Broker24,

  Cults have certain characterisitcs.  Three of the most prominent are isolation of its members, destroying the reputation of those that leave and having the "we are the only ones that do it right" attitude.   Jones is guilty of these.   (I am not angry, so please do not read any negative voice inflection into this post.)    If jones methods are so righteous, why the isolation?  Why can't jones reps attend industry events?   Why can a rep be held up as the "model for all newbies to copy" and then when he/she leaves 2 months later, the new ir meetings for the next year are just meetings for the firm to bash that same reps reputation?    Why do jones reps automatically bash the investments offered by other firms that jones doesn't offer as unethical and/or unsuitable?  This is usually done with a very pompous attitude.    When I first left, a jones "buddy" stopped by my new office.  He actually walked in and explained to me that if I put people in a mutual fund at my new b/d, it's a less ethical transaction than putting a client in the SAME fund at jones. (figure that one)   Two jones guys walked in to my office (at seperate times) and the FIRST thing they asked was, "Who pays for the upkeep of your computers?".  (Obviously a jones brain encripted phrase.  Another cultic behaviour.)   You have never had a pompous attitude in your posts-I appreciate that.   Anti-jones cult...not really.  Just keepin it real.

Hey Gone,

  I was just yankin' your chain.  I should have added a snazzy little emoticon.    I hear what you are saying.  Trust me, the more I read on this forum, the more I realize that some of this Jones/cult/anti-leave-the-firm mentality does exist.  The truth is, I think it resonates from certain veteran groups in certain regions.  I truly see VERY little of that in my region.  Actually, many of the people in my region know brokers at other firms that are very good, ethical people, and they speak highly of them.  And there are other reasons, also.  The first person in our region started 17 years ago, and he (along with about 4 others) are the only ones with that much tenure.  Most are in the 5-10 year range.  So I guess there is not the deep-rooted green blood running through our region.  And only one guy that I know of has left to go indy, and he was a REALLY small producer, so nobody was surprised to see him go.  A few have gone to wirehouses, but they were not real big producers either.  Most of the time, the reactions are more like "Huh, that's too bad.  He was a good guy".  But the majority of people that leave are newbs that never really made the radar screen.   Sorry, I made a short story long.  I guess my point is that there is not much brainwashing going on around my parts.   It is funny, though.  I occassionally hear some of those "we are the only ethical firm" cracks by the REAL newbs that just came back from St. Louis's Paddy's Day parade.  Usually it's the young lads.  I find the older guys with more life experience aren't as influenced by the culture.  It's a good counter-balance.   And I agree, why we can't go to industry events is beyond me.  That's just paranoia.