I’ve started studying for the Series 65 exam. The Series 65 is the Uniform Investment Adviser Law Exam and is required in the State of Georgia to become a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA). My plan is to work as a Registered Investment Advisor under a company I’ll form while I maintaining my current job. Once I get enough money under management (or at least a regular schedule of fee-only income) to replace enough of my current income I’ll make the move to work for myself full time.
Working for myself as an investment advisor will give me more time to focus on promoting my new business, actively managing investments (clients and mine), writing my blogs on a more regular basis and caring for my family as I work from home. The steps I have to take aren’t going to be too quick with my current schedule. First I need to pass the Series 65 exam. I’ve started studying and am enjoying it. I’m brushing up on material I haven’t covered since college and should’ve stayed more current on for our personal money management. I should be able to sit for the exam before the end of the summer. After that I’ll file all of my regulatory paperwork and form an LLC. I’m sure gaining a client base won’t be too quick with me only chasing people on a part-time basis.
In the near-term I need to try to stay employed. I had to fire six consultants yesterday as their project ended. It wasn’t fun to do, but they new it was coming. I’ll take a decent hit on commissions from this project ending and the hole in my revenue could draw more attention to me than I want. That means that I’ll have to continue to ease off my stock research and blogging time while on the job and will use a lot of my free time at home to study for the Series 65. I’m not going away, but will try to write less than I have been for the foreseeable future and focus on getting to the next stage in my career path. I’ll keep documenting all of my trades, but will probably keep the wording light and as quick as possible. Eventually the opposite will be the case and I’ll be able to spend more time doing what I like, focusing on the markets and all parts of how it touches my business.
Wow! Good for you Alex! I’ve considered studying for the Series 65 exam and becoming an RIA also, but I just don’t have the time right now. My job keeps me very busy. Maybe someday. Anyway, good luck on your studies, the exam, and your new business venture. I hope it turns out successful.
Mike A
Thanks Mike. I’ll let you know how the test goes, whenever I get there. You’ve been doing this long enough that I think you’d ease through most of it, at least from what I’ve reviewed so far.
Do you think your record so far qualifes you to become an investment adviser? And isn’t that contrary to what you stated in your intro
“My model for investing/trading has proven good for me which does not guarantee it will work for you. I’ve read numerous books by writers who also claimed they knew the road to millions and it always made me wonder if they could make so much investing then why are they wasting their time writing. I always doubted the validity of their claims, especially since most had no documentation of what they did in real life examples. A lot of ideas are great in theory, but until you document what you’ve done, not just back test, then the theory is not worth much. That still left the question of why should I write about trading if I’m so good at trading”.
Just curious about your thought process? Was this your original intent when you started this blog to become a finacial advisor? I understood, that you wanted to make money from your trading not from fees you charge for investment advise.
Best of luck.
zino
Zino – I wrote a long winded response here – http://mytradersjournal.com/stock-options/2009/05/23/response-to-series-65-comment/
Dude! Your like my role model now! I am studying to become an investor! I just finished my first two years of the double major from hell! Accounting/Finance. I need to do research on this stuff so I can just right into it after I graduate.
I came across your blog the other day digging around for S&P 500 analysis, and then noticed this post. My wife and I are in almost an identical situation to you: studying for the Series 65 (we plan to take it in June, probably) and keeping our current jobs but looking to start an investment advisory firm. My wife recently got her hours reduced by half (she’s a mechanical engineer), so she has had some extra time lately. We recently started a financial blog as well and would be interested to hear what you think. We are also in Georgia, outside Atlanta in the south Forsyth suburbs.
Kyle, welcome to the blogosphere – It’s always good to see another Georgia blogger. There are a few of us around here in the financial arena. Good luck on the Series 65 too. I don’t think I’ll take the test until at least August.