T R
HE
UMMAGE
R
EPORT
The “Sports Agents” For Financial Advisors
Newsletter: Apr 2014
Our Expertise
RIAs
Banks
Hybrid Firms
Wire Houses
Independents
Regional Firms
Discount Firms
Boutique Firms
Insurance Companies
Quote Of The Month
Most of us spend our lives as if we had
another one in the bank. - Ben Irwin
The Rummage Group is a Unique, nationally recognized Career
Consulting firm specializing in the Financial Industry. We are the
“Industry Experts” that help broker the deal between Financial Advisors
and the 1000+ firms looking to hire them. We are one of the only firms
started and run by a 20 year veteran of the Financial Industry. We are
The “Sports Agents” For Financial Advisors.
When a Financial Advisor decides to change firms, or even just look
around, The Rummage Group is the “one stop shop” to help them.
Most are unaware there are over 1,000 firms that employ Financial
Advisors and the average advisor is only familiar with a handful. We
save Advisors the heartache of having to go it alone and rely on biased information. Since we
do business with most firms, we can provide unbiased assistance during this important
transition. The Rummage Group is the firm that can help keep Advisors from making a major
career mistake by ending up at a firm or model that does not match their goals. We maintain
100% Confidentiality.
What We Do For You:


Coach’s Corner
There’s only one way to
coast — Downhill
Complacency is the root of all
backsliding.
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We help Financial Advisors negotiate the deal- We know the deals on the street as
well as "The Secret Deals"
We help Financial Advisors select the right firms by discovering all of their options
(Wire House, Regional, Independent, RIA, Bank, Boutique, Insurance, Discount &
Hybrid).
We know the REAL pros and cons of each firm, having done over 7,000 hours of
research on over 1,000 firms & 10 different models - Unbiased information.
We help advisors ask the right questions - We have over 60 questions advisors
should be asking each firm during a move.
We save you time and frustration- We have relationships and contacts at over 500
firms - We can get anything answered with a phone call.
By: Jim Rohrbach
“It’s so easy to slip.” Lowell George,
founding member of Little Feat
Have you ever accomplished something you
thought was a big challenge, felt great, then
found yourself somewhat down a few
weeks later? Not uncommon — even
astronaut Buzz Aldrin reportedly got
depressed after walking on the moon. So
what can you do to stay at or near the top
of your game? Here are some strategies:
Have a Daily Morning Ritual Make sure you
review your Mission Statement, state your
Affirmations and Visualize your goals on a
Rick Rummage
Areas Of Expertise
Firms: RIAs, Banks, Hybrid Firms, Wire Houses, Independents, Regional Firms,
Discount Firms, Boutique Firms, Insurance Companies
Positions: Financial Advisors, Senior Level Managers, Trust Officers, Portfolio
Managers, Operations Managers, Compliance Officers
www.therummagegroup.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/rickrummage
daily basis. This keeps you focused on your
intended purpose, keeps your self-image
high and reinforces mental pictures of
exactly what you want to accomplish. Daily,
by the way, means seven days a week —
taking two days off will kill your mental
momentum, and success is all about
maintaining momentum.
Keep learning The mind is like a muscle — it
needs exercise. Reading, listening to
motivational/inspirational/educational
audio programs and attending
seminars/webinars/teleseminars in your
field will keep your thinking sharp. The more
you learn, the more you’ll earn. (Sorry — sitcoms, reality shows and crime shows do not
qualify …)
Physical exercise Your body IS a muscle, or
actually, a network of muscles that need
regular workouts to provide the energy you
need to succeed. If your only “heavy lifting”
involves lifting chocolate donuts to your
mouth, it’s time to get back to the gym.
Review your weekly progress Take time
over the weekend to evaluate how you’ve
progressed during the past week. Then take
time to schedule your upcoming week
based upon your goals. This is the best way
to stay on track each week, and you’ll sleep
like a baby on Sunday night.
Evaluate your month. At the end of every
thirty day period, total your score on the
goals you set. This means you had to
quantify your goals in the first place. Then
reset your goals for the upcoming month.
Quarterly report Take a hard look at your
progress for the three-month period you’ve
just completed. How does that measure up
with what you wrote down you as your
year-end goals?
Annual evaluation Sometime just around
Christmas, do your annual evaluation —
how was your year overall? Did you get
where you wanted to go? If so, GREAT! Give
yourself a high five, and find a way to
celebrate. If not — get feedback from a
peer, mentor, boss or coach on what you
did well, and what you could do better.
Set the bar for the coming year By New
Year’s Day, write down what you want in all
areas of your life by December 31st to make
sure you have new goals that feel
energizing. Revise your Mission Statement
accordingly. This is the best insurance
against starting the year on a downhill slide.
Featured Article
Finding The Right Firm? Model? Type?
Making Sense Of All These Firms
BY: RICK RUMMAGE
WEDNESDAY, APRIL, 2014
I have spent countless hours over the last several years doing research on the Brokerage
Industry. In fact, if you add up all the research my entire team has done we have invested over
7,000 hours. We have discovered a lot of interesting things about many different firms. At The
Rummage Group we break the industry into Firms, Models and Types. There are about 2,000
Broker Dealers and over 10,000 RIAs that employ Financial Advisors. Making up these firms are
about 10 models; Wirehouses, Regional Firms, Independents, RIAs, Hybrids, Insurance
Companies, Boutique Firms, Banks, Discount Firms and Chop Shops.
We further break up the 10 models into 3 types; Hunter, Gatherer and Skinner Firms and each
one of these types requires a different skillset for success. Where did we come up with the
names for these 3 types? From our early ancestors, who each had a role in the village. The
hunter would go into the woods and hunt for the village’s food. There was a lot of skill and risk
involved with hunting and it required a certain type of person. The Gatherers were the ones
who foraged for nuts and berries and it required a lot less risk and a little less skill. Finally the
Skinners were the ones who would stay in the safety of the village and process the food found
by the Hunters. So what firms make up the 3 types?
The 3 Types:
Hunter Firms are made up of Wirehouse, Regional Firms, Independents, RIAs, Hybrids,
Insurance Companies, Boutique Firms and Chop Shops. At these firms the advisors are not
given any clients, referrals and seldom any leads – unless a manager buys them a list. Success
lies in their ability to hunt for new prospects and turn them into clients. At Hunter Firms, an
advisors success is determined 100% in their ability to hunt.
Gatherer Firms are made up of Banks and sometimes “one off firms” like Ric Edelman, but
there are not too many of these. Gatherer Firms provide something the Hunter Firms don’t –
referrals, leads and a warm prospect base. Both Hunter and Gatherer Firms provide advisors
with products and technology, but the Gatherer firms give them someone to close. Providing
leads and referrals makes success easier. It also allows for a much higher growth rate. Not all
Gatherer Firms are made equal. At some, there is more of an abundance of leads, referrals and
access to existing clients. Others make success more difficult by fewer referrals and/or
restricting client access.
Skinner Firms are made up of the Discount Firms. These firms take it to the next level and
provide the advisors with clients. Since Skinner firms usually do a lot of advertising, client
acquisition is provided by the firm. These firms just need advisors who can up-sell, cross-sell
and service the existing client base. Of course some of them do Financial Planning as well, but
acquiring clients is provided by the firms. At Skinner Firms the compensation structure is also
different than the other types – outlined in Table 1.
Now that we have defined the three types, let’s discuss how the industry views them. There
are many misconceptions in the industry about all three types. Listed below are a few of the
more common ones:

Keep in mind that success (and happiness) is
not a destination — it’s all in the journey.
Get complacent and you’ll go downhill
faster than you could imagine, sometimes
without you even noticing until you crash at
the bottom. The habit of setting, evaluating
a resetting your goals will keep your journey
interesting, and keep you pedaling in the
right direction.


Success Skills Coach Jim Rohrbach, “The
Personal Fitness Trainer for Your Business,”
coaches business owners, entrepreneurs
and sales professionals on growing their
clientele. He has helped hundreds of
individuals to achieve their goals since he
developed his first coaching program in
1982. To arrange a Free Consultation with
Jim, go towww.SuccessSkills.com.


For more information contact:
Rick Rummage
Managing Partner
The Rummage Group
Off 703.435.2822
Fax 757.299.4677
Cell 443.739.7866
[email protected]
www.therummagegroup.com
Wirehouses push advisors to sell proprietary products – NOT TRUE, many
years ago this sometimes happened, but not anymore. These firms are now
too afraid of even more law suits.
Independent Firms don’t have the product and technological capabilities of
the big firms – NOT TRUE, the best Independent Firms have better technology
than most of the biggest firms. They also provide as many, and sometimes
more, products than wirehouses.
If you go Independent your payout will be about the same after you pay all of
your expenses – NOT TRUE, the average advisor at an independent firm keeps
about 70% of their revenue in take home pay.
Banks only sell annuities, have few products, poor technology and cater to
tiny clients – NOT TRUE, the best banks have almost everything the
Wirehouses do. Yes, many banks are still stuck in the Dark Ages, but the good
ones have great technology, deep product offering, a diverse asset base and a
high average account size. In addition, some banks have average production
of 600-700k.
If you work at a Discount firm you won’t make much money – NOT TRUE, the
top 30% of advisors are making about 100 - 130k and the top 10% are making
over 200k. If an advisor can’t make over 100k at a Discount Firm, they should
reevaluate their profession.
All of these mistruths float around the Brokerage Industry like a terrible virus. These viruses
sometimes prevent advisors from investigating the type of firms that would better suit their
skill set. At The Rummage Group we come across thousands of advisors every year who should
work at a different firm and in many cases a different model or type. We often find advisors at
Hunter Firms who have been in the industry for 7+ years and producing under150k. Even
worse are the advisors with industry tenure of 15+ years producing under 300k. Clearly these
advisors are not hunters or maybe just lazy. It’s also possible they have never truly learned
how to hunt. They would have much higher success at a Gatherer or Skinner firm, but their
misinformation and biases often hold them back.
There are some Hunter Firms filled with small producers that hang on year after year. These
advisors would triple their take home pay by walking across the street to a Gatherer Firms. In
addition, their growth rate would also triple or quadruple. In most cases these advisors are too
stubborn and may feel they are giving up if they go to a Gatherer Firm.
As a human I think it is better to understand ones strengths and weaknesses. Advisors should
focus on exploiting their strengths. If an advisor isn’t getting the abundance of success their
seeking, maybe it’s time to investigate a new type of firm. Some of the greatest football players
became Wide Receivers after spending much of their time, on the bench, as the Quarterback.
Either embrace reality or make significant changes in your habits.
Table 1
This table is based on the research done by The Rummage Group. We have used industry
averages and estimates. Keep in mind, there are always exceptions to the rule.
Model
1-10
Entrepreneurial
Scale
Payout
Range
Payout
After
Expenses
&
Haircuts
Comments
RIA
10
95100%
60-80%
Independent
9-10
85-95%
60-80%
Hybrid
8-9
50-85%
40-70%
Boutique
7-8
40-70%
40-60%
Insurance
7-8
30-90%
30-70%
Regional
6-7
30-55%
30-45%
Wirehouse
6-7
20-50%
20-40%
Bank
5-6
20-50%
20-40%
Discount
4-5
Salary+
Bonuses
NA
For advisors who are mostly
excited about managing the
money.
The best choice for
Entrepreneurial minded
advisors wanting to keep most
of their revenue.
For advisors who want to
straddle the fence between
the models.
Some unique opportunities
which are hard to find.
Best for those who love
insurance.
For those who want a little
more attention and flexibility
than a Wirehouse.
For those who need a big
name.
Best model to grow a book
quickly and still keep the
industry average payout.
If you can sell, it’s the easiest
place to make 100k in the first
year.
I strongly believe all advisors should assess their skillset, book, growth rate and happiness
factor. We put our clients through an extensive consultation to help them determine the best
Firm, Model and Type. Life is way too short to stay seated on the bench and not utilize your
best skills. Make sure your firms model and type fits your skillset and needs. If you are a
Hunter then hunt, but if not, don’t waste your reality on mediocrity. Happy Hunting!
©2013 The Rummage Group
The Rummage Group
Off 703.435.2822
Fax 757.299.4677
Cell 443.739.7866
[email protected]
www.therummagegroup.com
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