RickJames, Maybe I can give you some insight here. I left Jones a few months ago after being there for about 6 months. Please be careful of what you read on these boards as a lot of postings here come from "Jones Haters". I, neither dislike or like Jones. I think Jones can be a good fit for some, for me it wasn't.

The best advice to give you is do your research. I did not do that. I visited a Jones broker and yes he convinced me that they were the best. Have your own business, be your own boss, have your freedom, work hard and you can play hard. If I got hired he would get referral credits towards a trip. I thought I really liked that and didn't visit any others, BIG MISTAKE.  Everyone did paint a really good picture at Jones, but its where they live.  It sounds like you think that they hire people so that they will fail and leave there assets. Thats not true, they want you to succeed. Most people there are great.

Make sure you know what you are getting into. Out of my traing class there are 2 people left who didn't take over an office and by now they may not even be there. You can either start from scratch or fall into a book. The odds are definitely against you if you are new, but it can be done.  

As for your other questions, no firm is going to give you your customers with open arms. If that time comes, the best thing to do is speak with the firm to which you are going, they will give you advice on how to proceed. This stuff happens daily in this biz.

Jones training program is a great program when preparing you for the 7. They say they are among the highest pass % in the industry. From there, it kinda goes down hill. You then start doorknocking. you introduce yourself and that you are opening a office in the area. I thought this was a waste of time because you cant sell yet. Then finally you get your can sell. You meet these people once, back on there door step for the second time....good luck with that one. That is the part I couldn't stand. I didn't realize my fear of dogs until I was a door to door salesman. Nothing can prepare you for Doorknocking except just doing it. If you can do that, then you will succeed.

I never did get an office or an assistant. For most people in my region that never came for about a year. I was broke, working out of my home/car and hated every day.       GOOD LUCK!

Well put BYEBYEJONES. I currently work at jones. I have yet to figure out if it is really a fit for me. But you need to do the research on other places. I did the same and was sold on jones and never even talked to anyone else. I have since been looking and have found that since I live in an rural community that there are not many options for me. LPL, RJ, AIG etc… are looking for someone already producing 125K - 250K.



I think it is nice tho have a big name like EDJ, ML, SB behind you in the beginning. However people will be forming a relationship with you not the broker/dealer.



I would suggest as above.   Make sure you do the research on all opportunities that you have. A career at any one place can be rewarding if it is a fit for you. No one here really knows you well enough to know where that fit is. Best of luck.

Hi all. I also left Jones after about 6 months. Same thing. Not for me. Like the business but the door knocking was, quite frankly, dangerous. I always wondered what might happen if I ran into a Jeffery Dahmer type (yikes!) and in fact, think I may have a couple times. The door knocking thing is really tough and all I heard was “if you do it for another 2 years, you will have a nice business.” I didn’t want to do it for another 2 minutes and my business was growing. Was advancing nicely and meeting all quotas (there are quotas they don’t tell you about until you are in) but the thought of door knocking any longer was enough to call it quits. I suppose if you are in the right community, only game in town, and know everyone, bullish market, it could be done. In retrospect, wish I had researched other options as well. Hey ByeBye, did you go to another broker or leave the business and if you transferred, have you heard from Jones about training costs?

There are a couple of things to be considered regarding what has been posted in the last day or two.

1.  The door knocking is a throw back to the old days.  It has become almost a rite of passage there, not unlike hazing at a fraternity house.  The, "It was good for me, it will be good for you too" mentality.

The reality is that it actally will do some good IF you ever open the storefront practice that is promised at the end of the rainbow.  I have never worked there but it seems to me that I heard that while door knocking you are supposed to get the people who answer the door to sign something that says you knocked.  Is that true?

I have also always been under the impression that before they would get you an office you had to join a church and a club such as the Rotary or the Optimists.  Is that true?  If so what they're doing, and it's a great idea, is forcin you into the "community."  As you get older you'll be glad that you are active in things.

2.  Regarding liquidating portfolios before transfering.  I too find the stories disturbing and would be interested in hearing more.  Are those of you who are there saying that the firm will allow you to transfer in assets that are invested in anything, or just certain things?

It is not uncommon for firms to require certain assets to be liquidated due to compliance concerns.  No reputable firm wants to have somebody who just got screwed by a boiler room transfer their junk into your shop because when it all hits the fan the boiler room will be gone and the reputable firm will be right there in the sights of the plaintiff's attorney.

There is so much exposure out there that most firms take the attitude that they don't want to assume the risk without the reward of having earned commissions from the client who has now turned against them.

If a firm "orders" that an incoming fund is to be liquidated that's wrong and nobody is going to say otherwise.  However there are reasons that go way beyond contests, trips, and points towards other goals.

A question to ponder.  Is telling an incoming broker to turn incoming assets into cash to be reinvested worse than offering him a 100% payout on all of his commissions for the first thirty days?  What are you going to do if that was your Sophie's Choice?

"Mr. Johnson, now that I'm here at Acme I have come to realize that the mutual fund you bought from me when I was at Ajax is not really what you need, so I suggest that you liquidate it and.........."

Sure there is the commission to be earned, and a trip to Bermuda too.  But there are other factors at play that you never see unless you end up at the home office and get a better understanding how the giant jigsaw puzzle is put together.

Could be that the computer system in your office is paid for with soft dollars..........never mind, it can really get involved.

I would have to agree.  The door knocking seems more like a right of passage.  I have come across some successful jones IRs and they will admit it.  However I think many of them get some kind of joy from forcing people to do it.

Big Easy,

I have never been told that I should liquidate any accounts that I bring in. I am new so maybe it will come.  I have transfered in most in kind and just check to make sure they are the best fund for the situation for the existing fund family.  If someone has already paid a sales charge I typically try to work with what they have.

I quit Jones after about 4 years to go indy.  I guess I'm either a slow learner or just stubborn and don't like to give in. I think the latter  I was a transfer broker and had already been in the business for about 10 years in a bank channel. So, I probably should have known better and done better due diligence.  Either way here is my take on what is wrong and right with Jones.

Door knocking.  I didn't like it much, but didn't hate it either. I never ever used it as anything other than an introduction to me and my new office.  In some ways it was actually fun.  I'm not afraid of dogs, on the contrary animals fall all over me for some reason and their owners really liked that.  You don't continue door knocking (usually) past your first year or even less. You don't ask the people you meet at the door to sign anything.  At first you aren't even licensed so you can't discuss investements, which was fine by me. I didn't intend to do that at the door step. The idea is to get to know people and find out about them on a personal and hopefully financial level.  You want to get their phone number and mailing address to be able to start dripping all over them once you are good to go......or as Jones says "Have your Can Sell Date".

The training of IRs at Jones was/is abysmal and yes they did allow the liquidation of incoming assets, especially mutual funds.  That way we don't have to fill out one of those nasty little "switch letters".  .   So much easier to position cash....doncha know.

IRs who know nothing to begin with about managing money or portfolio construction are basically only taught how to flog a stock or bond or mutual fund.  I was appalled to find out the new IRs, even when the fed rate (and consequentially all rates) was at its lowest point in 50 years, were still being told to offer 30 bonds!!! Nevermind that in a few years the clients will be screaming for the new IR's head....he won't be there anyway and we will have a new round of patsies to take the heat.

What IS good, is that a new IR can get licensed and get a taste of what the business is like. And as long as he keeps his eyes wide open will learn a lot. The new IR needs to take it upon himself to learn, learn, learn the business from other sources than Jones.  Take CFP courses and anything else that will educate you.  Edward Jones is a launching pad for those who want to continue on and a swamp that will suck under the people who can't or don't want to continue. If you treat your clients right and give them good service they will come with you when you move on.

The fact the Jones misrepresents its model as being a single office, self controlled, running your own business yada yada yada is the biggest beef that most ex jonesers have with the company.  It's a BIG FAT LIE.  When you realize how they have bambozzled you, you get mad at them and at yourself for being such a dupe. You are not self employed. They control your business, put you on a quota system (seg 1 seg 2 so on) You pay for your own office expenses, other than rent and salary. So you get all the financial pain of being self employed with none of the real control.  The profit and loss accounting that they use to determine profitability is a joke. I was a commercial loan officer also during the 10 years at the bank and I know what a REAL profit and loss statement looks like. The entire system is a stick and carrot ploy.  No matter how fast you run, you can't get the carrot. 

IRs who know nothing to begin with about managing money or portfolio construction are basically only taught how to flog a stock or bond or mutual fund.  I was appalled to find out the new IRs, even when the fed rate (and consequentially all rates) was at its lowest point in 50 years, were still being told to offer 30 bonds!!! Nevermind that in a few years the clients will be screaming for the new IR's head....he won't be there anyway and we will have a new round of patsies to take the heat.

There are a couple of things here to be considered.

1.  The sad reality that an awful lot of brokers are just not very bright.  On this forum a few days ago several morons stepped up to the plate and posted percentage gains that simply could not have been accurate if they had even a modest clue to what they were doing.  The world is filled with these idiots who, against all odds, passed their Series 6 or 7 exam and are out the raping and pillaging.  It's a real disgrace, but it's there.

2.  Most of the clients who are being steered by these types are not investing so damn much money that it really matters all that much what happens to them regarding the returns to their portfolio.  $25,000 at 6% is not that much different than $25,000 at 7 or 8 percent.

I understand, and agree with, what you're saying when you comment about pushing long bonds when rates are low.  But when you're Gomer or Goober what difference does it make?  So you drop your $50,000 inheritance in a long bond fund and watch the principal value decline as rates rise.  As we all know, or should know, long bonds eventually mature and if Goober is happy with the annual income who are we to tell him he shouldn't be.

Put yourself in the mind of Goober.  He's got $50,000 and somebody is telling him that he can get 6% interest on a thirty year bond.  That he will get a check for about $250 per month for the rest of his life.

Then you show up and try to talk him out of that decision.  You, correctly, explain that if he will settle for $150 per month for awhile you're pretty sure he can move his money into long bonds later and get a lot more than $250 per month.

Now remmber, he's Goober from Mayberry.  He's going to think of you as some sort of double talking shyster, after all he knows he can get 6% and now you're saying he should accept 3% hoping to get 8 or 9 percent in a year or two.  Sounds just like gambling, and gambling is the devil come to earth.

First and foremost is to get the sale.  As cold as that is, it's the way it is and has to be.  None of us can stay in business by leaving client assets in money market funds waiting for interest rates to peak.

As old timers will tell you, in the late 1970s sophisticated investors were turning down 19% corporates because they were convinced that rates were going to hit 25%.

If it were easy everybody would be rich and when you've got a client sitting there with their checkbook in hand it's best to put them in the best thing for them at the time.

Yes their principal will erode if rates rise, and yes that's a shame.  But you know what?  If they don't sell the bonds their principal will come back and in the mean time they're getting those checks that they wanted back when they bought the bonds.

Most of them will understand that they bought when rates were "X" and that now that they're ">X" that's just the risk they took.  Unless rates are at zero there is always a chance that you'll miss the market by waiting.  It is only with hindsight that we can see where we went wrong.

A client is far more forgiving of having you recommend that they buy bonds too soon than too late.

Hmmm,

Lets justify sell our clients inapropriate investments by calling them stupid.  Good job BEF.  

[quote=exdrone]

Hmmm,

Lets justify sell our clients inapropriate investments by calling them stupid.  Good job BEF.  

[/quote]

A primary concern from the NASD and SEC's point of view is that an investement's suitability is dependent on the client's ability to understand what is being done with THEIR money.

The landscape is littered with former brokers who were tossed out of the business because the actually believed the client who told them, "Whatever you think, you're the professional."

If your cient cannot explain the investment to his wife he does not belong in it.

My point is that the new Jones brokers didn't understand the inverse relationship between bonds and rising interest rates.  When I explained it to a few of them it was a surprise to them.  Whether or not the client will be satisfied with  declining bond market value in a long term investment in exchange for a steady income stream is moot. 

The issue is that the advisor is supposed to know how these things work and explain it to the client so they understand and can make a fully informed decision.  Jones doesn't educate the new IR who usually had no previous experience in this field.  They just send out loose cannons. The brokers may mean well, but they are basically clueless for at least the first 2 years.  I have seen Jones guys who are big time "Vets" who still couldn't buy a clue.

[quote=babbling looney]

I have seen Jones guys who are big time "Vets" who still couldn't buy a clue.

[/quote]

That's not just Jones, it's true across the business.  Especially where the hiring qualifications are relaxed.

It is one of the things that argues for a minimum education requirement for the industry.

It is ridiculous that somebody without any formal education, much less a degree, can be authorized to handle another's money.

If Wall Street were to ever clean up their act among the first things that should be done is to require an MBA to become registered unless your duties are strictly clerical such as a registed sales assistant.

Can you imagine a lawyer who did not have a law degree or a doctor who didn't have an MD?  Why should financial types not be similar?

[quote=Big Easy Flood]

If Wall Street were to ever clean up their act among the first things that should be done is to require an MBA to become registered unless your duties are strictly clerical such as a registed sales assistant.

[/quote]

I agree with you that it's a travesty that we don't have better education standards, but I don't believe that an MBA is the appropriate degree. I’ve yet to see a demonstrated connection between having an MBA and being a skilled investment advisor/planner.<?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

[quote=mikebutler222][quote=Big Easy Flood]

If Wall Street were to ever clean up their act among the first things that should be done is to require an MBA to become registered unless your duties are strictly clerical such as a registed sales assistant.

[/quote]

I agree with you that it's a travesty that we don't have better education standards, but I don't believe that an MBA is the appropriate degree. I’ve yet to see a demonstrated connection between having an MBA and being a skilled investment advisor/planner.<?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

[/quote]

OK, make it an MBA in Financial Planning.

My point is that it's wrong that some bozo who dropped out of his freshman year at the junior college can be hired by an employer that handles people's money.

The Series 7 exam should be significantly more difficult and the passing score should be 85 instead of 70.

There's lots of things that should be done.  But they won't be so there's no reason to beat our keyboards about it.

There should also be ongoing and meaningful continuing education requirements for brokers and financial advisors.  By meaningful, not taking an online course and answering the questions from the book.  

Just learning enough to pass the test isn't sufficient.  Most of us will admit that we have forgotten much of the series 7 material, especially the options information.   Unless you use it or keep refreshing it you lose it.   In addition the industry keeps changing and new investment products are introduced that didn't exist when some of us took the exams.

Put Trader is in the house!!!

Put, I’m all for more education and higher standards, but come on…can’t you qualify me with my CFP?!!   I don’t want to go back for more eductaion that I MAY use 5% of in my daily duties!!!

BTW, don’t do any of that stuff that got you banned last time, OK?!! 

[quote=Indyone]Put Trader is in the house!!![/quote]

Who is Put Trader and why does he or she rate three exclamation points?

[quote=Indyone]Put Trader is in the house!!![/quote]

Similar thoughts have passed through my mind…

[quote=Big Easy Flood]

[quote=Indyone]Put Trader is in the house!!![/quote]

Who is Put Trader and why does he or she rate three exclamation points?[/quote]

I'm just excited to have Put back on the board.  Put kept things interesting even if you didn't always agree with him.

You don' have to 'fess up, just don't do anything to get yourself banned this time, OK?!!