my first (only) financial advisor was a manager at RadioShack for 10 years before he got the advisor job.
relatedly, i once applied as a network admin at Ed Jones. They didn't have their shit together when i showed up for the interview, and gave me the questions for the financial advisor interview instead. it was an automatic process, about 100 questions that were some variant of "how good or bad do you feel about asking your friends to buy financial products you don't understand well, and will you also please ask them to recommend you to their friends?"
Financial advisors study for months and are legally required to pass tests before giving financial advice. It’s not like one day you’re at radio shack and the next you’re a cfa/cfp.
Series 7, series 63, cfp, cfa, etc. when you get a job at fidelity you literally just go to class and study 8 hours a day for a few months.
Also you were asked sales rep questions, not actual advisor questions.
Financial advisor =/= certified financial planner (CFP or CFA).
It's like how there are people at HR Block who will do your tax returns, and know a lot about the process -- but they're not a CPA, which has a formal requirement.
relatedly, i once applied as a network admin at Ed Jones. They didn't have their shit together when i showed up for the interview, and gave me the questions for the financial advisor interview instead. it was an automatic process, about 100 questions that were some variant of "how good or bad do you feel about asking your friends to buy financial products you don't understand well, and will you also please ask them to recommend you to their friends?"
i didn't get the job. and i fired the advisor.