Concerns About Edward Jones

What do you mean “in year three” the new payout grid is rolled out?  Year three from can sell, or what?  What about someone 7 years out at around seg 4 numbers, is my payout going to be cut?  That does not bode well for the firm, if they start tinkering with already-low payouts…

I believe this post completely. IMO there is a fundamental shift in the firm to move it away from the "just run it legally, ethically, and profitably and we'll leave you alone", that I and many others signed up for. There are already good-sized losses in advisors lately and it's accelerating. I can't remember the number exactly, but I remarked to my BOA there was a net loss of 50-60 advisors in the firm just from May to June. Even during the recession, I don't recall seeing net losses of advisors per month that annualize out at around 5%.

Referring to it as the H&R Block of investing is about right. I think the single broker office model is on its way out, too - they are already running prototyle multi-broker "training centers" in larger cities (20 cubicles for calling, a couple conference rooms for appointments). Cookie-cutter "solutions" that keep the regulators away (and coincidentally maximize profit for the firm), are not far away.

Don't get me wrong; the firm has the right to be profitable and to reinvent itself in any way the GPs feel is best for future viability. That's their prerogative as the firm's leadership. I just believe there is a decent sized number of advisors out there who are starting to feel that the rug is being pulled out from under them, and are looking for the exits. Can't wait to see the RegRep's Advisor Satisfaction scores for 2012.

WOW!! All I can say is I am glad I left in September. I was a seg 4, and did not like the new production standards then...Please dont take this wrong Jones is a great company but it has changed ALOT!!!

I also heard that Weddle is from Mars and is helping to plan the invasion as we speak....

Inland - you believe this post completely?  A bit naive, are we?

Frankly, it's overdue that they start raising expectations.  If a broker isn't making more than $20k a month 6 years out there are issues that need to resolved.  The only people that I hear voice concerns about the new standards are those that have gotten fat and lazy doing nothing but dragging down the ROI of the firm for the last decade.  Raising expectations will push brokers to work more to generate more revenue, thus increasing my bonus and LP distribution. 

down the road - I agree, a lot has changed, but just about all of it is for the better.

Anyone watch Burn Notice?  In the intro Bruce Campbell says Spies are a bunch of "whiney (sp) little b!tches".  I think it's fair to say that advisors are too. 

I moved from Jones almost a year ago and never looked back.  So glad I made the transition and am now an independent with TradePMR.  Hulk is right for firms that want advisors making money, unfortunately I saw too many advisors push high commissioned products over other similiar products to increase their production and make more money.  Meanwhile they were calling themselves financial planners, the top sellers were selling annuities or UIT's to get the higher production numbers, yeah for them.  For struggling advisors we were told It's better to sell  Annuities, full load funds at minimum breaks, uits, and insurance(variable).  And when  you rely on commissions for your income and profitability levels the pressure becomes hard to resist.  You start justifying selling a bond UIT instead of an individual bond because you make more on a UIT .  Not that they weren't suitable but they are not always the best for clients, and I can't tell you how often annuities are missold.  It made me mad and although I was bringing in decent assets; I wasn't making enough money to suit the firm.  Nevermind that my colleagues were liquidating accounts at other firms then bringing in cash and reinvesting entire portfolios for their own gain, telling me and their clients that it was better to start fresh.

Good riddance performance charts and little dots!  Love my job as a true finanical planner, no incentive for me to sell anything except what's appropriate and good for clients.  I have support through TradePMR and other independents, and lowered my cost of doing business.

 The amazing part was as an independent fee only advisor, CPA's and attorneys respect my business more now(don't forget they get to see those 1099's and broker moves) .  I'm receiving referrals more frequently and consistently than I did working at Jones.

As a salesperson, Jones is a great world for you.  They make it easy, you don't need to know anything about planning, heck with the way they are going you don't need to know anything about investing.  I wish you the best because Jones is far better than other firms, they limit what is sold.  But don't knock those that have stepped out or are thinking about it, not everyone that leaves because of the changing climate at Jones is lazy.  I would argue it's the other way around.

I moved from Jones almost a year ago and never looked back.  So glad I made the transition and am now an independent with TradePMR.  Hulk is right for firms that want advisors making money, unfortunately I saw too many advisors push high commissioned products over other similiar products to increase their production and make more money.  Meanwhile they were calling themselves financial planners, the top sellers were selling annuities or UIT's to get the higher production numbers, yeah for them.  For struggling advisors we were told It's better to sell  Annuities, full load funds at minimum breaks, uits, and insurance(variable).  And when  you rely on commissions for your income and profitability levels the pressure becomes hard to resist.  You start justifying selling a bond UIT instead of an individual bond because you make more on a UIT .  Not that they weren't suitable but they are not always the best for clients, and I can't tell you how often annuities are missold.  It made me mad and although I was bringing in decent assets; I wasn't making enough money to suit the firm.  Nevermind that my colleagues were liquidating accounts at other firms then bringing in cash and reinvesting entire portfolios for their own gain, telling me and their clients that it was better to start fresh.

Good riddance performance charts and little dots!  Love my job as a true finanical planner, no incentive for me to sell anything except what's appropriate and good for clients.  I have support through TradePMR and other independents, and lowered my cost of doing business.

 The amazing part was as an independent fee only advisor, CPA's and attorneys respect my business more now(don't forget they get to see those 1099's and broker moves) .  I'm receiving referrals more frequently and consistently than I did working at Jones.

As a salesperson, Jones is a great world for you.  They make it easy, you don't need to know anything about planning, heck with the way they are going you don't need to know anything about investing.  I wish you the best because Jones is far better than other firms, they limit what is sold.  But don't knock those that have stepped out or are thinking about it, not everyone that leaves because of the changing climate at Jones is lazy.  I would argue it's the other way around.

I moved from Jones almost a year ago and never looked back.  So glad I made the transition and am now an independent with TradePMR.  Hulk is right for firms that want advisors making money, unfortunately I saw too many advisors push high commissioned products over other similiar products to increase their production and make more money.  Meanwhile they were calling themselves financial planners, the top sellers were selling annuities or UIT's to get the higher production numbers, yeah for them.  For struggling advisors we were told It's better to sell  Annuities, full load funds at minimum breaks, uits, and insurance(variable).  And when  you rely on commissions for your income and profitability levels the pressure becomes hard to resist.  You start justifying selling a bond UIT instead of an individual bond because you make more on a UIT .  Not that they weren't suitable but they are not always the best for clients, and I can't tell you how often annuities are missold.  It made me mad and although I was bringing in decent assets; I wasn't making enough money to suit the firm.  Nevermind that my colleagues were liquidating accounts at other firms then bringing in cash and reinvesting entire portfolios for their own gain, telling me and their clients that it was better to start fresh.

Good riddance performance charts and little dots!  Love my job as a true finanical planner, no incentive for me to sell anything except what's appropriate and good for clients.  I have support through TradePMR and other independents, and lowered my cost of doing business.

 The amazing part was as an independent fee only advisor, CPA's and attorneys respect my business more now(don't forget they get to see those 1099's and broker moves) .  I'm receiving referrals more frequently and consistently than I did working at Jones.

As a salesperson, Jones is a great world for you.  They make it easy, you don't need to know anything about planning, heck with the way they are going you don't need to know anything about investing.  I wish you the best because Jones is far better than other firms, they limit what is sold.  But don't knock those that have stepped out or are thinking about it, not everyone that leaves because of the changing climate at Jones is lazy.  I would argue it's the other way around.

To the 2 "Roads":

What percentage of your clients followed you from edj and made the switch with you? and what difficulties did you encounter with the noncompete legal hurdles?

@ Road:

Your observations about the firm are spot on.

I saw that with my own eyes, too. In fact, having the account transfer over in cash, instead of in-kind, was one of the first "tricks of the trade" taught to me in my region. I was told it makes things less complicated when dealing with field supervision.

And yes, annuities are pretty common. I was told you really can't advance the segments unless you continually "deepen the client relationships" i.e. sell more things to your current clients.

That isn't planning. That's bait and switch IMO.

@ Hulk

Naive? Hardly my friend. I don't know if you are at Jones or when you left, but those of us talking here have seen significant changes in the firm just recently, that make it a fundamentally different place. And I don't really mind - like Curious, it just made me finally step up and take on the challenge of going indy.

OK enough thinking for yourself.  Just go sell some more American Funds.

I've been at jones for a decade.  Again, I agree lots of things have changed.  Again, I say for the most part they are positivies.  Apparently you disagree.  I don't really care one way or another.  As far as the naive comment, I stand by it.  If you really believe that Jones is only going to allow us to sell prepackaged portfolios then you are naive.  No more Muni bonds, really?  What are they going to do with all those "key" plaques?  No more corporate bonds, really?  So, no estate feature bonds for my clients anymore?  Another guy said that all we do is push annuities.  If that's the case then how does that fit in here?  I believe naive is an appropriate description.  I thought better of using other less flattering descriptions.

Oh and Clarence, it's not American funds anymore.  Keep up, for heavens sake.  It's Advisory.  Or is this where I say start thinking for YOURself rather than use a tired worn out - and out of date - comment.

OK enough thinking for yourself.  Just go sell some more Advisory. 

@ Hulk - I never said "all" investing would be modeled, and neither did Curious. He specifically mentioned A-shares and stocks. The equity models are already up and running. And you can go get a "model" with fixed income right now - they're just calling them pre-determined bond ladders, but in my opinion, the all-model program is already ramping up.

With the fiduciary standards changing on the broker/dealer side, and with the general distrust Jones has for any decision the FA makes, I can definitely see them replacing brokers calling on a hot stock with a model system. Why not? Advisory Solutions is already the 2011 Playmate of the Year.

The upside of models is Jones could slash tons of back office positions. Probably reduce Field Supervision by half. Along with the entire research department being sent to pasture. The GP's will be sipping some expensive stuff at the open bar at the next round of Div Trips.

Of course Jones will always be bond sellers, and I'm sure will remain very healthy sellers of annuities. I think Curious explained well that the individual securities (ie those that can't have the fiduciary standard pushed off to another firm like annuities are), will be modeled.

And who gives a damn about their Key plaques? They'll just give them away under a different award system. Like, "Congratulations! Your T12 qualifies for you New Level 3! You're KEY to our success! Go get 'em, killer!"

I'm curious what you think about the multi-broker "training centers"?

The training centers, from my understanding are just that...training centers.  Once the broker is up and running he moves out to his own office.  When you're trying to penetrate a dense market that has been dominated by the"big boys" for decades, you have to try something different.  There are no 10-20 year vets in those markets to provide the typical Jones support network. I don't know if it will work or not, but again back to a previous comment about all the "change" going on, it's nice to see someone think outside the box and try a different angle. 

But, again, I think you are mistaken to think Jones will make all new money go into a prepackaged product.  It won't happen unless the entire industry is forced into it.

I left Jones earlier this year after being there for five years.  I felt like I was with a completely different firm from the one I began with. Too many changes and none of them in favor of the advisor. I haven't looked back and wish I'd left sooner.

The training centers, from my understanding are just that…training centers.  Once the broker is up and running he moves out to his own office.  When you’re trying to penetrate a dense market that has been dominated by the"big boys" for decades, you have to try something different.  There are no 10-20 year vets in those markets to provide the typical Jones support network. I don’t know if it will work or not, but again back to a previous comment about all the “change” going on, it’s nice to see someone think outside the box and try a different angle. 

But, again, I think you are mistaken to think Jones will make all new money go into a prepackaged product.  It won’t happen unless the entire industry is forced into it.

Hulk, the original poster stated that his good friend who is a regional leader shared that it will happen, for mutual fund buys and stock buys.  Do you really think that a regional leader would just make this up?

[quote=LoveInvesting]Hulk, the original poster stated that his good friend who is a regional leader shared that it will happen, for mutual fund buys and stock buys.  Do you really think that a regional leader would just make this up?[/quote]

Oh, the "friend" of an anonymous poster on a public website is a regional leader and says it's so.  Gosh, my mistake.  I'm sure it's Gospel then.... 

OK....well so much for trying to ask you a sincere question. You are quite a big man, talking so tough and sarcastic over the internet like this. Wish we could meet in person, bet I would kick your pencil neck weak A$$.

Consider actually reading all the replies on this post, and you may realize how much of a pompous moron you appear to be. You are green, but you are not incredible.

Seriously, he should change his name to Incredible D-Bag.  Just let the brainwashed tool continue sipping green koolaid and sucking green… popsicles.

Just FYI, I've got some great solutions for Ed Jones guys. We've seen some pretty tremendous success here, recruiting from Ed Jones, over the past 6-12 months.

Nothing against Ed Jones, I think they are a quality firm. But I also think that once you've gotten your career established and built a book, you could be better off going independent.

A few points...

1.  I think we'd actually like each other outside of this website, heck I don't even recognize your userid, so I may like you on this webiste for all I know. 

2. Yes, I am sarcastic, I like to think it's part of my sense of humor....

3. I always find it fascinating that people assume that someone who is happy at their station in life is "brainwashed". 

4. To the "sincere question" of would a Regional Leader make this up.  I don't know, probably not.  But I think it's very likely that someone made this statement up from a made up regional leader.  Sorry if I offended you with my sarcasm.  Dangit, their I go again being sarcastic rather than sincere.....

I left the Jonestown and haven't looked back. It was the BEST thing I ever did. I want to personally thank Edward Jones and the regional leader for putting the biggest d-bag in my old office, it has made life every easy for me.  I am so glad I left when I did as they are making it harder each year to leave.

I just saw that Jones has lost 900 FA's in the past year. Buddy of mine at Jones that I talked to today said their growth plan is all F'd up, and that they are now relying on growth from existing FA's, where just a couple years ago, their big growth goal was to add more FA's. He said they are pretty much becoming like a wire (and he used to work at one).

[quote=inlandTX]

@ Hulk - I never said "all" investing would be modeled, and neither did Curious. He specifically mentioned A-shares and stocks. The equity models are already up and running. And you can go get a "model" with fixed income right now - they're just calling them pre-determined bond ladders, but in my opinion, the all-model program is already ramping up.

With the fiduciary standards changing on the broker/dealer side, and with the general distrust Jones has for any decision the FA makes, I can definitely see them replacing brokers calling on a hot stock with a model system. Why not? Advisory Solutions is already the 2011 Playmate of the Year.

The upside of models is Jones could slash tons of back office positions. Probably reduce Field Supervision by half. Along with the entire research department being sent to pasture. The GP's will be sipping some expensive stuff at the open bar at the next round of Div Trips.

Of course Jones will always be bond sellers, and I'm sure will remain very healthy sellers of annuities. I think Curious explained well that the individual securities (ie those that can't have the fiduciary standard pushed off to another firm like annuities are), will be modeled.

And who gives a damn about their Key plaques? They'll just give them away under a different award system. Like, "Congratulations! Your T12 qualifies for you New Level 3! You're KEY to our success! Go get 'em, killer!"

I'm curious what you think about the multi-broker "training centers"?

[/quote]

I can speak from experience that the training centers are not set up for being true multi broker offices.  It is a training facility and meeting facility.  i can see how they mightve used them as an incubator as opposed to working out of your car. 

Jones does some wacky things but what firm in this F ed up biz does not.  Even the greatest indy set up has there downside and version of kool aid.  If you think its bad try working in the real corporate world these days.  Man it really blows right now.  Glad I left the Fortune 50 grinder.

[quote=B24]

I just saw that Jones has lost 900 FA's in the past year. [/quote]

Wow. Approaching 10% attrition in a single year.

B24, was that an internal document or something published elsewhere? Also, is that a NET loss number? If so, the number of departures is probably more like 1200 to 1400, considering they haven't stopped hiring.

Next week's Reg Rep Report Card should be interesting reading.

[quote=roadlesstraveled]

 The amazing part was as an independent fee only advisor, CPA's and attorneys respect my business more now(don't forget they get to see those 1099's and broker moves) .  I'm receiving referrals more frequently and consistently than I did working at Jones.

[/quote]

Just re-reading this now that I've been indy for 4 months, and you are correct. Suddenly CPAs, attorneys, and even local board members who always kept me at arms length are offering up referrals and helping me get in front of audiences. It's totally different than when you were an employee salesper...AHEM... "advisor".

I know of three guys that just left this month. All three exceeding expectations.  Jones will continue to have increased profit however as people migrate their books from A shares to advisory.  This alone takes some of the pressure off them to grow, for a little time that is.

Does anyone ever feel like Edward Jones has become more of a business franchise than a broker dealer for Financial Advisors?

What do you mean "become more of a franchise"?  it's never been anything but that.  i left 18 months ago and have found my way to independence.  i can tell you that what Jones sells you as independence is anything but.  Also what they preach to you about how things are when you're independent is largely untrue. most of what i was told about how things would be are completely false.  My b/d does have a compliance department, the payout really is much better (almost double net of expenses) and i really do have clients who want to come with me.  I discovered Jones's best kept secret.  Your clients like you.  They could give a hoot who your firm is.  That's why they discourage you from going indy.  They know it will work.

It’s hilarious that edj has lost 900 fa’s since last year, yet the regional clowns and back office still push growth more aggressively than the amish girl who comes to my office selling candy.  Yeah, I really want to recruit someone to a firm that just lost 900 people.  Was this part of the 5 year plan?

[quote=RealWorld]

Does anyone ever feel like Edward Jones has become more of a business franchise than a broker dealer for Financial Advisors?

[/quote]

"Franchise" is pretty close in terms of product, marketing, and building the communal brand. It wasn't even as "corporate" when I signed with them 4 years ago, but that's the direction they seem to be taking it.

It's definitely NOT a broker / dealer in the indy sense of the word. As an indy, I am the broker / dealer's customer, and keeping ME happy is their objective. At Edward Jones or any other wirehouse, I am a conduit only - the friendly face that they have to use to gain access to investor money.

Everything at edj is "communal". Share your assets with a rookie via a goodknight plan. Attend quarterly regional kumbaya meetings. Drink the kool aid. Attend the holiday party. The promise of running my own independent business that I signed up for? a complete fabrication.

Starting next year, they are having BOA's attend the regional meetings with the FA's. We are all equals.

That is interesting about the BOA's attending the regional meetings. What a joke.

[quote=LoveInvesting]

Everything at edj is "communal". Share your assets with a rookie via a goodknight plan. Attend quarterly regional kumbaya meetings. Drink the kool aid. Attend the holiday party. The promise of running my own independent business that I signed up for? a complete fabrication.

Starting next year, they are having BOA's attend the regional meetings with the FA's. We are all equals.

[/quote]

If other regions were like mine, I see a definite spike in sexual harrassment claims next year with FAs and BOAs partying together at the hotel bar during Regional Meetings.

Jones , in the present enviornment, is not a workable business model.  With nearly forty years of industry experience, the past fifteen running my own firm, I would highly recommend joinning an independent firm. 

I don't see how the BOAs will be attending the regional meetings? Who will be running the office?I left and never looked back.

[quote=inlandTX]

[quote=B24]

I just saw that Jones has lost 900 FA's in the past year. [/quote]

Wow. Approaching 10% attrition in a single year.

B24, was that an internal document or something published elsewhere? Also, is that a NET loss number? If so, the number of departures is probably more like 1200 to 1400, considering they haven't stopped hiring.

Next week's Reg Rep Report Card should be interesting reading.

[/quote]

Yes, that is NET losee of 900 FA's. So yes, they probably lost a total of about 1,500 - 2,000, since they tend to hire 10%+.

That's a lot of turnover in a highly client-facing business. I'm guessing 85% of the turnover is in the 0-5 year range.

I bet Jones gets lax in their FA growth activity as they get more and more used to all the veterans converting assets to Advisory business. But once most of that business gets converted, then growth will slow again. I saw that this year was the first year where fee revenue actually outpaced commission revenue firm-wide.

So what is the solution?  Does Jones come to reality of the market we are knocking in?  Do they ease up standards even more?  They claim to be in a high bonus bracket but the 0-3 years outs are seriously struggling.  So the divide between the profitable and struggling gets wider and wider. 

EJ's new tagline should be:  Edward Jones - Training ground of independents

I know that when I left a while back in my region (I was a little over 4 yrs with EJ) that the 4 fa's ahead of me on the chart (if you are with ej you know what I mean) left to go independent and there was probably a 2.5 year gap in experience between me and the next highest in 'seniority' (sorry, no other way to explain it) and behind me on the chart there was already a gap of about a year from people who hadn't made it and left the business.  If that hold true for the dozens of other regions nationwide..there is a big gap between what were seg 5 producers and your 1's and 2's.  Are the 3's and 4's leaving in droves?  I don't have any friends left there so I haven't been able to keep up with whats happening for the last couple of years..

[quote=Donedrinkin]

EJ's new tagline should be:  Edward Jones - Training ground of independents

I know that when I left a while back in my region (I was a little over 4 yrs with EJ) that the 4 fa's ahead of me on the chart (if you are with ej you know what I mean) left to go independent and there was probably a 2.5 year gap in experience between me and the next highest in 'seniority' (sorry, no other way to explain it) and behind me on the chart there was already a gap of about a year from people who hadn't made it and left the business.  If that hold true for the dozens of other regions nationwide..there is a big gap between what were seg 5 producers and your 1's and 2's.  Are the 3's and 4's leaving in droves?  I don't have any friends left there so I haven't been able to keep up with whats happening for the last couple of years..

[/quote]

That's about right. I was a lone blip on the radar screen- at least 18 months to the next FA and about 15 months to the one behind me. The last survivor in the region from that "era". Now that I am indy, it's exactly the chart you've described.

Haven't been on in a while. But as an update, the past year has seen TONS of FA's in my region leave. A lot have obviously failed out, but I have seen more FA's leave to go indy in the last year than in the past several years combined. It's a REAL problem right now. Some of the guys on the LT team I know have told me that there is a lot of pressure at corporate right now. They are struggling to figure out what direction to take the firm. They have come out with a lot of new recruiting tools and incentives, new hire pay rules, lots of stuff. But I don't think any of it is enough to get them over the hump. The bottom line seems to be that newbies are struggling to bring in new assets, so all the income continuiation stuff does is prlong the agony. And the outflow of FA's to independence is staggering. And it doesn't matter that it's not the veterans leaving (although vets ARE leaving, just not as much as the 3-7 year guys). These are the guys that typically grow firm revenues - the veterans don't grow that much. The ONLY saving grace right now is that everyone seems to be converting to advisory, so that is driving up revenue on existing assets.

Things are getting strange around here.

Just had a Jones IRA come over and had prepared the client for a $95 transfer fee. I now see Jones has raised the fee to $135!

They've got to be losing brokers and accounts in droves now to ratchet up the transfer out fee that high. They only moved to $95 a couple of years ago.

Also just noticed also that the old slogan, "Over 7 million investors..." has suddenly become,. "NEARLY 7 million investors".

Are you certail that didn't include their IRA fee?  I just transfered an Edward Jones account a few days ago and didn't see it at that level.

Interesting catch on the change in investors, if you have a net loss of clients at a firm that size... can't be a good thing.  Why does Ed Jones loses so many advisors?

Oh- good call - I'll check on that. I wouldn't be surprised, though. They added the $95 fee last year to nonqualified accounts, as well.

I've been with jones since 1995 but not for much longer.  The changes are many and they are getting worse.  They want advisors to use the advisory platform but the performance is lacking.  The products are becoming more and more limited every day.  Not enough positives to offset the negitives at this point for me.  It's about time to go and my clients work with ME, not EDJ so I don't have concerns about moving my accounts wherever I land.

So I recently began the hiring process with EJ and this is what brought me to your forum. The humor, sarcasm, and insight made me want to join. I hear so much negative about EJ and wonder why they boast they are in the top 50 places to work for. I am looking to get sponsored for my 7 and 66. Is there a better way? Is Jones that bad for a newb? If im hust gonna find myself fucked in 3years like I did selling mortgages than I might as well sell Hondas. Any advice is appreciated please.

Nehemiah sorry no one got back to you sooner. I don't check in here as often as I used to because of all the spam posts lately.

Anyway,to answer your question, you have to learn the business somewhere, and I'm not talking about just the technical aspects of it or getting your licenses. You need to learn the right work habits, how to handle rejection (you think you can now but you need to learn skills to build endurance to it), portfolio construction, etc. For that, Jones can be one of the best places to start because so much of it is already done for you, like a franchise system. After 3 years, if you are not happy, consider your options!

For me, Jones started out great - good region, really decent veterans willing to work with you, etc. But I had been a business owner in the past and Jones was sold to me as your own business. It is not, and I felt misled. Although the training was really good, I grew REALLY sick of the Prozak-infused, group-hug, smile-through-clenched-teeth corporate culture. Pretty early on I decided that I would give them the three years but would then go back to being truly self-employed.

Many many newbies washed out in my time. Nearly all of us who started from scratch failed out. Your chances of survival will be much better if you can get a Goodknight or an open office. Just my opinion.

Just go in with your eyes wide open, and check out at least two or three other B/D's before you commit. And best of luck to you!

Edward Jones is not for everyone. Edward Jones is not perfect. That being said I have had a positive experience. I started four years ago and am doing fairly well. I have seen one person leave that was doing well. All of the others I saw leave were below standard or just not doing well. I remember when I first started. I read all of the negitive comments on here and was really concerned. Only to find out many not all of the people but many did not know what they were talking about. Read the first post in this thread. None of his fears have come to be a reality. Go your own way do what you want. If you work at most of the firms out there, and give it EVERYTHING you have. You will be fine maybe.