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GP eligibility/selection at EDJ

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Sep 15, 2006 4:44 pm

[quote=noggin]Footsoldier- Your endless yapping reminds me of a person who is not and will not be happy wherever they are. I hope that you find a situation that you can be happy in so that you may be your true contented soul.[/quote]

Noggin...Foot is just getting the "venom" out. This forum is a lot cheaper than therapy, a lot safer than a one-night-stand, more health concsious than over eating, and easier on the head than going out and getting drunk!

Sep 15, 2006 6:07 pm

Foot - for a while I thought you might be an LP.  However, I'm beginning to think I am wrong.  Let me see if I can explain the Jones LP to your simple, one track mind.  I have a $10,000 piece of the LP pie.  I had to put down $2000 for it.  Jones floated a loan for the rest.  Guaranteed me 7.5% interest.  Minimum.  How would your clients like a 7.5% non callable bond?  Paid it off this year without any additional dollars out of my pocket.  Now every month $62.50 goes into my MMKT.   In Oct and Feb they pay out the "equity" portion above the 7.5% guarantee.  As of the end of August that amount is just shy of $1000.  According to the LP page the annualized return for the year is currently 23%.  The downside: it's taxable and I can't compound it.  Instead I'll use the money to fund my Roth, buy new golf clubs, spend it on my next trip.  Whatever I choose.

At this point I have three goals at Jones.  1) Keep raising my income by 40%/yr   2) Get profitable by the next LP offering   3) Work my butt off until I can be one of those evil GPs who know all the secrets of how to make money from mother Jones. 

Hopefully my simple explanation has given you and others some insight into the Jones LP.  Maybe instead of getting the venom out here you should focus more on how you can make yourself profitable enough to get in on the next LP.  Oh yeah, you don't have to take it if they offer it.  Just tell them they can keep the Kool-aid.   

Have a great weekend. - Spiff

Sep 15, 2006 6:56 pm

Spaceman-

Thanks for the laugh before the weekend.

I was beginning to think you took things too seriously but reading your take on LP made me laugh !

Glad you were there to get my share when I departed!

Sep 15, 2006 7:30 pm

SS-

Still qualify for a ROTH. Too bad.

Sep 15, 2006 8:07 pm

SPACEMANSPOOF,

 I don't think I understand.

At this point I have three goals at Jones.  1) Keep raising my income by 40%/yr   2) Get profitable by the next LP offering   3) Work my butt off until I can be one of those evil GPs who know all the secrets of how to make money from mother Jones. 

 If you are not profitable - how do you have the LP you so eloquently explained?

Sep 15, 2006 8:13 pm

By the way when is the next LP offering. Last one that I know of was in 2000.

Sep 15, 2006 8:15 pm

All LP/GP is is a carrot that they dangle over most of the IRs heads for their careers to use them (note, I said use) as a profit center.  Most IRs could care less if they get an offering. 

Sep 16, 2006 1:08 am

SS-

I grant you the internal rate of return is better using other peoples money. At first glance, you have the impression that its such a great deal and then you realize the GP's are charging interest, aren't they?

Also if you ever have a chargeback and they graciously offer to have you pay it back over 3-6 months, at first you think what a great company. And then they send you a form saying you will be paying prime +1.5. Makes me scratch my head who is helping who!

Bring it on, I can't wait to hear how negative I am.

Sep 16, 2006 1:10 am

Forget becoming one of those next, evil GPs. You can bet that it is not

going to happen for you.

Sep 16, 2006 1:33 am

I can’t remember who said it, but from what I have heard from the Jones
guys, all the GPs are from when the firm was young or they knew the
right people in St. Louis. All I can say is don’t fall into the b.s. of
ownership. Some of the top producers at the firm, the few who produce
over a mm, have about 250k+ in a LP, I might be wrong but I would think
that the bonus structure at a wirehouse might be better. There is too
much b.s. to get an LP much less a GP, and the size has got to be
dwindling down significantly b/c of the number of reps, the big GPs
don’t want to hand over their piece of the pie. Weddle made over 4mm
last yr and various other guys I think about 7 or so made several mm as
well, so enough said.

Sep 16, 2006 12:52 pm

I started this thread and have picked up the following:

The chance of any IR becoming a GP is virtually nil.
The expansion of the GP ranks must be tied to the “healthy growth”

    obsession of the firm; i.e., there must be more and more IR’s to

    increase revenues so current GP’s don’t take a revenue cut.
Even among those at Jones there seems to be confusion, if not

    misunderstanding, if not total lack of knowledge of what their true

    compensation is and realistic expectations of what future rewards are.
Spaceman Spiff needs to see a shrink…
Sep 16, 2006 3:03 pm

[quote=midtown]I started this thread and have picked up the following:
1) The chance of any IR becoming a GP is virtually nil.
2) The expansion of the GP ranks must be tied to the "healthy growth"
    obsession of the firm; i.e., there must be more and more IR's to
    increase revenues so current GP's don't take a revenue cut.
3) Even among those at Jones there seems to be confusion, if not
    misunderstanding, if not total lack of knowledge of what their true
    compensation is and realistic expectations of what future rewards are.
4) Spaceman Spiff needs to see a shrink...
[/quote]

1.I agree with you.

2. I don't think the GP's ranks will be increased significantly in the next few years.

3. I think most reasonable IR's do understand their compensation.

4. Spaceman may be naive but he certainly doesn't need a shrink. Without a doubt, Footsoldier does however.

Sep 16, 2006 4:42 pm

Noggin-

You must still be with the mother ship. Congrats on your ability to tune out to the real world outside.

Sep 16, 2006 5:01 pm
noggin:

[quote=midtown]I started this thread and have picked up the following:
1) The chance of any IR becoming a GP is virtually nil.
2) The expansion of the GP ranks must be tied to the “healthy growth”
    obsession of the firm; i.e., there must be more and more IR’s to
    increase revenues so current GP’s don’t take a revenue cut.
3) Even among those at Jones there seems to be confusion, if not
    misunderstanding, if not total lack of knowledge of what their true
    compensation is and realistic expectations of what future rewards are.
4) Spaceman Spiff needs to see a shrink…

1.I agree with you.

2. I don't think the GP's ranks will be increased significantly in the next few years.

3. I think most reasonable IR's do understand their compensation.

4. Spaceman may be naive but he certainly doesn't need a shrink. Without a doubt, Footsoldier does however.[/quote]

From an outsider's perspective...

1.  We're unanimous here...obviously there are relatively few of these, and there's at least some among the ranks that believe the selection process is not a fair one.  I tend to agree with that.

2.  I agree that the GP ranks will see very little increase.  It may be that new GPs are added only when a GP leaves.

3.  I have a hard time believing that reasonably intelligent advisors don't understand how they're paid.  That being said, I can think of at least a couple Jones reps I know that are probably clueless...

4.  I've spoken with Footsoldier and I'd count him among the more intelligent and ethical Jones reps I've spoken to.  He's entitled to his views and I believe that he'll make the jump out when the time is right.  I also believe that he'll be a successful indy and a much happier person.  I completely agree with moving when the time is right, and obviously Foot isn't there yet.  Spiff is, as you say, a bit naive, although I think he means well.

My disclaimer...although I've been recruited at various times in my career by three highly successful Jones advisors, I've never worked there, so my impressions are built solely on observation, this forum, and what my Jones friends tell me.  Obviously, these impressions can be inaccurate...but I don't believe them to be far from the truth.

Sep 16, 2006 6:04 pm

[quote=DRAPALA]

 If you are not profitable - how do you have the LP you so eloquently explained?

[/quote]

There were some people offered in 2003 who had no profit.  In fact, some with no profit were offered more than those who had a profit.  That's when I hit the door.  I had always been told that the #1 criteria in determining LP was profitablility.  When the GPs violated their own #1 criteria to take care of who they wanted to take care of, I figured out that you couldn't rely on or trust anything that they said. 

Sep 16, 2006 7:38 pm
Soothsayer:

[quote=DRAPALA] If you are not profitable - how do you have the LP you so eloquently explained?

There were some people offered in 2003 who had no profit.  In fact, some with no profit were offered more than those who had a profit.  That's when I hit the door.  I had always been told that the #1 criteria in determining LP was profitablility.  When the GPs violated their own #1 criteria to take care of who they wanted to take care of, I figured out that you couldn't rely on or trust anything that they said.[/quote]

Here you have exhibit 1 as to why there are a lot of angry ex-Jonsers here.

Sep 16, 2006 11:31 pm

[QUOTE]


There were some people offered in 2003 who had no profit. In fact, some
with no profit were offered more than those who had a profit. That's when I
hit the door. I had always been told that the #1 criteria in determining LP
was profitablility. When the GPs violated their own #1 criteria to take care of
who they wanted to take care of, I figured out that you couldn't rely on or
trust anything that they said.


[/quote]


As far as I know there hasn't been an LP offering since 2000! Although
this "firm" has informed the SEC that they are looking at offering an LP this
year there it can always be recalled.

Sep 18, 2006 9:29 pm

The question about my LP is simple.  I was a home office employee for about 5 years before I jumped to the field.  I might have actually trained footsoldier in his early days.  I got my first LP in 2000.  I was one of the people they offered the LP to in 2003 even though I wasn't profitable.  I hadn't been out of the home office very long and my GP back there took care of me.  Jones could have said too bad,  your office isn't profitable, so thanks for the hard work, but you don't get to play this time.   

I don't need a shrink and he says I can stop coming to see him in just a couple more sessions. 

I have no misconceptions about how the LP/GP works at Jones.  I know there are a lot of different compensation structures out there.  Jones may not be the best, but is far from the worst.  Foot just seems so dissatisfied with Jones that he's willing to vent the "anti-Koolaid" talk, I figured someone might want to actually try to explain how the LP really works.  I know the GP position may be pie in the sky for a lot of Jones IRs, but so are the top exec jobs for whatever company you are in.  It's all politics when you start looking at those positions.  I envy some of the indies at times becase they only have to think about their own office politics.  But then that's why they're indy. 

Finally, BrokerRecruit, you are flat wrong about Jones IRs not caring about ever getting an LP offering.   For those of us who are at Jones because we like it here, LP is VERY important. 

Sep 18, 2006 9:34 pm

Oh yeah, Foot - you may want to check the eligibilty limits on the Roth IRA.  Especially if you’re MFJ.  I’ll be you can put in just as much as I can

Sep 19, 2006 4:15 am

[quote=Spaceman Spiff]

I was one of the people they offered the LP to in 2003 even though I wasn't profitable. 

[/quote]

I've heard many times that this assumption or rumor is just that.  Here is the proof in black and white.