Chop Shop. Do not be fooled by the smoke and mirrors. Do not work here unless you have an established book of business.
Pros
There are some great people who work here. Intelligent, hard-working, capable individuals who are simply content with where they are, or do not realize their ability to work at a better institution. Some may also prefer the more casual, laid-back, unprofessional no-tie atmosphere. You will learn the art of selling, otherwise known as the art of deception. Your recruiter will pretend to be your best friend.
Cons
Pyramid Scheme consisting of 3 levels: Portfolio Managers, Account Openers (Licensed brokers), and Cold Callers ("Interns"). Only the portfolio managers make any real money, while the other two levels cold call 60-80 hours a week to either generate new leads or open new accounts for their hiring manager (Of which commissions will be split for the initial trade as well as any trades that may follow). You are promised the opportunity to start your own book of business after opening 20 accounts. However, assuming you've completed this task, it will become clear that due to the lack of training--you are in no position to manage a client's money. Your training is sales-based, you will attain minimal knowledge regarding investments or finance. A monkey can be trained to dial the phone 300-500 times a day and memorize a series of pitches and rebuttals, they should consider recruiting brokers at the Bronx Zoo. You will be overworked. You will be underpaid ($1,000 base salary a month--far below the industry average). As compensation for this insignificant salary you will be promised the world--including higher commissions rates than other firms. You will be promised a six-figure income after two years. You will be promised a training regimen equal to that of Merrill Lynch. They will pitch you harder than you will ever pitch potential clients. They want to give you this job--if you fail it costs them nothing and at worst you opened a few accounts for your manager. I highly recommend that you only consider a position at National Securities if you have an existing book of business. If you MUST take this job, use it as a stepping stone to get licensed and gain the necessary experience to transfer elsewhere. You should also be sure to look up your hiring manager on brokercheck.finra.org to make sure that they do not have a history of illegal business practices such as churning client accounts. If they do not care about their clients, they most certainly do not care about you. DO NOT WORK FOR FREE. THIS IS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, NOT A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY.
