Vantaggi
Edward Jones helped me get into the industry and helped with some of the basic office costs to get started. The Diversification trips can be a lot of fun and many of the Edward Jones Employees you meet are fantastic people. Numbers are easy to hit if you work exceptionally hard.
Svantaggi
You will not be reimbursed or compensated for most expenses ( advertising, client meals, stamps, anything above a physical building you need) When you leave they will use every corrupt business practice possible to destroy your business (manipulate regulators on your U4, numerous threatening letters, outright culture of manipulation of you being bankrupt or accusations of breaking the law to your former clients, etc.). You will be subject to AMT tax and eventual IRS harassment if you invest in the business and you will at minimum be forced to pay payroll taxes on expenses you incur (all income goes on W2 with no possibility to run threw P/L of branch, leaving the IRS to question if you are an employee where they pay everything (see state lawsuits) or if you are spending this money for fun). Company uses unethical business practices involving revenue sharing and pushing of preferred funds in even fiduciary accounts. Partnership is the carrot on the stick that forces you to "volunteer" to "train" new employees, help with regional activities, or in essence be a slave to there will for NO COMPENSATION. Quota information is very manipulative. They base everything on 100 percent level for the hiring guide implying that is the bare minimum or normal production of an Advisor. In reality 40percent is the minimum and 100percent is not standard and the 200percent on there compensation guide is fictitious. If you will read there 10k you will notice that the overall goal is to enrich general partners at all cost and reward past workers at the expense of the current workers (Ted Jones wouldn't share his business with his Sisters for this very reason ironically). Technology is pathetic and you have far less tools as an Advisor than an individual has on an online account. If you leave your Edj "friends" will cuss you out and drop all connections, and possibly even threaten you. Past trainees are so scared an EDJ drone is outside our office that they shake when they come in, just like a battered woman trying to leave an abusive husband (see NFL) Proof of all these above is the fact that rarely do Advisors that are independent and successful come back, and the grass is greener elsewhere.