Vantaggi
If you're new to financial services industry and are interested in finding out more, but don't know where to get started, Edward Jones has a New FA development system that is only matched by a select few. It's a system where anyone that's willing to put in the honest work can achieve a relative level of success. The training program is bit exhauting, but very comprehensive and it is designed to help anyone with at least half a brain pass the 7 and 66. Their structure of 1 office, 1 FA and 1 assistant allows complete freedom to operate your branch as you see fit, as long as you're hitting the production goals. The production goals for a new FA are by far the lowest in the industry, compared to other wirehouses. Also, it doesn't tell the whole story, the company is featured in the Fortune Magazine year after year as one of the best places to work in USA. You certainly will get respect from your family and friends just for that fact. They offer competitive payouts, about the same as wirehouses, but higher than a bank FA. Company also offers you a chance to qualify for a "Diversification Trip" based on your own merits and performance, rather than being measured against your peers. Who ever meets the performance criteria are eligible to go. After a few years of service, you can also participate in its own limited partnership offering and maybe possibly become a general partner eventually.
Svantaggi
It's a one size fits all training program, and if you abhor even the thought of knocking on people's doors, then this is not a job for you. Their medical insurance is everything that is wrong with our current health care industry, expensive and not helpful. 1 office, 1 FA and 1 assistant structure can become lonely and many Edward Jones FAs that I've met have said that is the toughest part of the job. Also because you work alone, there is no friendly competition to gauge your performance against and motivate you. Lowest starting pay of all what I consider major brokerage firms.