Joe- You missed my point. You are dead wrong on the annuity hypo quip btw. My point was that the technology question is not simply a matter of comparing what do I pay each month to see who gets the best deal. Then you always go back to payout, the real reason that you are at LPL is that the payout is higher not that the technology is better…

noggin,

And your point is what, that you have the more antiquiated technology in the branch system (Head Office is a different matter) of most firms????

My point was that the technology question is not simply a matter of comparing what do I pay each month to see who gets the best deal. Then you always go back to payout, the real reason that you are at LPL is that the payout is higher not that the technology is better.....

I think the point is that the technology at Jones, as compared to that available to an independent, makes it much harder to do a comprable job.  In addition the fees that Jones charged (as I remember it was a sattelite connection fee of $1200 a month) were exorbitant compared to the value received.   And yes, I know those fees were not directly taken out of my pocket, but they were charged against the profit and loss* of the office, making it that much more difficult to achieve profitablility.  

I can't speak for Joe, or anyone else, but for me it was a combination of both factors that helped me decide to become indy.  First the payout is much much, did I mention much, higher. Second "I" can control my expenses by deciding what technology platforms and other expenditures I want to subscribe to....or not.  And last; I can actually figure out what my profit and loss is. Whereas at Jones the P&L was a joke. 

 *  I  was a commercial lending officer for some years and I have NEVER seen such a farcical way of determining a P&L of an office.  After the first few months of trying to figure it out: I did.  The P&L is structured in a way to make it most difficult to actually achieve profit in the first few years and to minimize the profit in future years at the branch level.  The company as a whole makes profit, but the mathematical formulas used at the branch level are a joke.....on the IR.

Babbling looney,

I have to agree with you on your last post, I just had a 20k gross month, and my P&L said I was profitable by $183.00. I do find that a little hard to belive. The more you make the more they take!

[quote=SA_Jim]

I have to agree with you on your last post, I just had a 20k gross month, and my P&L said I was profitable by $183.00. I do find that a little hard to belive. The more you make the more they take!

[/quote]

SA_Jim,

You are missing the point.  You get to keep Part of that 183 bucks as your bonus.  Idependant reps dont get a bonus.

gonna be a GP,

I just didn't like the fact that if I grossed 8k my direct expenses were 10K, but if I grossed 20k then my direct expenses were 14k. And the direct expense also included my pay. Like I said the more you make the more they take. Total to run my office is only $2788 plus what I pay my BOA and her benefits.

If I grossed $20K and my profit was $183, you can bet I'd be looking around to see what I could get rid of.  And if the elephant on my back was my B/D, they'd be gone in a heartbeat.

What is there to think about?

Philo,

The $183 was above all the P&L (expesis) and would have gone for bonis. I was paid about 39% of gross (pretax).

typo “expenses”  

You are missing the point.  You get to keep Part of that 183 bucks as your bonus.  Idependant reps dont get a bonus

YOU are missing the point.  Independent reps don't need to get a bonus.   On my 20K gross month it works like this.  BTW I just had a 32K month

20,000 less 20% override to B/D =$16,000 to me pre tax

Less monthly deductible expenses of lease $500 (I know really cheap ), E&O insurance $200, Phone and DSL $140, Utlitiies $50, Liability Insurance $45, Advertising budget $150, Affiliation fee and software production subscriptions Morningstar etc $220 = $1305 bare bones base overhead.  No assistant as yet as I don't need one so far. So ok lets round it up to $1500 so I can buy sodas, pens, toilet paper and take clients to lunch.   Remember this is bare bones, I can choose to spend more on advertising, software, what have you.

16,000 - 1500 = $14,500 net/gross pre tax.   Compare to SA_Jim's 39%  or $7,800 pre tax     From which he also gets to pay for the sodas, pens, toilet paper, advertising and lunches and a really really expensive health insurance plan.    So why would I give a rat's behind about a crappy $183 going into a bonus?

I figured out that the P&L was a racket or catch 22 trick.  As Jim says the more you make the more they take out.  It made no sense.

Update to my previous post.  The B/D deducts the ticket costs before the 80% pay out.  Ticket costs are minimal on most trades and for those clients who are doing small mutual fund buys, we go directly to the fund family to avoid ticket costs of any kind.  When I do insurance, long term care, health insurance or fixed annuity business, the payout is 100%.    Believe me, after being hosed by EDJ I made sure to crunch the numbers and get all the costs of doing business up front before deciding to make a move.  

(Never mess with a prior loan officer when it comes to checking the numbers  )

My comment was a little tounge and cheek.

But to add to you comment on the P&L being a racket. It gets even better on the bonus payout system.  They talk about the 40% bunus bracket, but it is graduated. In Jims case, he would keep $14.00 of his profit. The impact on his payout would be noteworthy.

7800+14=7814

7814/20000=.3907 or a payout of 39.07%

Take that to the bank baby!

Do I understand that the referenced payout is 39% before incidental office expenses and and then rent, salaries, utilities, etc. are folded back in and charged to your personal P&L?  So that means that your personal cut is added to your expense, and is weighted against you to the tune of 61%?  Then your tech charges ($1400????) are on a sliding scale, increasing as your gross goes up????  Then you ultimately get your head above water after that and they want to take a portion of the amount that you make over that larceny???

Who are you with????  I'd run from those bandits at the speed of light!

My comment was a little tounge and cheek.

But to add to you comment on the P&L being a racket. It gets even better on the bonus payout system.  They talk about the 40% bunus bracket, but it is graduated. In Jims case, he would keep $14.00 of his profit. The impact on his payout would be noteworthy.

7800+14=7814

7814/20000=.3907 or a payout of 39.07%

Take that to the bank baby!

  My mistake. I thought you were serious. Many of the current EDJ posters on this board are so deluded that they would think this is a good deal.

This is about Edward Jones?

No wonder there's so much anger generated towards the firm.

That's thievery, bordering on being a Ponzi scheme.

And to think I thought this thread was about Jones technology. Why is it every Jones thread comes down to payout no matter what subject it starts on?

[quote=noggin]And to think I thought this thread was about Jones
technology. Why is it every Jones thread comes down to payout no matter
what subject it starts on? [/quote]



hmmmmm…maybe becoz their payout REALLY REALLY SUCKS!  And when
folks stop and do the math they realize they’re getting screwed?

Joe- After being courted by AGE lately, I got to tell you that all payouts outside of independents is far less than what the independent’s are. AGE’s isn’t a great improvement on Jones and as a matter of fact depending where you are on production could be higher at Jones. You build your business with the help of a name and THEN you transition to an independent…

The underlying truth on technology is that although it does make life easier, it’s no substitute for knowing our craft, which is meeting people and asking for an order.  One can spend all day every day looking a computer screen and accomplishing nothing with a great deal of efficiency.  People have been raging successes in our business with nothing more than a pencil and paper. 

Long, long, long time ago in a far away Galaxy called Jonesville, self proclaimed Leaders named  J.B  & Doug "3" Mil Hill decided that Edward Jones should forget about the INTERNET, and go to a satellite system!  Wow, it was a no brainier, wasn't it!

It worked fine until one day the satellite fell from the sky....Then "3" Mil Hill said, we are going to Hardwire all of our offices!

We want to keep or identity as being different.....and guess who has paid for all of this changes, and bad decisions?  Could it be the Drones and the Clones, yes it was!  But they still love their Truthful leaders.......

And even now Edward Jones is still not on the net, still can't communicate on the net......yes Doug "3" Mil Hill it is time to forget about the string and your empty can of beans, it just doesn't cut it anymore....you need to get into the 21st century and get on the net .....

While all this was going on they forgot about full disclosure for their beloved clients in fact they still haven't told them about the 75 Million, mostly paid by the Drones & the Clones and since they all love Doug "3" Mil Hill who had to pay 3 Million in SEC Fines or go to jail for FRAUD, but the Drones  and the Clones still defend him..........could they really be that stupid..read their postings and you will know it's true........some say it's the Kool Aid, some say it's the brainwashing....who knows for sure?

That is the story of Edward Jones Technology Saga, by the Player

Signing off on the net.....................