ProEquities, an independent RIA and broker-dealer headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., has launched GEN Next Academy, an apprenticeship program for new advisors seeking experience, according to a news release.
The apprenticeship program helps advisors new to the industry join an established office, while providing senior advisors with assistants they can train and mentor to support them, the release said.
GEN Next Academy provides apprentices with access to study groups, peer networking and curriculum-based educational opportunities. Apprentices also get access to professional coaching and discounted rates for CFP certification classes, the release said.
Program mentors, meanwhile, must also meet certain criteria, ProEquities said.
“This effort [opens] up the wealth management industry to a broader set of professionals from different backgrounds,” Tammy Robbins, ProEquities vice president of business development, said in the news release. “Their work will benefit not just the next generation of financial advisors, but many within our existing advisor community, which can lean on the program to build more scale, to boost growth, and to create succession and continuity planning opportunities.”
To qualify for the program, GEN Next advisors must apply and meet a series of requirements, including having a clean compliance record and a securities license.
Founded in 1985, ProEquities is a wholly owned subsidiary of Protective Life Corporation, a financial service holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Ala.