Confessions of a 2nd Semester Senior: Reflections about Brazil and Beyond

     As my time in Brazil dwindles down, I am starting to plan all of my remaining weekend voyages to various Brazilian cities.  I am planning on visiting my friend Pat from high school who just so happens to be studying in Florianópolis, an island located in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina.  Before settling down in his apartment in Florianópolis, he was backpacking for three weeks in Argentina and Brazil.  Just before starting school, he visited Curitiba for three days.  My host mother graciously allowed Pat to stay at her house for 2 nights.  While he was here, I worked in the morning which allowed me to come home in the early afternoon in order to show my friend around Curitiba.  We had a great time and my host mother really took to my friend, in part because he is fluent in Portuguese, having studied the language all throughout college.

     In addition to visiting my friend in Florianópolis, one of my colleagues at TORO Investimentos has amiably invited me to go with his family to Iguazu Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world.  Furthermore, I want to visit Sao Paolo, Brazil´s largest city in terms of population, because it is only a short bus ride away and is the financial center of Brazil.  Brazil has many wonderful cities that are definitely worth a visit, so I will definitely be visiting Brazil again in the future to explore Rio de Janeiro and Recife, among others. 

     My host family continues to support me in every possible way and I have to say I have been extremely lucky in terms of my family and internship placement.  I have bonded with my family here in Brazil and continue to learn Portuguese inside and outside of the classroom.  I celebrated St. Patrick´s Day this past weekend with Mariah, one of my Brazilian host sisters, and her boyfriend.  We went out to Sheridan´s Irish Pub, one of two Irish bars in Curitiba, and celebrated the holiday as it should be celebrated.  I happened to meet a guy at the bar who was from Boston originally, but has lived in Curitiba for the past six years working for an international investment firm.  After explaining my rationale for interning in Curitiba, he indicated that I was ahead of the curve and that his time in Brazil has greatly added to his resume and his chances for sustained success.  He also understood the challenges of learning Portuguese, as he indicated that when he first arrived in Brazil, he didn’t speak a word of Portuguese. 

     Since my last blog post, TORO has added two new interns that are both currently studying at FAE Centro Universitário, located in downtown Curitiba.  Diego works in the morning and Augusto works in the afternoon with me.  Diego is studying Economics and Augusto is studying Management.  They are both unsure of their career plans after graduation but are enjoying interning at TORO and learning the day to day life of a financial advisor in Brazil.  After discussing life after interning with TORO with my fellow interns, I understood the realities of working for a relatively new financial firm without an established client base or marketing strategy.  TORO Investimentos is a dynamic and collaborative environment to work in, but they cannot offer the same benefits as an established bank or broker can offer here in Brazil.

     As I start to begin my own search for employment after graduating in May, I have come across similar situations within financial advisory firms in the United States.  Put simply, I have an option to either work at a relatively new advisory firm that has plans to expand rapidly or work at an established brokerage.  The differences between the two are clear.  If I choose to work at a relatively young firm, I will receive practically nothing to start and have to work arduously in order to pass all of the required tests.  Upon passing, I will be paired with a senior advisor who will work with me individually to help me with marketing and obtaining my first few clients.  After my first interview, I was impressed with this prospective firm´s marketing strategy and firmly believe it would be easier to land clients initially with a proven marketing strategy that goes after a niche market.  In addition, they are offering significantly more commission then any established brokerage would offer to a new advisor. 

     If I choose to work at a more established firm, I will be given significantly more compensation initially while I study for the appropriate tests to be certified as a financial advisor.  That being said, each additional year I work for that brokerage I will receive less and less in base salary because in the end, financial consultants are paid as a percentage of the money they manage for their clients.  In addition, larger firms require their new consultants to be highly self-motivated, because after the first few months of studying and training to be an advisor, you are pretty much on your own.  Long-time advisors already have their own clients and are paid individually based on the money they bring in.  In other words, these established advisors have no incentive to help out a new advisor bring in additional clients.  Given the fact that I am moving to a new city to start my professional career, I have to give some serious thought into which option is best for me.

     As I continue to explore my options, my experiences at TORO Investimentos have allowed me to gain a perspective in terms of understanding the challenges and opportunities when working for a young and independent firm.  Before coming to Brazil, I had interned for MassMutual Financial which gave me a glimpse of what it is like to work for a larger and established firm.  That being said, I will continue to enjoy each and every day I have left in Brazil because once I return to the U.S. and graduate in May, the real world will begin and I will be on my own.