I almost missed winning my first trip because of a check not getting there in time.  I knew when the check was mailed, how much it was for, and what we were going to invest it in.  I knew I was going to get that check on Wed or Thur (our selling month ends on Tuesday).  I was so new that I actually called my RL and asked what to do.  He said he can't tell me what to do officially, but in his office he wouldn't miss a trip because just because the check wasn't there.  Trade plus three days settlement.  Don't answer the wire over the weekend.  Then tell HQ that the check has been mailed, maybe they give you a two day extension.  He said that's the way he would do it in his office.  Well, I placed the trades.  Got the check the next day.  But, man, was I sweating it. 

[quote=Spaceman Spiff]

I almost missed winning my first trip because of a check not getting there in time.  I knew when the check was mailed, how much it was for, and what we were going to invest it in.  I knew I was going to get that check on Wed or Thur (our selling month ends on Tuesday).  I was so new that I actually called my RL and asked what to do.  He said he can't tell me what to do officially, but in his office he wouldn't miss a trip because just because the check wasn't there.  Trade plus three days settlement.  Don't answer the wire over the weekend.  Then tell HQ that the check has been mailed, maybe they give you a two day extension.  He said that's the way he would do it in his office.  Well, I placed the trades.  Got the check the next day.  But, man, was I sweating it. 

I would prefer a new ASSET bonus over a new account bonus. By having production and asset bonuses, it rewards new advisors for bringing in real clients, not the BS that most of them jockey for, The tough part is when you bring in a 500K IRA transfer and it’s already in American Funds, or some other good group of investments and you get little or no gross for it. The advisor should be rewarded for this, as opposed to getting $500 for opening 10 DCA accounts. I know Jones has this “open as many accounts as possible in the beginning” philosophy, which to an extent is very important, but they just disregard AUM. I am betting that this will start to change as they roll out the managed account program.



Now, I may be biased in this philosophy, since I consistently bring in a lot of assets, but rarely open the “coveted” 5 households per month. And there are others that are opening 10-20 accounts per month (this is usually the result of SIMPLE’s), but can’t make their production numbers. I guess there’s no perfect compensation model, since we all build it a little differently. The only thing I will say is that if you consistently open a lot of accounts every month, eventually that will pay off as a strategy (assuming they are “real” accounts). So I guess helping to keep someone in the game until that pays off is worthwhile.

I almost missed winning my first trip because of a check not getting there in time. I knew when the check was mailed, how much it was for, and what we were going to invest it in. I knew I was going to get that check on Wed or Thur (our selling month ends on Tuesday). I was so new that I actually called my RL and asked what to do. He said he can’t tell me what to do officially, but in his office he wouldn’t miss a trip because just because the check wasn’t there. Trade plus three days settlement. Don’t answer the wire over the weekend. Then tell HQ that the check has been mailed, maybe they give you a two day extension. He said that’s the way he would do it in his office. Well, I placed the trades. Got the check the next day. But, man, was I sweating it.

Wow, you lot have balls to risk trading on a check in the mail.

I don't typically take a gamble like that.  But, in that case, I knew when the check was mailed and how much it was for.  I knew that I would get it in the next day or two, so I wasn't incredibly concerned.  At that point I had been out less than a year, so I REALLY wanted to take the trip.  I don't do that now.   

Lake Como and Northern Italy are a beautiful part of the world. I have walked in the Italian alps in the summer and skied in the winter. A very captivating location.

[quote=Spaceman Spiff]

I almost missed winning my first trip because of a check not getting there in time.  I knew when the check was mailed, how much it was for, and what we were going to invest it in.  I knew I was going to get that check on Wed or Thur (our selling month ends on Tuesday).  I was so new that I actually called my RL and asked what to do.  He said he can't tell me what to do officially, but in his office he wouldn't miss a trip because just because the check wasn't there.  Trade plus three days settlement.  Don't answer the wire over the weekend.  Then tell HQ that the check has been mailed, maybe they give you a two day extension.  He said that's the way he would do it in his office.  Well, I placed the trades.  Got the check the next day.  But, man, was I sweating it. 

Hey…no spewing hatred until you have actually MADE IT as an indy…you may be begging for the green kool aid in a couple of months!

Hey…no spewing hatred until you have actually MADE IT as an indy…you may be begging for the green kool aid in a couple of months!

[quote=Hey Kool-Aid]

Do these trips mean that you have to go with other EJ reps? All talking about BS? I hope not!

I almost missed winning my first trip because of a check not getting there in time.  I knew when the check was mailed, how much it was for, and what we were going to invest it in.  I knew I was going to get that check on Wed or Thur (our selling month ends on Tuesday).  I was so new that I actually called my RL and asked what to do.  He said he can't tell me what to do officially, but in his office he wouldn't miss a trip because just because the check wasn't there.  Trade plus three days settlement.  Don't answer the wire over the weekend.  Then tell HQ that the check has been mailed, maybe they give you a two day extension.  He said that's the way he would do it in his office.  Well, I placed the trades.  Got the check the next day.  But, man, was I sweating it. 

btomba - yes, you go with other EDJ FA’s on that trip.  There is one mandatory meeting, ususally the first morning you’re there.  It’s usually about 2-3 hours max.  It exists so that the vendors can cough up the dough to pay for part of the expense of the trip.   After that, you’re on your own.  Nobody is taking roll to make sure you show up for everything.  They normally plan a couple of nice dinners or events that Jones pays for, but you don’t have to participate if you don’t want to. 

Space, can you share what numbers you need to hit in order to win a trip? 

[quote=noggin][quote=Hey Kool-Aid]

cerpen - $108K gross is the short answer.  There are two contests every year.  You have to hit those numbers to get your "points".   You also have to qualify in 4 of 8 categories that Jones has set up.  Five of them are production related(growth, growth and income, taxable income, tax free income, and LI), three are other things (firm growth, opened credit cards, and CFO accounts).  It's called a diversification trip, so you can't just sell all equity funds and win. 

Can you take the cash instead of the trip?

Yes, but it isn’t even close to what the trip would have actually cost.  Cash payout is $2000.  They value the regular trips at about $5500 for tax purposes.   The cash payout may be close to the portion Jones has to pay after the vendors kick in their piece.