21-year-old starting my advisory career. Looking for opinions on my entire situation
21-year-old about to launch as a financial advisor. Experienced CFPs, how would you evaluate my situation?
TL;DR
This is a bit long because there are a lot of parts but I truly appreciate any insight and perspective, thanks in advance!
I'm 21, have a finance degree, Series 7/66, Life & Health licenses, and I'm finishing my CFP coursework/master certificate.
I've spent the last year at a small independent firm that sponsored my licenses and has been great about helping me get into the industry.
I only have two paths:
Option 1: Stay a W-2 licensed admin.
- No salary or benefits.
- Firm covers business expenses.
- I only get paid if I bring in clients.
- BD takes 10%, then I split the remaining revenue 50/50 with the firm (I keep about 45%).
- They generally continue running client meetings.
Option 2: Become a 1099 advisor under the exact same firm.
- About $1,000/month in business expenses.
- BD takes 10%.
- Mentor takes another 10% for supervision, compliance help, and business processing.
- I keep roughly 80% of what I bring in.
- I own my clients, have my own rep code, and can actually provide advice.
- I'm not completely on my own. The admin still helps with paperwork, my mentor is still available for guidance, and I still operate under the same firm and broker-dealer.
My parents will become my first clients and should generate roughly $10k-$12k/year before splits, which would essentially cover my business overhead if I become an advisor.
The catch is that every dollar I ever make has to come from clients I personally find. There is no salary, no book being handed to me, and no guaranteed succession. (Although is often mentioned)
I'm not asking which option pays more. I'm asking if there are things about this overall situation that experienced advisors immediately recognize as good or bad.
The Situation (Contains all the details)
I've been at this firm for a little over a year.
It's just:
- One advisor (around 80 years old)
- His wife, who runs the administrative side
- No junior advisors
The advisor has approximately:
- ~100 clients
- ~$35M AUM
- Mostly W-2 retirees
He no longer actively prospects and has talked about moving toward higher net worth clients.
To their credit, they've:
- Sponsored my licenses
- Paid for my licensing exams
- Got me affiliated with the broker-dealer
- Been genuinely kind and supportive
I'm grateful for everything they've done.
However, I also don't want gratitude to cloud my judgment when making a long-term career decision.
What gives me pause
1. Every client has to come from me.
There is:
- No salary
- No benefits
- No existing clients
- No revenue from their current book
If I don't prospect successfully, I don't make money.
The only realistic ways I would ever receive clients are:
- A future succession (nothing is in writing)
- My mentor starts focusing exclusively on UHNW clients and transitions smaller relationships to me
2. The training hasn't been very structured.
I've learned the technology and have sat in on meetings.
What I haven't really learned is a repeatable advisory process.
Most meetings are spent:
- Catching up with clients
- Discussing life updates
- Listening to stories and tangents
I haven't seen much comprehensive planning, and the client base is very different from the business owners and entrepreneurs I ultimately want to build my practice around.
3. I already lost one client because I wasn't the advisor.
I brought in a family friend.
They ended up staying with my mentor instead.
He's told me multiple times he's happy to split some of the revenue because I brought them in, but nothing has actually happened.
That experience makes me nervous about building relationships that ultimately become someone else's clients.
4. The dynamic between my mentor and his wife is difficult to read.
This is honestly one of the biggest reasons I'm making this post.
My mentor has repeatedly told me:
- He doesn't want to make money off me.
- He just wants to help me succeed.
- He paid for my licensing exams.
- He wanted to pay for me to attend another conference this year.
His wife tends to have a different perspective.
She consistently recommends that I stay in the W-2 admin role with the 50/50 split while they continue running the meetings. She always explains that she's recommending this because she wants to see me succeed and thinks it's the safest path for someone new.
I genuinely believe they both have good intentions.
The confusing part is that I feel like I'm constantly getting two different messages.
When I speak with my mentor one-on-one, it often feels like he's encouraging me to become an advisor and build my own business.
When the three of us meet together, the conversation usually shifts toward the admin role or a 50/50 split, and my mentor generally defers to his wife.
I'm curious whether this is a fairly normal dynamic in a husband-and-wife practice or whether it's something I should weigh more heavily.
5. Succession is uncertain.
Succession has been mentioned, but nothing is written down.
He also frequently talks about leaving the business to his son, who has his licenses but left the business after a couple of weeks because he didn't enjoy it.
Because of that, I'm assuming there is no succession plan until something actually exists on paper.
My goals
Long term I want to:
- Build my own independent planning practice.
- Focus on business owners and entrepreneurs.
- Build long-term client relationships.
- Eventually operate my own business.
I also have an infant at home, so flexibility is important.
My question
If you were 21 and starting over today, how would you evaluate this situation?
Not just "which option would you pick," but the entire arrangement.
- Are there green flags I'm overlooking?
- Are there red flags that immediately stand out?
- Is this a great opportunity that simply requires patience?
- Or does this sound like a difficult environment to build a modern advisory practice?
I'd especially appreciate hearing from advisors who have built books from scratch, worked in independent BD firms, experienced succession arrangements, or mentored younger advisors.
Note: I used AI to help organize my thoughts and make sure I didn't leave out important context. The situation, facts, and questions are all my own.