SSDD at Jones

Jones has a study and a number for everything.  I wonder how many leave that built book from scratch, in the business 5 years with 25MM AUM and say “See Ya” when they hear that one more time. Why can’t they figure out that they alienate FA’s with this BS. 

Oh, and what a tool the departing FA must be.  80MM and he does a legacy program.  Thats the guy I want advising me on retirement.  Can’t figure his own life out.

Was he barred from the industry?

Is there a bogey to hit to avoid these meetings?  I always thought that co. meetings were pretty pointless, now the car rides to and fro I learned a TON.

Haha, I realize with the Jones model of individual offices it is impossible to keep things fair, but to parade them at regional meetings is tacky.  Don’t forget these things happen in wirehouses and banks too, not just Jones. 

The FA is a nice guy, took over from a retiring FA, so a good chunk of his income goes to the retiree. No problem with that. It’s just the lies and manipulation involved with using a situation like this as a good example to the rest of us. I’m learning how few FA’s actually made it as new-new’s. Yet they still pound the cold calling as if it’s the only way to play. Unless I hear something new soon, I’m going to skip these meetings. I’ll just sit in my office and tell myself how good looking I am and how long my d–k is. If I’m going to be lied to, it may as well be pleasant lies.

Speaking of lying, a Legacy Program does not share any assets at all.  Just office space.  A desk with a phone and a connection for a laptop.  Maybe you misspoke when you typed “Legacy”.  Maybe not.

[quote]Oh, and what a tool the departing FA must be.  80MM and he does a legacy program.  Thats the guy I want advising me on retirement.  Can’t figure his own life out.[/quote] 
 
Why do you think he’s a tool?  He figured out that he can basically retire, hand the daily tasks of running the the office to a noob who is THRILLED to do the work because there’s an $80MM book at the end of the rainbow, take a couple of trips, and get paid to do it.  That’s being a tool?  He figured out how to improve his life and his bank account at the same time.  That’s exactly the guy I want tell me how to retire. 

Blah, blah, blah, navet. Stop crying about those of us who got to take over a book. Now for the rest of my career, whenever I have a great month you will say it is because I took over a big book. Bravo to the newb with a $37K month! I bet he’s not just sitting in his office telling himself how good-looking he is. Even with an 80M book, the money doesn’t make itself, the guy is working.

Blah, blah, blah, navet. Stop crying about those of us who got to take over a book. Now for the rest of my career, whenever I have a great month you will say it is because I took over a big book. Bravo to the newb with a $37K month! I bet he’s not just sitting in his office telling himself how good-looking he is. Even with an 80M book, the money doesn’t make itself, the guy is working.

 Bull.

First of all.  ytrewq is right about the legacy.  Get a better lie.
Now, if he did take over an $80 million book, he is not doing the same “work” as scratch starters or even someone who took over a $10 million book.  Rickchick, I don’t know how long you’ve been producing, but you can’t compare yourself to scratch starters like ytrewq.  $80 million is a HUGE leg up.  Don’t delude yourself.

No one cares that you took over an $80 million book.  Just don’t talk about how you are “killing it” as a new FA, and don’t let the regional leadership team bring you out talking about how great you are.  Because you are not.  You are doing the work of a Seg4 or Seg5 FA, not a Seg 1-3. 

[quote][quote]Oh, and what a tool the departing FA must be.  80MM and he does a legacy program.  Thats the guy I want advising me on retirement.  Can’t figure his own life out.[/quote]  
 
Why do you think he’s a tool?  He figured out that he can basically retire, hand the daily tasks of running the the office to a noob who is THRILLED to do the work because there’s an $80MM book at the end of the rainbow, take a couple of trips, and get paid to do it.  That’s being a tool?  He figured out how to improve his life and his bank account at the same time.  That’s exactly the guy I want tell me how to retire. [/quote]
And then this would also be the guy telling you that you are spending too much maney because your income just dropped off.  Come on, you know that the value of that book is HUGE and what he gets over the next couple years is less than 10% of what he could get. 

Blah, blah, blah, navet. Stop crying about those of us who got to take over a book. Now for the rest of my career, whenever I have a great month you will say it is because I took over a big book. Bravo to the newb with a $37K month! I bet he’s not just sitting in his office telling himself how good-looking he is. Even with an 80M book, the money doesn’t make itself, the guy is working.

 This is not working.  Half of that is trails and the rest is just money that is sitting needing to be invested.  I look at it as if he left money on the table.  That is a bad month for someone with 45MM book.  Maybe the newbies look in amazement but any body who has made it to Seg 2 will look at this as a failure.
I guess the motivational peice here is to keep the newbies holding on with the hope of taking over an office.

[quote][quote]Blah, blah, blah, navet. Stop crying about those of us who got to take over a book. Now for the rest of my career, whenever I have a great month you will say it is because I took over a big book. Bravo to the newb with a $37K month! I bet he’s not just sitting in his office telling himself how good-looking he is. Even with an 80M book, the money doesn’t make itself, the guy is working.[/quote] 
 Bull.

First of all.  ytrewq is right about the legacy.  Get a better lie.
Now, if he did take over an $80 million book, he is not doing the same “work” as scratch starters or even someone who took over a $10 million book.  Rickchick, I don’t know how long you’ve been producing, but you can’t compare yourself to scratch starters like ytrewq.  $80 million is a HUGE leg up.  Don’t delude yourself.

No one cares that you took over an $80 million book.  Just don’t talk about how you are “killing it” as a new FA, and don’t let the regional leadership team bring you out talking about how great you are.  Because you are not.  You are doing the work of a Seg4 or Seg5 FA, not a Seg 1-3. [/quote]
I agree with Mo.  I have no problem with someone taking over a book.  Someone has to do it.  And that person may turn an average book into gold.  But I think the disconnect with Jones is that they have guys out 2 or 3 or 4 years that were given a 30-50mm book, telling new/new’s what they need to do to succeed.  So if that guy really turned that book into gold, he should be talking to the seg 3 or 4 guy that’s been stagnated for 5-8 years not able to grow their existing books.  Maybe he’s a wiz at time management or he’s been successful with incorporating insurance or long-term care into his practice.  Or maybe he’s got a great process for touching all his clients, or garnering referrals.  Share that with other FA’s with 30-50mm books.  But why would you demoralize someone with a $2mm book by telling them how they can do a $30K month if they “just do what Joe does”?  It makes no sense.
A perfect example…in my region, a guy in his early 30’s got a $40mm GK from his dad.  Both really nice guys.  Very humble.  He turned that $40mm book into gold.  His dad never did insurance, so he bascialyl started hitting everyone with insurance.  Most of these clients were neglected.  He started touching all of them.  He’s got a GREAT process for managing his clients.  So they now have him doing seg 3 leader stuff.  It makes sense.  Help other guys with similar books get to the next level.  At $30mm+ AUM it starts to become about process, work habits and consistency.  If there is someone that can help teach you that, that’s helpful.  But you can’t have the $1mm producer talk to newbies about ILIT’s and defined benefit plans. 

Is it possible that there just aren’t that many new/new success stories to share, so they have to get these guys as “You Can Do It!” guys?

Is it possible that there just aren’t that many new/new success stories to share, so they have to get these guys as “You Can Do It!” guys?

There is always at least one guy that is succeeding as a new/new (at least there used to be).

I thought the whole new philosophy was that no one starts from scratch and that they were all given assets. Scratch starters that have a backbone at all will always get offended by an asset inheritor being rolled out as the wunderkid. It’s in their DNA… But they keep doing it…

Let me get this right. Let’s say you retire from Jones with a $80 million book. You don’t get any income from that book? What kind of an idiot would stay with Jones then? And where do you line up to get that book?

OK, never mind the above post. The newbie was in a Succession plan. It’s not like Jones teaches about these plans to newer reps. Real nice deal for the newbie. No problems with him. I just don’t think it’s a propper example for those of us who are stuck on tiera firma.

Their retirement package is fairly identical to the wirehouses (or at least the merrill deal the last I heard).  You get paid 70%, 50%, 30%, 15% of production over 4 years.  Plus you retain benefits over the first 3 years (year 4 is a “consultant fee”). 

And you commit suicide in Year 5?

[quote]And you commit suicide in Year 5? [/quote] 
Huh?  It’s more a retirement plan.  You’re 62, been in the biz for 30 years and want to phase out without losing all the income and benefits right away.  Brings on an experienced FA (I think they require an existing Jones FA with 3 years and meeting standards), starts working with clients, and you transition out.  Jones says you need to work “in relation to the % of prodcution” you earn.  But from what I hear, most just stick around for 6 months to help ease the transition for clients, then sail off into the sunset.

[quote]

Sail off into the sunset like an eldery eskimo on an ice flow?

WB, I think you’ve been throwing back too many cocktails.

For the record, I am not comparing myself with a scratch-starter. I agree that FAs taking over offices shouldn’t be “paraded around” etc, etc, at regional meetings, and agree with B24 that we have entirely different goals and obstacles than newnews. Everyone has a different story, but the book that I took over was a MESS with severely disgruntled clients,  and with the book I also inherited a maniacal BOA. The extra money I made my first year was spent on anti-anxiety meds.  I’m running from a train vs. pushing a boulder up a mountain.  Yes more money, but still a lot of work and stress. My point is that sitting around being a self-indulgent whiner (navet) doesn’t make any money or create clients. Not a lot of potential in this business for an easily bruised ego.

[quote]For the record, I am not comparing myself with a scratch-starter. I agree that FAs taking over offices shouldn’t be “paraded around” etc, etc, at regional meetings, and agree with B24 that we have entirely different goals and obstacles than newnews. Everyone has a different story, but the book that I took over was a MESS with severely disgruntled clients,  and with the book I also inherited a maniacal BOA. The extra money I made my first year was spent on anti-anxiety meds.  I’m running from a train vs. pushing a boulder up a mountain.  Yes more money, but still a lot of work and stress. My point is that sitting around being a self-indulgent whiner (navet) doesn’t make any money or create clients. Not a lot of potential in this business for an easily bruised ego.[/quote] 
Is that you, Karen?

Me, a self indulgent whiner? You’re the pussy who needs medication in order to handle the terrible stress of having a large book handed to you. What a fiasco, guaranteed income! It’s so hard to make that money! I’ll bet you were the kid who’s mantra was, It’s just not fair! The sad thing is that Jones rewards losers like you.Sadder still, they use you as some kind of example.

Ahhhh, a good Jones bashing thread...this is finally starting to feel like home...

(yeah, the emoticons are kind of lame...)

navet's doing it all wrong

Rich Chick - You shouldn't call anyone a whiner. no one gives a Rat's A** if you think it was difficult to manage a big book thrown your way. You won't earn any points acting like a tough guy when you never built a book.

On another note the worst thing isn't the money you make that real newbies don't immediately make or the book you are GIVEN. It (for me) comes down to 3 points that I will never forget about this situation. 

A. The quality of lifestyle. (you call clients all day, real newbies(taken over at least less than 10 or 15 million) are calling prospects. COMPLETELY DIFFERENT JOB ALTOGETHER).

B. Earning trips that I deserve and you don't. (When I was new, I knew I was the footsoldier of the firm. Yet trips were going to people like this OP stated. What did that FA do? Nothing but call excisting clients. Yet I was building Edward Jones' book (unfortunately it is theirs legally). I was the one doing the work and you were the one having 4 happy little appointments everyday and thinking you were working hard.

C. Listening to you tell me how you did so good "It all just came together" sound familiar?

Good thing about it NAVET, is that I have been through it all. I love going on D trips and seeing some newbie who earned his first trip and asking him if they think it is harder to build a new business now or before 2008.... And watching them explain that they took over an opportunity, of course they discount what they took, and defend that they really do work.... Seriously it is funny to me now but so hard to deal with when I was new... hope that helps!!!! At the end of the day you will pass each and every one of these guys. I promise.

The point I want to make is this. There is nothing wrong with inheriting a big book. More power to you. I'd take it. The issue is treating these FA's like some type of hero and parading them around as if they built that book themselves. It can't help but build resentment, and hurt teamwork. And unfortunately, it's very common. So, to quote that character from SNL, "STOP IT"!!!!!

I am 1 year into a 3 yr succession plan (3rd year is the "consulting" year) and I feel guilty taking the position after reading this post. A succession plan is nothing like going New/New. The big difference comes down to prospecting. If there is a day or a week where I don't feel up to going out doorknocking, I don't have to. New/News don't have that luxury. A Regional Leader would be stupid to have a succession plan person as a Seg 1 or 2 leader. We just can't relate to most new FAs. BTW, If a succession plan person grossed $37000 in a month, the branch would need to gross around $120k that month. Succeeding FAs take 30% during the first year, unless the commission is generated from a new client. Succeeding FAs take 70% of the commission from new clients and the remaining 30% goes to the retiring Advisor. I make the mistake of taking my good fortune for granted. After reading this thread, I am going to force myself to go out and doorknock tomorrow.