Becoming an Investment Advisor was actually my first choice when I originally asked the question “How can I start my own business?” about 5 years ago.
My corporate work experience is banking, so I was quite used to giving advice to people on where to put their money … but the bad thing about banking was that the amount of money they would pay me in commissions was HORRIBLE compared to the guys who were doing investment consulting through their own licenses.
When you sell investments – be they stocks, mutual funds, cash value insurance policies, or even real estate – and sell them through your own license, you make 20 times, 50 times what you would make if you were working with someone. someone else’s brokerage.
So I decided to get my investment license and started selling.
There are two huge advantages to getting into the investment consulting business.
First, you don’t need to have millions of dollars to start investing. You can use other people’s money and you will be paid accordingly. For example, instead of starting with $ 100 per month with your own money, you can get a client who has MILLIONS in their portfolio and will receive commissions paid in the Millions instead of a few hundred dollars.
Side note: You really need to be careful when managing other people’s money, because not only can they get your license, but they will never refer new clients to you. That is why you study and get licensed before making recommendations.
Second, you are paid residual commissions each year based on the size of your portfolio. So, let’s say it takes you 5 years to get $ 10 million in clients in your portfolio, and let’s say you get paid a 2% annual residual commission … 2% of $ 10 million is $ 200,000.00.
Which means that you will be paid at LEAST $ 200,000.00 each year those accounts are in your portfolio. And if you’ve done your job correctly, that $ 10 million will turn into $ 12 million next year, and $ 15 million the following year, and so on.
So each continuous year, you will get 2% on the new amount … so your residual income will grow exponentially each year.
So this all sounds great, right? But there is a pretty obvious question floating around right now, which is …
“Arman, isn’t this a ‘bad time to market’ for investments? Isn’t that a dangerous place to start my own business?”
And that’s a perfectly logical question … and the answer is no, it’s not dangerous at all.
Let me explain …
When I said investments, I didn’t mean just stocks … or just mutual funds … there are literally hundreds of ways to invest and grow money. And there is ALWAYS something that is working well. Your job as an investment advisor is to stay up-to-date on what is working well.
For example … The stock market and the real estate market follow the same patterns. That is, if the stock market is not doing as well (which it is not at the time of this article), it means that real estate prices are not doing well either (which it is not at the moment).
There are 2 points I want to make about the real estate and stock market “problem” that is happening right now.
First. Yes, it is true that stocks and real estate prices have been falling more lately than they have risen … but if prices are low, that means it is a BUYERS market.
So, as an advisor, you will be looking for people who have money to invest. And you EDUCATE YOURSELF on the best options for your clients.
Second. When the stock market and real estate markets aren’t doing well, the gold and silver markets are. At the time of this article, the price of silver has risen more than 100% during the last 6 months. And you don’t have to take my word for it … just Google it and you will see.
So it all depends on how informed you are and how carefully you study the patterns of the economy.
Which brings me to my last point …
Starting your own investment business is probably one of the cheapest ways to start a business. Outside of the initial cost of your licenses and the cost of continuing education (which is less than a few hundred dollars per year), you have no other costs.
There are no products to buy in bulk stock, because their products are the new account apps that will be delivered to you for free from any product vendor you choose to work with.
You don’t have to hire any employees for the first year or two because you won’t do a lot of “maintenance” when it comes to the business. Just focus on building your customer list. The initial sales commissions will be more than enough to afford a great lifestyle for you and your family. And the waste of money under your stewardship will guarantee you a GREAT retirement.
As long as you have a good understanding of the economics and the features and benefits of the investment options you choose to promote, you can sell MILLIONS of dollars in investments with the use of a pen and sheet of paper.
This is how I started and actually continued doing business when I was consulting. I had a nice zippered binder that I would take with me to my appointments with some graphics that I had laminated, and that was it.
I sold investments worth more than $ 25 million in less than 3 years of consulting. (Sadly, more than half of that was done while he was still on the bench)
If you don’t have a problem sitting in front of people and explaining investment concepts to them, you won’t have a problem making money in your own investment consulting business.
There’s a reason so many millionaires are made in this business model … because the profit-per-sale ratio is SO huge. With an hour’s worth of work, you can earn $ 200,000.00. It is not a joke.
And if you’re really comfortable talking about big numbers, you can make a few million dollars worth of that very hour of work.
Pretty cool, huh?
I just want to give you some of the licenses that you can get if you want to invest in investments. These are not all the licenses that are available, BUT they are the most common and with them you can sell practically ALL types of investments. And EVERYONE has the potential to make someone a millionaire.
Life License – Technically, this is a life insurance license, but the way the life insurance industry has developed, you can sell 70% of investment products with this simple license.
Series 7 – This is THE investment advisor license. With this license you can sell anything outside of Real Estate. Stocks, Bonds, Mutual Funds, Annuities, etc.
Real Estate – This one shouldn’t require much explanation. Obtain this license to sell real estate. I think if you are trying to sell commercial real estate you will need a separate license.
Also, if you are looking for independent reading on the subject, below is a list of some of the best books written on investing in the stock market, precious metals, and real estate.
Good luck.
Trump’s Real Estate Strategies: Donald Trump
Warren Buffet invests like a girl. And Why Should You Too – Warren Buffet
Rich Dad Advisors: A Guide To Investing In Gold And Silver – Michael Maloney
