EJ is a joke, and as long as you can count on your own hands and feet, do your own investing. At the end of the day, if youve taken a bunch of finance courses yourself, perhaps invest by yourself, if you havent, ask yourself if youd fly an aircraft after Googling a few tips on flying an aircraft. The fees simply don't justify the benefits unless you're in it for the very long term. Would I have actually done that, and stuck with it through the drop in 1988 and whatever other market variations occurred? I know from experience as I have moved clients away from EdwardJoines. (Note that my FA called me in a rage right after I transferred some assets to Schwab.). Edward Jones offers in-person advice and investment management services through its 19,000 advisors across the U.S. and Canada. You pay less because you get less. Long-Term Capital Gains Tax, Best High-Yield Savings Accounts For 2021. These big company processes never favor your returns, they favor their returns. For example, if you're averse to investing in oil and gas pipelines because of environmental concerns, your advisor could make sure to stay away from such stocks. Word would get around, right? In the same account, I invested $200,000 in stocks / ETFs and paid a one time commission at the time of purchase a few years ago. I am a buy and hold equity investor. Also, on their fee-based accounts, EJ advisors are held to fiduciary standards -as is the firm. Your EJ advisory funds have performed HORRIBLYFar worse than SP, and RUS2000. Personally, I think E.J. This is simply not true. That just seems very high considering each acct is about $125k. When you first sign up for Edward Jones, you take a quiz to help match you with an advisor and determine your investing goals. If one assumes that this should be any part of an advisors value proposition, he or she is gravely mistaken. Hence the name of the book. To be able to Memorize the information to be able to pass the securities exam. Specifically, firms like Betterment or Wealthfront are suitable for individuals who don't have complex investment portfolios. If someone is paying you $10,000 per year in consulting fees, and another person is paying you $10 per year in consulting fees, who are you going to serve better? That fund you mentioned is 9% YTD my Roth IRA through a FA I pay 1% on is doing 15% after fees. Go with Vanguard. Established company:Edward Jones has been trading for 100 years. Its an impossibility.
Id never do business with this firm again. I still would like to find that perfect wealth manager, but havent been able to do so, because I think my solution is not ideal. If you had bought the index 13 years ago in 2003, what would you have done in 2008? They say all the right things in the commercials but they never let you get a look under the hood until you move your money there. Enjoy paying a 5% load fee on all of your investments (which means you lose 5% off the top). Last time I checked, BOA was not a charity or a non-profit company. I went with E.J. Its like a CULT. At the end you lose. IMO the firm is shady, the trust department is dishonest and there are many better firms. Last one standing is fees. There is no way to actively manage large numbers of accounts, you have to use boring stale models that have very average returns. I have been with EJ for 20 years and with the same FA. If you know how to fix it, drive to the parts store and pay $100 bucks for parts and get it done for $100 bucks and your time. What would you suggest if we rolled the funds into another broker? After losing money with mutual funds, I switched to CDs on the advice of my original advisor. Hint: read my name. by Camper Man Fri Jun 01, 2007 10:46 pm, Post They then waited until things felt better and decided to get back into the market after it had doubled or tripled from those lows, completely undermining their performance because of the emotional decisions. Mine are free with BOA. Out of the 11,000 branches out there, there might be some good advisors. I have a sizeable inheritance (now not so sizeable because of Edward Jones churning.) She and I started reviewing charts and comparing today to yesteryear. My holy grail solution is to find two or three advisors (dont tell them) and split your money three ways and let them manage it for about 3 years and listen to their approach and services and then have them use the same model 90/10 or 80/20 or if youre older maybe 60/40 depending on your situation. Ive been talked outta some horribly impulsive decisions from my advisor. Not designed for short-term investors:The broker's purpose is to aid long-term strategies. Try to learn some about investments and be responsible for your own finances. For my money, throw it all in one of the Vanguard LifeStrategy funds based on your own risk tolerance. And then trust the Vanguard LifeStrategy fund to give you proactive advice about your financial situation, taxes, estate planning, and long-term financial goals. He is honest as the day is long and has stopped me from making bad financial choices like buying or selling stock that I should not be doing. Are you up from the begging of this year? For the average investor, Edward Jones is probably not the best choice. 2. So overall I agree with Jim Jones. Ask your adviser where the dividend gos from the dividend stocks in your fund. Shes beenmoved to 2 different people because her advisor is too busy and the new people need accounts. Edward Jones is not perfect, nor is it perfect for every investor. That person, because they are likely more skilled and definitely more ethical, finds you funds that charge .05% TOTAL. Interesting. How can you charge me a fee on the initial amount I have, even when you lose me money? Index funds have outperformed actively-managed funds by a pretty large margin. It is too much for the young family to keep up with. Not to you. Historically, Edward Jones advisors were distinct because they were accessible even in small towns and communities across the U.S. and Canada. Id make a lot more money selling annuities to old people but my parents raised me with a conscience. The portfolio strategy fee is another tiered fee for all broker-provided advisory solutions. Either the market is up and you make less than you should or the market is down and you lose more than you should. Edward does just enough to make sure you never become independent of them . Transferred out after 3 months and minimal fees. I had 1.3 million with them. Even a novice like me can do better. But Im good for now. The fees and expenses that an investor pays better be worth what the returns are given the context of the market etc etc etc.Edward Jones is a good firm and has some of the best long term investors in the market today.
Again, you have the final say on investments. Edward Jones is a traditional brokerage firm. I need it more than they do and it means thousands for me. They will work with your CPAs to develop specialize tax plans, your estate attorney to create the legacy that you want for your family, hold your hand through down markets to keep you from making mistakes, knowing and caring for your family, etc.
Thats another one wrong in the Cons section. This is contradictory. He once called me in the hospital. If you invested $100,000 with Edward Jones and purchase American mutual funds at 4.5% front end load and an expense ratio of 1.0% versus a comparable Vanguard mutual fund at 0% front end load and 0.2% expense ratio and left it invested for 10 years. I just met with an edward jones financial adviser yesterday the quote that I got was 5.75% fee to purchase a mutual fund We were talking specifically about setting up a roth IRA, but I am pretty sure she said the 5.75% applies to basically all purchases of mutual funds. Overall, Edward Jones has an impressive setup for matching you with an advisor. Declines are temporary and unavoidable and are part of your overall long term average rate of return. I take dividends, but I have not done a lot of trading. When you add in the 1-2% annual fees charged by most managed funds, its difficult to match the performance of a broad based index fund. Keep in mind, you get what you pay for, folks. This is what Jack Bogle called the tyranny of fees. But Ill likely stay with EJ for awhile. Then, because he would no longer talk to me, I moved over to another advisor. This guy was an out flim flam person. Absolutely not true. His advice at the time..hold tight and start BUYING now! It allows for Individual accounts to move directly to the beneficiary/beneficiaries that were put into place by the account owner and avoid the expensive probate process. You could spend more time learning about making investment decisions by yourself and choose a platform with lower fees. U got to be joking.
Ive learned a lot by watching others with their portfolios and their advisors and have watched how their value has grown because of the amount of time they spent in the market in good quality stocks, mutual funds, etc. This bit from FundAlarm seems to really take a swipe at Fido and it's Destiny Fund. Id stick with low cost passively managed funds. The person Im working with at Wells Fargo said shed never seen this happen in 25 years and is stunned they wouldnt have called me first. I had clients who did their own thing, for awhile, but usually realized they didnt have access to all the information I did, nor did they want the sleepless nights, or want it as a job. Ive been with EJ for 2-3 years and the thousands I paid every year has always bothered me. If you arent in their niche, complaining about it isnt going to help you and its not going to hurt them, because most people who are in the niche can easily see you for what you are: not ideal. An adviser is not the final say or word, your word is final, and if you allow an adviser to have that, then you have lost control over your investments. An yes if you own the index 13 years ago u still would be way ahead of any Edward Jones funds. In one of my Ed Jones accounts, I invested 1.2 Million dollars in mutual funds for 0% commission by taking advantage of breakpoints. My EJ advisor was either calling me or me him every day while it sank.
Its almost impossible to break 1.6% in total fees per year using institutional shares. Do you use a discount broker and handle your own acct? I invested $2K every year and did fine since I had the fund long enough to overcome the onerous first-year load of 50%. In the latter case we are talking about one incidental luxury a person indulges in; one fraction of a persons overall life expenditures. I understand how easy it is too get close to your advisor, my clients are like family but I always remind them I have to earn and keep their business through my daily management. However, the strategy fee seems a little gratuitous with the amount you're already paying in management fees, especially at an opening rate of 0.19% for the UMA Model.
Despite all of this Im considering leaving EJ because of the fee increase and reading all the comments here. Lost a lot of money at EJ 2 ways, heavy fees and bad funds. I recently asked him to sell an asset. It is what it is. Or if you were in a fee based account previously (where there was a percentage charged monthly) and then switch to a commission based IRA and now the fee is being charged. I am a 20 year plus veteran broker. The problem Ive had with EJ is that they consistently underperform my accounts at Fidelity, Schwab and Vanguard and they have the highest fees, 600% higher. Ive been dropped by two EJ advisors and shuffled along to someone else. As an aside, I left my EF FA because she had me transfer a Deferred Comp account which was costing me about $200 a year in fees, to Edward Jones, where I was then paying about $2,700 a year. Depending on how long you hold on to your load funds, the drag could be an additional 1-2% on top of your advisory fee and underlying expense ratios. 2. So they were good from that standpoint. My original advisor took me out of mutual funds that were doing well. If that seems like a strange ratio, that's because a crucial part of the company's goal is to reach clients where they live and offer the same high quality of service, rather than clustering in big cities. EJ agents are just insurance salesmen looking to line their own pockets. If you cant explain Portfolio Beta and Efficient Portfolio Theory and Markowitz Modern Portfolio Theory without using Google, their business model is not going away. I did it because I liked the guy I met with. This is the part people cannot grasp. (Deep Dive on the Risks in 2022), How to Cash Out Bitcoin on Various Platforms & Apps, How to Invest in Real Estate With Little Money. Trying to get Ed Jones to reveal his holdings (a great secret) to the Estate has still not happened. My managed Roth IRA that I pay 1% on is up 15% after fees. To get a piece of that time, you have to pay. Glassdoor has millions of jobs plus salary information, company reviews, and interview questions from people on the inside making it easy to find a job thats right for you. Edward Jones does not serve as a fiduciary except for at the Plan level of retirement plans. It specializes in long-term investment prospects. Yeah, it is mostly poor clients (both literally and figuratively) who are complaining. Go to Edward Jones and an old saying applies. Mike, Are you a broker or and advisor? That is why Edward Jones (and the industry in general) has shifted away from investment sales and toward planning. There are 5 Edward Jones offices there, more EJ offices than Starbucks. My advisor refused to talk to me about it, and left me holding the bag. The adviser I have with Edward Jones has done a stellar job over the last 13 years!!! The market is down 7% this year so far and you are mentioning getting out.
Yes, to those who want to trade free willy nilly, do! No offense, but if youre getting a return of 5% a year for your entire lifetime, youre doing investing wrong. Note that fee-based is not the same as fee-only. He moved me over to another office, which essentially did much the same thing: churned my portfolio and put some of the money into sketchy investments. Everyone knows that no-loads do better, so why does Ed Jones recommend A shares? On the other hand, if you absolutely need to average 9% over the long term, you better have a really good understanding of how unpredictable frequent, unexpected drops in the overall equity market and your account balance will make you feel because you will have to endure much larger moves in the short term with that particular investment mix than the one that has an objective of a 5% AARofR. I really wish I had decided to do my investing on my own several years ago. For more information, please read our. Yes to those who want to put all your eggs in one basket and hope they dont crack, please do! My EJ advisor did!!!. The integrity factor cannot be easily discerned. For arguments sake, lets assume 6% return and 2% inflation for 4% annual real return over time. The actual fees charged at EJ are staggering and most are completely hidden. If one does not understand that temporary, sometimes large, declines will always exist then he/she either needs more education on the topic. The studies also show how financial advisors lag index funds (and essentially make the same mistakes). No matter where you put your money i.e. If I was a good investor I would do it all myself and save the headache and cost of hiring a professional. the kicker is they still take the fee. After 14 years, my advisor reassigned me to someone in his office (someone I did not like) and refused to return my calls when I wanted to discuss my concern. Is it access to otherwise unattainable money managers, daily portfolio monitoring, automatic rebalancing, consistent asset allocation, enhanced research by the portfolio team, etc?? One thing that I believe is glossed over in the article is that within EJ (and most other) fee-based accounts you pay 0 up front sales charges on mutual funds. Your hard working husband earned it. Its not (computerized) quantitative finance (like youre implying). If you are in a good mix of funds and stocks you will out perform those low cost vanguard funds even after the fees. Theyre no longer stock-brokers like youre treating them. Most of the people making comments above are not legally allowed to give advice per Series 66 regulations, so please take their advice with a grain of salt, and dont give your money to a cheap, underperforming marketing guru like Vanguard. Its completely random and one mutual fund doing well 10 years later is at the bottom of the heap. Did they advise u to get out. If anything is listed under Initial (front-end load), Deferred or Redemption (back-end load), you ARE paying a commission. robo advisors and their portfolio algorithms have nothing to do with financial advising. Have a great day Nan. No, EJ isnt perfect. Edward Jones was good for me until my representative retired then I found out what it was like to have a person (the replacement) who was looking out for themself and not me. I say all this as someone who has money outside of Jones, but many family members who swear by them. The fees I couldnt deal with either.
Accommodating, training and growth are big. Thats what you are paying them to do. I have been through four advisors in the last year, including our trusted family advisor. After using both Web portals, the lack of info available at EJ is obvious they dont want you to get too much info. The average investor looking to set up a regular taxable brokerage account or a college savings account will often find more value elsewhere. I feel that I can clarify some mistakes that the writer made as I am very familiar with the firm as both a spouse of an advisor and as a client as well.
