That is some great stuff. Its not only my numbers that are frustrating me. I have talked to others in my region and we can see everyones production numbers via our regional newsletter. 5 yrs in without taking over an existing office the top dude/gal is doing 22k gross. What I am saying is this industry (especially EJ with the lowest in salary help) is difficult to succeed in if you dont take over assets or have a natural network.

  B24 - You are truly a punk. You sit on this site and act like some big EJ producer, which you obviously are not because you are always posting, and defend everything Jones does.  Just because you are bent over your regional leaders desk each month and you are too big of a pud to make a change ( probably because your wife won't let you) doesnt mean you have to rip everyone who leaves. I know you are probably 6 yrs out, barely Seg 4, licking every rear you can see to get your 20k in LP next time around so you can tell your friends and family you are a "Partner" in the firm.  Most long term Jones guys are hard workers without an original thought and you are that guy.  Dont be angry because I feel I can find a place that will put me in a better position to make real money. An advisor can find success in this business without door knocking and blowing guys in the stall at chamber after hours.

Ytr-

I would have figured by the 11th time I was full of shit.

15 years in THIS INDUSTRY.   STFU

YTR-

I got handed a big fat zero.  I'll bet most people here got the same or less than me.   Your post earlier....Yogi would be so proud.   9 years at Jones chump. 4 years indy/insurance based prior and now 2 years indy both fee based and transactional. My comments are meaningless to you because you haven't had the experience to think for yourself yet in this industry. Your MO is to attack the messenger. The fact you admit you read the posts 12 times might indicate other issues... 

[quote=Ron 14]

That is some great stuff. Its not only my numbers that are frustrating me. I have talked to others in my region and we can see everyones production numbers via our regional newsletter. 5 yrs in without taking over an existing office the top dude/gal is doing 22k gross. What I am saying is this industry (especially EJ with the lowest in salary help) is difficult to succeed in if you dont take over assets or have a natural network.

B24 - You are truly a punk. You sit on this site and act like some big EJ producer, which you obviously are not because you are always posting, and defend everything Jones does. Just because you are bent over your regional leaders desk each month and you are too big of a pud to make a change ( probably because your wife won’t let you) doesnt mean you have to rip everyone who leaves. I know you are probably 6 yrs out, barely Seg 4, licking every rear you can see to get your 20k in LP next time around so you can tell your friends and family you are a “Partner” in the firm. Most long term Jones guys are hard workers without an original thought and you are that guy. Dont be angry because I feel I can find a place that will put me in a better position to make real money. An advisor can find success in this business without door knocking and blowing guys in the stall at chamber after hours. [/quote]

[quote=B24][quote=Ron 14]Spiff and B24 - let me preface this by saying you two guys are usually right on the money and honest about the things that happen at Jones, but my experience with assets being handed out is much much different.

  Since I started 2 years ago not 1 person has made it in my region as a new new. I got a goodknight from afar which provided me with 2mil. Everyone else has done a 10mil goodknight or took over an office of 10mil plus. One guy in my region took over 15 mil and has not brought in 1 single prospect from the area in which he took over the assets, NOT ONE. He is just working with existing clients and walk ins. Obviously, he won't last very long with zero prospecting but he is the new "hero" in the region. Our entire region follows the regional leader around like dogs and what he says goes. Its a miserable environment that most guys don't want to be a part of. If you go your own way you are labeled as not being a "team player." I know this because my goodknight FA pulled me aside to tell me this, along with the fact that I should only wear blue or white shirts, nothing else.   Every region and every RL is different, but there is nothing wrong with being fed up or bitter regarding this type of BS. It is a reality and although EJ has a great culture overall it is difficult to put up with regional crap when you are out there on your own island. EJ isnt really your own business, its more of a franchise and you dont know that until you are a few years in.[/quote]   Geeesh.  That is pretty extreme.  My region is NOTHING like that.  My guess is that your region is much more saturated with offices, and has been around longer.  Our most tenured FA has been with the firm like 17 years, and he was the first office in the state.  So most FA's are in the 6-10 year range in my region.  Very young region.   And FYI, I never once felt that I "owned" my business.  Unlimited income potential, yeah.  I guess because of my background in business, I understood what they meant when they said the opportunity to "run" your own business.  I look at it like being the General Manager of a business, not the owner.  I always felt we were pretty much the same as any other wirehouse or regional other than our office structure.  IMHO, only knuckleheads took the "business owner" thing to the extreme in thinking that they actually owned something.  Anyone that thinks someone else is going to shell out all this money upfront for you to own your own business is just naive.  If I ever gave the impression that I felt that way, then I mispoke.   And to be honest, how other regions are run - I don't really care.  I really only care about myself and how my region operates and how it affects me.  My clients don't know or care that in your region you have to wear a blue suit or go to productivity meetings all the time.  To be honest, if I were in your region, and what you say is really true, I probably would have left years ago (or maybe after my 3 years if I stayed in the business).  Although, and not to put down you or anyone else, I am a bit more "thick skinned" when it comes to business than most people, and I don't take much crap from people above me or beside me.  Years in a very tough corporate environment de-sensitized me to that stuff.  So how they prop up the "new guy that got a 15mm office" sort of whining - doesn't really get to me.  I have to build my own business, not worry about what other little piss-ants got handed to them.  So unless someone is inhibiting my ability to build my business my way, I could care less.[/quote]     Also B24 what do you mean by lack of production? You dont even know my numbers. Mine probably wouldnt make the cut at ML or SB but they are just fine for EJ.

noggin:

[quote=Spaceman Spiff][quote=noggin]Paducah,KY need I say more.

  I know a couple of the people that took chunks of that office when David Lane left.  But you probably have some feelings on the issue, so before I tell you what I know, I'd like to hear what you think about the split of David's office.    I will say that the history of that office is a great story.  Paducah used to have one advisor.  Tom Bartow.  Then David Lane came in and instead of sitting on his butt and managing a $100 mil office, he darn near tripled the AUM while he was there.  Today there are 11 offices in that town.  And Jones has an almost unheard of 8% market share.  Those Jones FAs are just shy of $500 MM in AUM cumulatively in that county.  Not too shabby considering that David could have had a really good life just calling his inherited clients and taking the trails as they roll in.    Would it have pissed you off more if they just would have picked someone from the home office to come out and take over the whole office?    [/quote] Spiff- The version that I have heard is this. BTW, I have gone to a Bartow session before and he is not a guy I like but DEFINITELY a guy that can teach you how to do the work.  I heard that there was a lot of posturing and several guys out 4-7 years that could have used more assets but instead of making that decision they opted to split the assets up and bring 2 guys into town that were in the PASS program. I find that Jones many times has a habit of rewarding the PASS program rather than the people who have actually shown that they can build a business. I think the history of the Paducah market is nothing short of impressive penetration but I would imagine that the region has some issues.  [/quote]   OK, let's stick with this Paducah issue.  I don't know the whole story, just like you don't, but I do know that they did a couple of things.  One, they split up a huge book between lots of different FAs.  One was the guy I know.  He took over about $90MM if I remember my facts correctly.  He was not a PASS program guy, but he wasn't straight from HQ either.  They took him out of his office here in the STL area and transplanted him down there.  He was from Paducah and knew David.  I think that was in the cards the whole time.    Now, they could have split the office 9 different ways, but when you do that you upset client's expectations.  See, when you're a client in my office, you expect to come to this office and see me.  What if I leave?  Do you also expect to have to start going across town to see another guy?  Or do you expect to work with the new guy in that office?  It might upset me a little if all of a sudden I have to go to a new office AND talk to a new guy.  They're already upset that David left, now they have to try to find that new office too.  Granted, Paducah isn't a huge metropolis, but still it's one more change that clients have to deal with.    Jones has to look at a lot of different issues, so I'm sure it's not always the ideal situation when these mega offices get split up.  Nor is it perfect when they assign an FA to a regular sized open office.  And I share your frustration about the guy who was handed a big office all of a sudden becoming the region superstar.  Nothing bugs me more than to hear the guy who took over $50MM talk about how he "built his business."  Talk about portfolio construction or technology, but don't talk to me about doorknocking if you didn't do it for more than 3 weeks.    The PASS program is a different deal.  In my area those guys might get $10MM if they're lucky.  I know that if they are willing to move they might get more than that.  That's the purpose of that program.  Jones doesn't move client assets around from office to office very often.  So, just because the office 250 yards away from me (I'm not kidding) doesn't have an FA, but does have $40MM, doesn't mean that I'm gonna get it.  Chances are some new FA or someone from the PASS program is going to walk into a sweet deal.  Sucks for me, but good for him.  It is what it is. 

Spaceman Spiff:

[quote=noggin][quote=Spaceman Spiff][quote=noggin]Paducah,KY need I say more.

  I know a couple of the people that took chunks of that office when David Lane left.  But you probably have some feelings on the issue, so before I tell you what I know, I'd like to hear what you think about the split of David's office.    I will say that the history of that office is a great story.  Paducah used to have one advisor.  Tom Bartow.  Then David Lane came in and instead of sitting on his butt and managing a $100 mil office, he darn near tripled the AUM while he was there.  Today there are 11 offices in that town.  And Jones has an almost unheard of 8% market share.  Those Jones FAs are just shy of $500 MM in AUM cumulatively in that county.  Not too shabby considering that David could have had a really good life just calling his inherited clients and taking the trails as they roll in.    Would it have pissed you off more if they just would have picked someone from the home office to come out and take over the whole office?    [/quote] Spiff- The version that I have heard is this. BTW, I have gone to a Bartow session before and he is not a guy I like but DEFINITELY a guy that can teach you how to do the work.  I heard that there was a lot of posturing and several guys out 4-7 years that could have used more assets but instead of making that decision they opted to split the assets up and bring 2 guys into town that were in the PASS program. I find that Jones many times has a habit of rewarding the PASS program rather than the people who have actually shown that they can build a business. I think the history of the Paducah market is nothing short of impressive penetration but I would imagine that the region has some issues.  [/quote]   OK, let's stick with this Paducah issue.  I don't know the whole story, just like you don't, but I do know that they did a couple of things.  One, they split up a huge book between lots of different FAs.  One was the guy I know.  He took over about $90MM if I remember my facts correctly.  He was not a PASS program guy, but he wasn't straight from HQ either.  They took him out of his office here in the STL area and transplanted him down there.  He was from Paducah and knew David.  I think that was in the cards the whole time.    Now, they could have split the office 9 different ways, but when you do that you upset client's expectations.  See, when you're a client in my office, you expect to come to this office and see me.  What if I leave?  Do you also expect to have to start going across town to see another guy?  Or do you expect to work with the new guy in that office?  It might upset me a little if all of a sudden I have to go to a new office AND talk to a new guy.  They're already upset that David left, now they have to try to find that new office too.  Granted, Paducah isn't a huge metropolis, but still it's one more change that clients have to deal with.    Jones has to look at a lot of different issues, so I'm sure it's not always the ideal situation when these mega offices get split up.  Nor is it perfect when they assign an FA to a regular sized open office.  And I share your frustration about the guy who was handed a big office all of a sudden becoming the region superstar.  Nothing bugs me more than to hear the guy who took over $50MM talk about how he "built his business."  Talk about portfolio construction or technology, but don't talk to me about doorknocking if you didn't do it for more than 3 weeks.    The PASS program is a different deal.  In my area those guys might get $10MM if they're lucky.  I know that if they are willing to move they might get more than that.  That's the purpose of that program.  Jones doesn't move client assets around from office to office very often.  So, just because the office 250 yards away from me (I'm not kidding) doesn't have an FA, but does have $40MM, doesn't mean that I'm gonna get it.  Chances are some new FA or someone from the PASS program is going to walk into a sweet deal.  Sucks for me, but good for him.  It is what it is.  [/quote] In my Visions class there was a PASS program guy who got a 40M office and was trying to tell all of us how to do things. I finally had to tell him at the wrap up dinner " when you build an office rather than inheriting an office let us know". He stayed quiet the rest of the evening. On the other side I am sure that there are those that go through the PASS program that get very little in assets. Frankly the very reason that they are in the PASS program is that they either are very young, 1st job or they failed at an office and a regional leader went to bat for them. So one of the guys wasn't from the home office, wasn't in the PASS program, right? What about the other guy? The guy that came down that had an office in St L, I am betting he had less than 15M right? Tell the whole story, now you can do it.....

Bloomington, MN... Need I say more? 

Oops, that's right, it wasn't a top five office at the Green House but probably a top 1000, say top 10%, with about $90mm in assets so who'd ever know?   On Monday November 19, 2007 a 14 year vet drops dead at age 65. By the end of the week two "new" FAs are in his office, the most veteran one was licensed for 7 months and the other one licensed for 90 days.  Gee as a client of a 65 year old guy with a decade and a half's experience, how am I going to feel about dealing with a kid who was in junior high when I started doing business with my recently deceased FA? IS THIS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE CLIENTS?  Heck no, but it's a non-competitive situation and dead men dont mind.  Congratulations KIDDIES, you really won a lottery.  His obituary stated  he "took great pride in his successful career as a financial advisor for edward Jones where his clients became friends and his associates became family to him" and asked "In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made in your own IRA in his honor."    By the way, what did his widow get?  Some flowers and a kind word... Boy we're really gonna miss ol whatshisname".    Now he can rest in peace (or spin in his grave).