Is There a Preferred High End Brokerage to Work For?

adell50 · 09-07-2009, 07:27 PM

I'm just getting started out and am curious to know if there is a preferred high end brokerage out there.

Its not that I have anything against brokerages that serve a lower income producing clientele, however I just prefer to work the high end.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Thatguy · 09-07-2009, 07:46 PM

I'm not sure if I fit your mark, but I can tell you what I do. I have a division that works on ILIT and estate planning. There are only a handful of agents in this division, since it's all based on connections. The agents generate their own clients and leads. We simple have the network of attorney and CPA needed to do proper estate planning. Those attorney(s) and CPA(s) give us a discount on the ILIT and independent certification needed to substantiate face value. On ILIT cases, we write from 2M to 20M face which requires CPA certs and many other documentation.

If you have the clients, or can afford the lead system (we have one, but it's not cheap) then perhaps this is something you might like to do. This is a very niche market and we do not recruit for these agents! We usually get referrals from other brokers in these cases.

I'm sure there are other brokerages out there that target high end clients. If you have a securities license, try Northwest Mutual, they also target high end clients.

adell50 · 09-08-2009, 07:55 AM

Thank you so much for the insight! I really appreciate it!

Your thoughts are thought provoking, whereas it seems that to serve a high end client will substantiate the services of much more vendors.

Whereas, a lower income producing client might be able to get by with simply a solid policy, a high end one may need much more. Given the need for an ILIT, attorneys, cpa's, insurance brokers, real estate advisors, etc. must all be brought together to serve them appropriately. With that in mind, perhaps its more important to nurture the relationsips of those ancilary service providers than anything else, because they are so depended on in writing the policy in the first place. That makes sence. Of course nurturing those relationships should probably be a priority no matter what market one works, no?

Going back to my original question, regarding a firm that focuses on the high end, I have heard of Northwest Mutual mentioned before. They deal with quite a bit of wealth management as well, correct?

Thanks again!

Thatguy · 09-08-2009, 08:32 AM

Originally Posted by adell50

Thank you so much for the insight! I really appreciate it!

Your thoughts are thought provoking, whereas it seems that to serve a high end client will substantiate the services of much more vendors.

Whereas, a lower income producing client might be able to get by with simply a solid policy, a high end one may need much more. Given the need for an ILIT, attorneys, cpa's, insurance brokers, real estate advisors, etc. must all be brought together to serve them appropriately. With that in mind, perhaps its more important to nurture the relationsips of those ancilary service providers than anything else, because they are so depended on in writing the policy in the first place. That makes sence. Of course nurturing those relationships should probably be a priority no matter what market one works, no?

Going back to my original question, regarding a firm that focuses on the high end, I have heard of Northwest Mutual mentioned before. They deal with quite a bit of wealth management as well, correct?

Thanks again!

NWM targets specially the high end clients, so if that is your mark then I would suggest you look there for a home. There is a joke in the securities world about NWM, "If you qualify for a NWM policy, you don't need one."

If you are the independent type, then you will need the entire team of professionals together to achieve your estate planning needs. The vast majority of the clients we deal with on the scale all expect a "one stop shop." We have a very respectable attorney create their ILIT and file it in states that best fit their needs. Belief it or not, the state you file the ILIT does affect their estate liability, sometimes in a major way. We have CPA(s) create the asset certification based upon value given to them by a certified appraiser. We place other assets into separated trust and try to keep the trust value below the radar. We incorporate their assets in Delaware or Nevada and place their personal income into those corporation.

It is not a simple matter of advising them on what to do, it is the matter of actually doing what we advise them.

Our services are not cheap! That being said, we rarely even get asked how much we charge. Most of the time, these clienteles do not care about your "price," they only care about you "value."

Good luck, whatever you choose to do.

adell50 · 09-11-2009, 12:45 PM

Wow! That is great. Thank you so much! This is a lot to think about, but certainly has me thinking about a prudent direction to follow...