New Leaving Edward Jones
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ironhorse, did you take over a significant office? Did you have no training cost to worry about? WHat about the non-soliciate? feel free to post or PM
thanksEJ4now,
I had 1 or 2 trades to document for compliance A MONTH prior to EJ..I had no idea FS's are failed brokers..now I understand when they do not understand why!That’s a first, Jones FSD worrying about a trade that wasn’t placed at EDJ.
In all fairness to the FSD's, not all of them are failed brokers. There are some for sure. Mine, however, has never been an advisor. The ones who were FAs, in my experience, have been better than the ones who weren't. The ones who weren't don't get it at all. And you can't get them to see beyond what their guidelines say.REALLY?! Wow, I've heard some goofy things on this forum, but that one takes the cake. Did you purposefully write that 30 year bonds and A share mutual funds are NEVER appropriate to sell? I would guess then that C shares or fee based or ETFs are the ONLY way you do biz?[/quote] When I reread what I typed, I realized I wasn't clear. I thought maybe it you would still understand what I meant, but apparently not, which is my fault. Spiff, what I meant was that IN THE EYES OF FS, it is never appropriate to EXIT a position in an A share or a 30 year bond, those investments are meant to be held forever. Obviously I was exaggerating, but I think you get the idea. FYI, I do think that 30 year bonds are rarely (although not never) in the client's best interest. As for A shares, probably 50% of my business is A share mutual funds. As for FS being failed brokers, that is a knock on the position in general, not just at EDJ. However, my experience was that many of the FS reps at EDJ were under 35 and had a couple of years recent experience as an FA, and then they "decided that they would enjoy the compliance end of the business more," and were willing to take the massive paycut that was involved. Frankly, I think my compliance officer is probably overpaid, but at least it is a legitimate career choice, whereas at EDJ it is more of a waypoint to something else.[quote=EDJ4now] …so he hasn’t been indoctrinated into the idea that the only proper investments are 30 year bonds and A share mutual funds, neither of which are ever appropriate to sell.
I thought that statement sounded a little out there. Especially for a former EDJ guy. You are right. FS believes that you should never, under any circumstances liquidate an A share position. You should always do an internal exchange. Well, I don’t agree. One thing I’ve learned about FS is that they don’t give a rip about performance. They only look at holding period and commissions paid. I’ve sold the gains on some positions that the clients have held for 8-10 years and still have to answer the FSPend.
The FSD position is a definitely a way in the door at the home office for an FA. Probably because it pays pretty well. For some guys I know that went there it was a raise. I thought about that position years ago when I was still in the home office. Back then they traveled a week a month doing branch audits. I don't think they do anymore. I don't really know that I'd enjoy sitting at a desk all day, talking to people about their trades, getting letters signed, having meetings, etc. Wait...that's what I do now. Maybe I'll have to revisit that position.Spiff, you would make a good FS. You seem level headed. Before I moved from Jones, I received alot of FSpnds, a few asking why I moved funds from firm name to the fund company. That is a red flag, if you indys know what I mean, but easy to answer.
Don't forget, not making it as a FA does not correlate much to inteligence level. All it means is that they are not good at Sales and/or working in front of people.
The knock may be that they don't have proper prior experience, but it doesn't mean they are incompentent.[quote=Dark Knight]
Don't forget, not making it as a FA does not correlate much to inteligence level. All it means is that they are not good at Sales and/or working in front of people.
The knock may be that they don't have proper prior experience, but it doesn't mean they are incompentent.[/quote] It frequently means an utter lack of an understanding of the sales experience. The guy I have now is probably more intelligent than most FA's. So much so, that he can spend an hour analyzing a $10,000 trade, and coming up with a half dozen questions that need answered by me via email (my version of FSPend). The responses and follow up are always supposed to be the #1 priority, even if I have a full slate of appointments. I get to it when I can, but I'll be damned if I'm going to drop everything just so he can check me off of his list. He's a bright guy (maybe even smarter than me if that's possible ), but he couldn't sell a life preserver to a drowning man, at least not with examining every possible angle, weighing the pros and cons, etc., a process that would take longer to do than our poor hypothetical drowning man can keep his head above the water. Like I said, the FS problem is not just at Jones. But at least with this guy they are intelligent questions, even if he does go overboard at times.I was terminated by EDJ. But since I “insist” on keeping my Series 7 (which by the way I had for years before starting with EDJ) they will NOT let the training costs drop. EDJ is very serious about these training costs, if you stay in the business even in a support role with your Series 7 they WIll come after you. Not a fun experience by a long shot. I wish I had never accepted the job with Edward Jones. A huge company, with tough lawyers equals a horrible experience.
Broker 64, How do you mean they will not let it drop? did they send you a letter for payment or was it a notice to appear in court? If they let you go i don’t beleive they can successfully get the cost back in court especially if they did not pay for your license training. Something is missing here
Yes, I got the letter for $65,000! Explained to their lawyer I was terminated but allowed to resign. So I talked to one securities lawyer (who would cost $500 an hour) and he said keeping my U4 as voluntarily resigned has to be worth something and his thought was it could be resolved in a couple phone calls. And might be zero but probably closer to $5,000. EDJ might seem like the nice little mom & pop local brokerage firm, but really they are this huge corporate machine and you’re just a number to them. You have to sign the contract to be hired, you must go through their required training to be employed, and beware if it doesn’t work out (even if you were already were licensed for years before joining the green machine). They WILL come after you for their training costs if you “insist” on keeping your Series 7.
This might sound stupid and may very well be,If a person let his 7 expire after leaving than retook the test (was not that hard) would the last broker even be aware that the new issued license is at another b/d?
Well, I left after 2 years… I got my bill for $46,875 in training costs. I’m now an analyst at a tactical money management firm (No more clients!). Because I’m not “engaged in the sale of securities or insurance”- I disputed the bill. Just got my letter informing me that they’ve chosen not to pursue me unless I my job description changes in the future. I included with my response to the attorney a copy of my new contract that specifically stated I’m not responsible for solicitation of clients which probably helped.
If you don’t piss off Jones when you leave, they don’t come after you. My training class had 4(out of 10) people leave after they passed the 7 & 66 and went to a variety of places(ML,SB,Wachovia,Indy) and they all used the same excuse,“If you don’t fire me and release me from my contract, I will sit here and do nothing.” They all got release and nothing on their record that any firm cares about. They all got a letter one week later from some law firm in St Louis, with a cease and desist letter(although most of them had not done anything yet) and a copy of their contract they signed. A year later they still have gotten nothing and their respective employers/bds have gotten nothing.
In the contract it says, $75k if you leave within 3 years of “can-sell” date AND maintain your license with a different firm selling securities or insurance.
Pro-rated $9375 per full quarter of employment after the first 13 months.I’m left wondering… if you’re new to the business, are we really in an economic environment where you want to find the least damaging way to ditch your current employer for another firm?
When your new firm does a round of layoffs, how do you think it will reflect when they take a look at your file and see “fired from Edward Jones for moonlighting/not producing/not following firm policy”?
Hope you get some AUM quick.
Hello,
I was hoping someone could help me with my dilemma. I've worked at EJI for about 6 months. Completed the training, and have just started my 7 weeks of door-to-door. I have not yet gone to Eval/Grad which means that I haven't been licenced (I think). If I quit and goto work at another firm, can EJI still come after me for that $75,000 as stated in the contract? The reason I ask is the contract that states, "Upon execution of this Agreement and upon registration with Investment Dealers Association of Canada....." and I am not licenced. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!I would also like to mention, this isnt my choice. They're forcing me to resign and I keep saying I wont do it. I am just looking for options since I would like to stay part of the securities industry.