EDJ-Bonuses

Jun 18, 2008 8:49 pm

I'm curious as to how the new account bonuses, and milestone bonuses work at Edward Jones. I've read on here they are next to impossible to get, but with out them I don't see where $45+ first year is possible. Can I get a breakdown of you have to do to earn these?

Jun 18, 2008 8:59 pm

New account bonuses come after every 5 households each month (funded households).  They are tough to get, but doable.  I would not figure on much income from those.

  The milestone bonuses are very achievable.  I have done slightly above average ("Exceeding" expectations) and hit every milestone bonus.  They can amount up to $37K over your first 3 years (basically works out to an extra $1K net per month).  If you are not hitting those, your business is not doing very well.  If you don't hit ANY of them, you will probably not make it anyway.  If you consistently hit them, business is going well.  All you have to do is be at 100% of expectations (which are not very high hurdles, in my opinion).
Jun 18, 2008 9:05 pm

And by the way, if you don’t make 45K your first full year in production, there is no way you will make it in this business.  If you hit 100% of expectations, even at the lowest hurdles (new/new), you would make like 50-65K your first year (with salary + milestone bonus).  However, if you don’t generate any gross, you will be out of a job, so you won’t have to worry about the income. 

Jun 18, 2008 9:15 pm

[quote=Broker24]New account bonuses come after every 5 households each month (funded households).  They are tough to get, but doable.  I would not figure on much income from those.

 [/quote] Funded households? Does that mean signing up 5 accounts from 5 different households? How many should one be hitting?   I'm continuing to take a very serious look at making the move, but I want to make sure I have the liquidity to do so.
Jun 19, 2008 6:24 am

Yes the accounts have to be different households.  To be considered funded the account must generate $100 in commissions or have a balance of at least 10M.  Every month the count starts over too.

Jun 19, 2008 10:49 am

River, again, don’t count on much from the new account bonuses. It seems easy at first, but in reality it is not. Yes, you can get a few of them, but it won’t amount to much unless your opening 5-10 households a month (no, not DCA ROTH’s, real households with assets). I have had months where I opened tons of accounts, but many of those are SIMPLE’s. which count as one household. I would suggest you ignore the new-account bonuses (until you actually start working, then try to hit them). I have not heard of many people that earn very much from them (at least not enough to make a big difference).



Now, if you are transferring from another firm, and you are transferring clients over, this number actually could be huge. But I don’t know your circumstances. Good friend of mine xfered from AGE a few years ago, and he brought over tons of accounts, and he made several thousand $$ net each month for the first 6 months doing transfers, opening new accounts, etc.

Jun 19, 2008 2:33 pm

I believe that transfer agents are no longer eligible for New Account bonuses.

  As for the milestone bonuses, the first 2 are very doable and then they get a tad higher.  If you are starting new-new, you need 25m production in your first 9 months (assuming it hits in the right months) and you'll make your base salary (around 15k for 9 months) + 9k bonuses, + 10k commissions.  34k in the first nine months if you're slightly above average.    
Jun 19, 2008 6:46 pm

River, Hows the car business? I just bought a new 2008 Roadtrek van, I love it.

  PS. How many people are on your buddy list?
Jun 19, 2008 7:36 pm

[quote=saul4paul]River, Hows the car business? I just bought a new 2008 Roadtrek van, I love it.

  PS. How many people are on your buddy list?[/quote] Saul, I have no buddies on hear and that's sad. Our company has been feeling the hit of the subprime mess and the economic down turn for some time now. However, until about six weeks ago my store had been kicking butt. Year over year our numbers are still better than last year, but if the last six weeks are a sign of things to come then things will soon get ugly.
Jun 20, 2008 1:13 am

A big thanks to Broker 24, Eyetattoo, Chaz, who are sharing their knowledge an experience.  I’m still in training at Jones, and will be knocking on doors soon.  Of course I want to hit as many bonuses/milestones etc (in all the various forms) as I can.  Fortunatly, I don’t NEED to to keep myself alive.  I’ve made quite sure that I have enough cash in the bank to cover my expenses for quite a while before I made the career change.  I want to hit as many of those goals as I can because I want to build a successful business in the medium-longterm; not because I would get paid a few bucks more this month.  I view the goals as a good marker of my progress towards longterm success.

Sorry for all the babble…my question boils down to this.  A lot of the Jones literature talks about “100% of expectations”.  Can somebody tell me what “100% of expectations” currently is…say for a new/new, or someone 3 or 5 years down the road?  Salary charts and bonus schedules are all interesting…but if they are based on “expectations”, I would like to know what that means in numbers.

A big thanks to all those who contribute.


Jun 20, 2008 1:37 pm

Hi Jones UK:

I just looked it up on JonesLink, but this may be good only for U.S. newbies:

The 4-month milestone for new/new is $2,000 average gross commissions per month for months 1-4, with an aggregate of $8,000. The month you first get your can-sell date is Month Zero, so you get a little bit of a head-start toward month one. If you hit it, the bonus is $4,000.

I would say the four-month milestone bonus is really important, because it is at that point (week 17) that you will become eligible for the office.

There is another milestone at 9 months ($5,000), and one every seven months thereafter until the 3 year mark (bonus of $7,000 each).   I agree with you it's important to take the long view and just really worry now about feeding the pipeline, but I think this first milestone bonus may be the most important. But here's what I know - if Jones is going to lay the $$ on the table, I'm going to pick it up.
Jun 20, 2008 5:03 pm

Thanks jtorgerson…that info does help me.  I’m sure the same info applies in the UK as well (all the other numbers they have given are an almost exact currency conversion).  I also have to agree with you - if the bonus money is on the table, take it!  Getting the 4 month bonus and getting on the path to an office is certainly what I will strive for.

Jun 22, 2008 1:38 pm

100% expectations means you have to be exceeding, not just meeting.   If your within the 40%-99% range you are just meeting expectations and will not get the bonus.  However it is very attainiable.

Jun 23, 2008 1:14 pm

For a new/new, they are VERY attainable.