RateItAll: The Opinion Network

Texasplanner: do your thoughts on Edward Jones remain the same in the case of a CFP working for Edward Jones, and now that they are offering a fee-based platform?

After the class action suit of 2004, I'm not sure how Edward Jones is still in business. For years they pushed their brokers to sell low-performing, high-load funds in return for incentives and promotions. They FINALLY got caught in this kickback scheme. Why do people still trust this company??

j0hnnyb1 seems to be eager to completely ignore my review and jump right into quoting what is obviously advertising bylines used by Edward Jones. I wonder if he even read my review? Nothing in my review was untrue. I guess he has a hard time understanding the difference between a broker/salesman and a certified financial planner. How does someone who " can't hack it" go from being a financial product salesman to being a fee-based financial planner. Boy, I thought I was doing good for clients. I guess I couldn't hack it. I only manage $75M of client money.

When someone is faced with the truth that is uncomfortable, it is common to resort to personal attacks of the messanger. Maybe it is just me, but anyone who starts quoting EJ advertised self promotions materials, must have drunk the Edward Jones Kool-Aid and a full fledged member of the cult. I suspect that j0hnnyb1 is probably an Edward Jones employee or broker. Some people who has been brainwashed have a hard time looking at the facts.

Not once did he address any issue that I raised in my review. Instead he resorted to a personal attack of "got canned because he couldn't hack it". I guess his silence speaks for itself.

I'm just trying to let subscribers to RateIt know what they are getting into if they elect to go to Edward Jones for financial advice.

It sounds like the "former EJ rep got canned because he couldn't hack it :). Edward Jones is ranked #1 by JD Powers for full service brokers I believe 3 or so years in a row. They are consistently ranked #1 for client satisfaction. So I ask myself is this just a broker that could not meet his numbers or was to lazy to build his book of business? Hmm...

Loads are complete rips offs. What are you talking about? They do not go to the fund manager - that is totally wrong.

Let's say the Edward Jones saleperson sells you American Growth Fund of America Class A shares. You would have paid a 5.75% upfront load plus 0.25% ongoing 12b-1 fee.

However, if you worked with a bona-fide Registered Investment Advisor that only charges a fee you could buy the same fund wihout paying the load and you might pay the fee-only Advisor a small hourly rate or perhaps 0.60% per year. All your investment dollar would have gone to work for you right at the begining rather than being "stolen" by a salesperson.

All and all - WAY WAY WAY less expensive the the rip off artists at Edward Jones.

I am a new FA in training with Edward Jones and really appreciate all the honest opinions I see here. I joined so that I could build good personal relationships with my clients and be accountable to their needs. They can visit me when they have problems, and if there is anything I don't know, there are a lot of professionals backing me up. It is true that my colleagues come from a variety of backgrounds, but I have been impressed with the majority that I've met so far. I'm finding that our firm is not for every investor, but those who are serious about investing to meet their long term goals. Market timers and active traders might do better going to a discount broker, although we don't mind the additional commissions, if you do insist. While I recruited, my regular friends generally had good things to say about their experiences with Jones. I think the worst I heard was that their local rep was a bit too eager to work with them. (I wish I could say that about my Sprint service reps.) Most of what I've read in the blogs has to do with expectations. Apparently, some advisors did not effectively communicate things like fees and commissions, and this showed up in their frustration with that rep. I hope never to be one of those reps! You'll always get it straight from me, though it's not always good news, and I hope I can say the same for most of my new colleagues. If, one day, you see an Edward Jones rep on your doorstep one day, treat him nicely and make your own decision. That person could be me, and you will not regret our conversation.

Edward Jones has been a great broker for me. I enjoy the customer service and the time they spend with me face to face. The Financial Advisor has given me great advice and I have had great returns. I appreciate the time he has put into my account. He is worth every commission that I have paid him.

I wouldn't recommend Edward Jones unless you very highly value face to face or phone contact to conduct business. The mutual funds they are selling have nasty loads (commissions paid when you buy shares) and their annual fees are high as well. I had a "self directed" Roth IRA at Edward Jones and it was not possible to make contributions to it online. In this day and age, this seems ridiculous for a what the fine print disclosures call a "self directed" account. If you're planning on putting some money into mutual funds, do yourself a favor and lower the cost of investing by opening an account at a firm like Vanguard, T. Rowe Price, or Fidelity instead. If you make the same mistake I did and go with Edward Jones, be aware that when you want to get out they'll charge you an annual fee ($40 in my case) that is not pro-rated, and they will not disburse funds and terminate the account without first charging you another $50 fee. By the end of my short stay with them I was almost happy to pay the $90 in fees to just get away from them.

I have no problem with the Edward Jones site but Jim O'Brien in Norfolk, Virginia is an incompetent broker. I would suggest that you go somewhere else with you money. His customer service is atrocious. He definitely does not care about you or your concerns if you are not a big fish.

Great Company, Great Broker, consistant performance and advice. I don't know what more you'd want. I like meeting and knowing my broker, someone who knows me, my family, and my goals and makes recomendations accordingly. I don't want to take investment advice from a faceless voice at some call center. If I want to make a trade based on a "hot" stock tip, I have e-trade, but for meat and potatoes investing, I use EJ and have been very happy.

I wouldn't do business with them again. This was a few years back. The little office around the corner went thru multiple brokers. They were always trying to sell me something. I put a little money in to play with. Wouldn't you know it...recommended WorldCom. No problem, I thought it was a good stock...but the broker kept having me buy more each time the stock went down. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but when everyone else is abandoning ship, Edward Jones kept on promoting. Sorry, no thanks.

RIPOFF! My experience has been terrible. Edward Jones brokers are usually not even CFPs (certified financial planners), and generally only have SALES training. Their primary duty is to SELL funds that are usually mediocre investments. Do NOT transfer ANY of your funds, accounts, or write a single check to an Edward Jones broker until you have IN WRITING exactly how much you'll pay to invest in ANYTHING they offer. This is because you'll be paying LOADS (ie, commissions) to the broker "advisor". Go with Vanguard or Fidelity. Go to suzeorman.com to read info re load funds. (disclaimer: I don't work for Suze Orman, Fidelity, or Vanguard.)

Great service! Great picks!