When we reported on April 29th that the brass at Edward Jones was increasing the minimum production bar, our Advisor Forum lit up. Well, a little. A competing website reported a week or so later that a large producer or two had left Jones and intimated that the production expectation increase was going to create a diaspora of disgruntled Jones reps. No such outflow of reps is happening, Jim Weddle, CEO of Ed Jones, tells us. (And where would they go, anyway?)
I'll spare you the details (because we already wrote about it), but the increased production performance expectations isn't turning into a big deal. Well, that's what Weddle told our own reporter Christina Mucciolo today, in fact, only a few hours ago. (An edited version of the interview will be published online tomorrow.)
Weddle said the attrition is less than 1 percent annualized, and less than one percent are among Jones' top producers; during the first quarter Weddle said Jones lost 84 advisors, only 2.8 percent of whom stayed in the business. Members of our Advisor Forum is corroborating Weddle's point and also making the same point that FA headhunter Mindy Diamond told us (she is also our recruiting columnist) that the raise in expectations is not significant and, compared to other broker/dealers, it is actually very low anyway.
Oh, well, another non-crisis has passed . . . too bad, 'cause, like politicians in general and the Obama Administration in particular, we reporters never want to let a serious crisis go to waste. And by the way, I predicted as much on Reuters Insider video spot recorded last Thursday. (It will be aired soon.)
And anyway, Ed Jones advisors love the firm, voting it the best place to work for the 17th straight year in our Broker Report Card survey.