JEFFERSON

Good Afternoon,
I am a financial advisor with Merrill Lynch. There is not anything that you will read, and/or find on the internet that will make you a successful financial advisor (or investment manager) or tell you to get into the business. Think about the job as an educated sales men or a relationship manager. You will have to find your clients, but your day to day activities is to service your clients and manage the relationship. If you are good with people and easy to make people trust you, then you will be successful.
You will have to learn the business and take exams, but that will never make you successful and/or keep you job. The basics are the Series 7, 63/65 or 66, life and health and your CFP. That will give you knowledge to work, but you can only use the information you have if you have clients. I have seen very smart people fail as advisors because they do not understand how to work with people and manage the relationship.
For information on how and how to become a financial advisor or investment manager, you can google the basics. The easiest way is to ask your friends / family / teachers if they would trust you with their money. Do not ask them to actually manage their money or make it a sales thing, but ask them if they think people would trust you with their net worth. If they say yes or no, ask why. For example, every one of my friends, family and clients, know that they can trust me and I am loyal to them. They know that my personality is to help them the most I can. Before I became an advisor, I asked my friends and family and they told me that they would trust me with their money because I would always put their best interest first. My good friends told me that they would because I have proven loyalty to them over and over again, and they know that if I do not know the answer to something, I will find it out before I ever pretend I know it.
The job is not as black and white as most people think it is, so I hope that helps. If you would like more information, e-mail me.