Raymond James is rolling out a two-year development program for new advisors designed to address the issue of succession for retiring advisors, attract more women into the profession and increase the percentage of advisors who succeed their bosses.
Raymond James' Advisor Mastery Program (AMP) is modeled after the firm's two-year residency training program, which was open to only a limited number of participants a year. The goal is for AMP to train up to 150 advisors each year, according to the company.
The inaugural class has 35 participants-with 34% of the candidates female-in branches across the country, including California, Colorado, Michigan, Texas, Indiana and Florida. A second class in May 2012 will have 30 to 40 participants.
The program is available to the firm's branches and advisors in the traditional employee and independent channels. Five members of the inaugural class are affiliated with independent contractor offices.
"There are two key components to this program," said Bob Patrick, director of education and development for St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Raymond James. "First, and most important, each new advisor is paired with an experienced advisor mentor. Secondly, the new advisors are placed in a branch and often become part of an existing team, so they get real-world, practical experience from the very start."
AMP participants will be typically college graduates, many with a postgraduate degree, who have at least five years' work experience. They must pass the Series 7 and will be exposed to both sales and technical training in the classroom and on the job, according to Raymond James.
Student will participate in distance-learning classes three days per week, one hour per day. After completing the program, students will sit for the CFP exam and will be Accredited Asset Management Specialists, according to Raymond James.
The first class includes several participants who want to ultimately succeed their advisor/mentor and managing that practice, which could be appealing to veteran advisors looking to retire, according to Raymond James.
While AMP is not specifically targeting women advisors, the firm believes the new initiative, with its ltwo-year time frame, creative compensation plan and mentoring component, will remove many of the obstacles historically noted by prospective women advisors, and increase the number of women considering the financial advisor profession.
"We've been trying to position Raymond James as the best place to practice for women," said Chet Helck, chief operating officer at Raymond James and head of the firm's Private Client Group.