necessarily penny share boiler rooms, (mine is a CFD focused advisory firm) but definately none of the big names......

My issue is the same as many people who have posted on this site, I want a route into stockbroking and I don't mind starting as a cold caller, closing new accounts, but I want it to develop into something more client relations and investment advisory focuse. Is this possible if I start out at one of these smaller firms - 100% sales focused roles?

CFD advisor firms are pretty much boiler rooms imo...

Why do you say that? My knowledge of these firms is limited so advice would be great, the firm I'm starting at Trades primarliy long/short on large cap/mid cap stocks, avg leverage is 3x which I think is not too dangerous, its based in the city and uses well established institutions as the custodians. Doesn't all of that sound quite legit?

The role is all about earning commision by cold calling private clients and raising assets.....but isn't that normal? financial Advisory firms, asset management firms, even hedge funds ( I get called by a HF everyday in my job), cold call in different amounts to grow their business and raise assets? Why is that wrong? and the earnings potential is massive if it goes well, 10k a month within 12 months seems quite achievable, isn't that a positive as well?

I'd rather join a big name with a training scheme and less of a pure sales focus but it seems impossible without prior experience. Does anyone have any advice or suggestions?

My meaning of boiler room, in this context, is that the clients would generally have been better served by not getting involved at all

This doesn't invalidate any of your points. Caveat emptor and all that...

rainmaker268 said:

The role is all about earning commision by cold calling private clients and raising assets.....but isn't that normal? financial Advisory firms, asset management firms, even hedge funds ( I get called by a HF everyday in my job), cold call in different amounts to grow their business and raise assets? Why is that wrong?

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Er, cos' it's illegal!

It's legal if they're already private clients of yours...

There is nothing illegal about cold calling, you just have to follow the law regarding each product, as long as you ensure the prospect/client's suitability then its perfectly normal. The whole point of cold calling is to sell someone something they need or would benefit them, if they don't want it then they simple don't buy it. If you try to con-someone or lie then that is wrong.....but I don't really see how calling someone to offer an invesment advisory service can really be wrong or illegal?

Do what I did, and learn to trade stocks and options with a free Virtual Trader. All you need to do is open an account, no money deposit required. Just go to Forex Currency Exchange click the top left corner, and you can sign up there. They do ask a bit of info, but that is just in case you decide you want to trade with them at a later date. It's fun, and can learn much with all the tools.

rainmaker268 said:

There is nothing illegal about cold calling, you just have to follow the law regarding each product, as long as you ensure the prospect/client's suitability then its perfectly normal. The whole point of cold calling is to sell someone something they need or would benefit them, if they don't want it then they simple don't buy it. If you try to con-someone or lie then that is wrong.....but I don't really see how calling someone to offer an invesment advisory service can really be wrong or illegal?

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Generally it’s against the law in this country (UK)to ‘cold call’ a person to try to sell you shares or similar investments.
If it was a client then it wouldn't be a cold call. If it was a 'prospect' then you wouldn't know the suitability.

arabianights said:

It's legal if they're already private clients of yours...

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Wouldn't be cold call would it? Slightly warm?