Top 10 Firms?

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^ Thank you sir. How is Edward Jones #2 with complaints like this:

Pretty easy when that’s the exeption and not the rule. Every company has its complaints, its the amount and severity that is the problem, and compared to the other firms out there EJ has one of if not the cleanest name in the business.

Really hmm… You don’t work there do you lol?

Yes, and I am heavy on the kool aid. However I did my thorough checking before signing on the dotted line that and friends of mine at other firms, the general public and Jim Cramer all seem to agree with such. But check around for yourself. True Story: I was in a retail store during the interview process and happened to see a guy at the register use a EJ Credit Card and asked him his opinion of the firm and he said they’ve been great to both him and his parents and that his FA was a very smart guy, def all helped to seal the deal for me.

Thats so ironic to find a guy who works at EJ out of  thin air while you were in the interview process. How is business going for you at EJ?

Haha I thought the same thing but he didn’t offer me a business card or talk to me about American funds, so I knew he was for real.

Lol I would have thought he would at least give you his card or something.

Ok so what’s ur beef with EJ anyways? Did u not get in? Did you get in and hear something bad? What’s ur excuse for hating on the smart money rankings… afterall u had nothing to say about rj?

No beef at all just researching here and there.

The guy in the store didn’t work for EDJ. He was a client. You can’t even read. Go suck a nut.

[quote=fa09] http://www.smartmoney.com/investing/stocks/ranking-the-full-service-brokers/



#1 is RayJay

#2 is EJ

And so on and so forth[/quote]



I dont really consider smartmoney a leading source on anything… Anyone who publishes the best mutual funds of last year in a “con” to get readers to buy them this year is dumb

[quote=VenomRx]^ Thank you sir. How is Edward Jones #2 with complaints like this:

Or it could be a real client that had a real bad experience with a real bad FA at Jones.  You never know.  There are bad FA’s at every firm, bar none.  But you can’t account for outliers.  You have to look at the entire firm(s).  There are not many “bad” firms out there, just bad FA’s.  On the other hand, I had a client the other day railing about how awful Merrill Lynch is, about all the corporate greed, lies, etc.  I actually found myself defending Merrill to him.  What I wanted him to understand was that despite all that he had heard in the press, most of the advisors are very good people that care about their clients, and should not necessarily be a reflection of what their bosses bosses boss did.  It’s a weird industry.  Good firms with bad FA’s, bad firms with good FA’s.  I guess I was sort of defending the industry as a whole, whose reputation has been even further reduced by the very firms that helped build it up over the years.  It’s sad.  We as an industry should work more towards unity versus trying to tear each other down. 

[quote=chief123] [quote=fa09] http://www.smartmoney.com/investing/stocks/ranking-the-full-service-brokers/



#1 is RayJay

#2 is EJ

And so on and so forth[/quote]



I dont really consider smartmoney a leading source on anything… Anyone who publishes the best mutual funds of last year in a “con” to get readers to buy them this year is dumb[/quote]



Well I figured I’d throw something out there other than JD powers which can be slanted in its own right. What better ranking did you have in mind that you failed to post?

First my problems with rankings is that the sampling is poor, for example in my area suburbs of major city(top 10 largest) the EDJ people within 30 miles of my location are useless, but if you stretch that to 45 miles then you pick up some very good advisors(used to be part of the region) but in my friends area down south, they have a lot of high quality EDJ guys… We don’t have a lot of RJ, so hard to compare.



My other problem was what the survey was based on:

"For our ranking of full-service brokerage firms, we supplemented SmartMoney research with research from outside experts: Zack’s Investment Research for stock picking, J.D. Power for customer service and account statements, Forrester Research for trust, Dalbar for account statements and Corporate Insight for Web sites. The results:"



I find it hard to analyze trust over 10,000+ brokers of any firm. Account statements?? Serioulsy… Websites, not for client over 65…Of course we all know the flaws of JD Powers… and then Zacks?? Are they the gods of stock picking?



However I would agree that RJ does a good job providing their advisors with information, and lots of it. Plus it’s a rather conservative firm that knows who they are(like EDJ, except instead of mainstreet everyday customers I think the focus in Higher new worth people) But both firms do what they say, and I think that is why they rank so high. Now it depends if you want what they do(or in some cases don’t do).

Again I will ask how u have assisted the op with ur post… what ranking did you suggest?

I don’t suggest any ranking… Just like i don’t suggest looking at top funds of 2008… Rankings are for media and idiot investors…

Might be helpful to the guy who asked for the rankings though.

B24 said it best…for the most part, as far as the client’s are concerned, the firm is only as good as their individual Advisor!  The only relevant ranking should be the best to work for, since that tells you which firms make it easier for the Advisor’s to do their jobs.  I’m happy where I am at but have noplace else to compare it to.

[quote=iceco1d]

I don’t think your question can be answered as stated. It might be best to list the firms that are “worth a look” in each channel.

I don’t suggest any ranking… Just like i don’t suggest looking at top funds of 2008… Rankings are for media and idiot investors…

[quote=chief123]I don’t suggest any ranking… Just like i don’t suggest looking at top funds of 2008… Rankings are for media and idiot investors…

Might be helpful to the guy who asked for the rankings though.

EF Hutton

Dean Witter Reynolds

Salomon Brothers

AG Edwards

Wachovia

Kidder Peabody

Paine Webber

Merrill Lynch

Stanford

Madoff? - Do they count?

[quote=Moraen] [quote=Ron 14] [quote=chief123]I don’t suggest any ranking… Just like i don’t suggest looking at top funds of 2008… Rankings are for media and idiot investors…[/quote]

[quote=Ron 14][quote=Moraen] [quote=Ron 14] [quote=chief123]I don’t suggest any ranking… Just like i don’t suggest looking at top funds of 2008… Rankings are for media and idiot investors…[/quote]

EF Hutton
Dean Witter Reynolds
Salomon Brothers
AG Edwards
Wachovia
Kidder Peabody
Paine Webber
Merrill Lynch
Stanford
Madoff? - Do they count?

B24, Did you get those $1 million accounts doorknocking? Just curious. If so, that’s pretty incredible. 

I have two $1mm+ accounts off doorknocks.  One took very little time, the other took almost 3 years.  And by that time, they guy barely remembered how we met (I actually doorknocked and called his wife a few times, then she finally just gave me his work #).  The first was not a super-wealthy guy.  Just saved a lot in his 401K (and his co. stock did remarkable the past 20 years).  The second guy has more bucks.  Another 450K in his current 401K, some options, a pension, and a few houses.

Firm rankings?

EDJ #1   … Screw the rest!!!