Financial Advisor: Bank
Nearly every bank in the country offers financial planning and investments to its clients. At a bank, advisors can leverage existing client relationships and the synergy between the traditional bank services–credit and cash flow–and investment services.
What is more, through their trust departments or private banking divisions, banks provide you with access to a high-net-worth client base, which you can leverage to gain investment referrals. While you are an employee of the bank, developing your business inside the branch, there are some banks that allow you to have your own practice through a registered investment advisor or an independent broker-dealer.
The opportunity that comes with affiliating with a bank lies in the referrals from the existing client base and the efficiency of the bank. Developing your business inside the branch or alongside trust officers and private client bankers should allow you to grow your practice while leveraging the resources of a large organization.
Dually Registered Advisor Within a Bank
Banks may have a registered investment advisory arm that allows you to work with clients under an advisory agreement, provided that you hold the appropriate registrations. The bank typically has these contracts through their investment advisory division. Often called a Corporate RIA, this setup is common across all broker-dealers–including bank, independent, and full service, and represents over 200,000 advisors who offer fee-based advisory services.
