I will be hopeful and positive –as I make this big change. Precisely as this article (and this lawsuit) states, these hypocrites have been pushing fee-based over commission since 2009, along with their proprietary Bridge Builder mutual funds, all without adequate disclosure and at all costs, to benefit their filthy rich General Partners!! In reality it means that only EJ can hold the annuity. Meanwhile, investors should be mindful that firms like Edward Jones are moving forward to comply with the upcoming changes. And we owned by the employees. Please read the prospectus or fund facts document before investing. I have been a Jones advisor for over 20 years and I have ZERO advisory account conversions. This is NOT OK! The Kuderna Podcast, focusing on wealth in it's original meaning- a state of well being. Don’t believe me? Was it her broker masquerading as a fiduciary financial advisor? Earning your trust is essential to our success, and we believe transparency is critical to creating that trust. The annual audit is done by everyone for the same purposes (to nail you if anything comes up), but they always presented it as making sure if FINRA shows up that you’re protected. I will do that but I’ve informed him that I will not pay 1 penny to have my account corrected back to the original model. NO WAY!!!! How about the JPMorgan Mid Cap Value Fund? Jones management is not forcing clients into fee based accounts. For more information, read, requires advisers and firms to act as fiduciaries, 4 Ways to Motivate Yourself to Save and Invest Like a Millionaire, Why This Brokerage Won't Let Investors Buy Funds and ETFs in Their IRAs. It’s not a matter of if these people win their suit or not, but how HUGE the award is going to be. They didn’t have a BIC option for the first year and when it arrived it was to cumbersome to use. My “field supervisor” reviewed the trade and never got back to me. I’ve been to hell and back in the last nine years and I trusted Edward Jones. The financial-services industry has long argued that the new rules would limit choice and make it harder to serve clients—particularly those without millions of dollars to invest—in a cost-effective way. I bet you put it in an indexed annuity and earned 20% up front. Regarding the trips: On the face of it I can see why that might look pretty lavish but there are some things to consider. They did have the choice and were not forced into fee based. At times, it felt like clients wanted me to be a charity. If a financial advisor sold a large amount of that particular item, they would earn an all expense paid family vacation! They also provide for commission accounts for new IRA contributions as long as the FA has the client acknowledge conflicts of interests that are inherent in transactional accounts. Timeless wisdom, actionable information you can use right now to make smarter investment decisions. The moral of the story is Don’t bite the hand that feeds. We offer a broad universe of investing products to help you build a diversified investment portfolio, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and Unit Investment Trusts (UITs). Not in the clients’ best interest, I would think. Our daughter moved her EJ account to RayJay last yr. She seems fairly content with her choice of RayJay currently. Self-invest. No wonder Jones let you go. I just wanted to clarify one of your points: someone went to work for Jones and had to move all of their accounts to Jones. For example, would you disclose to a client how much you get matched in your 401k or how much you received in a Christmas bonus last year? I’m sorry to hear that you went thru this ordeal, after 7 years of excellent client service. Indeed, a single fund can have a share class that builds in absolutely no compensation for sellers and another share class with an 8.5% upfront commission or “load.”, It seems Edward Jones is concerned that the rule requires it to offer the cheapest mutual funds or ETFs available, says Marcia Wagner, an attorney specializing in ERISA and employee benefits. You obviously don’t know me (indexed annuities with 20% commissions) – I call BS. Most likely Fidelity will be my choice as I read through what each is all about. I think these attorneys have really done their homework and IMO they have nailed it. As a spouse of a 30+ year Jones vet., I can not agree with you more. “Alright,” I think. The lawsuit is totally legitimate! These ratings and price targets were collected from public media reports and are believed to … I’m an independent, proudly use Commonwealth Financial Network since 2005, started in this field in 1994. Not on our platform, and personally, I can count on one hand how many fixed annuities I’ve recommended (for a portion of their money) over the years. This is a firm incentive for new FAs to work harder since they are being paid a low salary and that salary decreases each year. I am not one with deep pockets–but the pennies add up –a little is more than nothing –and I don’t want to be taken advantage of. His words not mine. Advisors were positioning this to move to fee based and said it was industry wide. Period. But hopefully it’s a warning shot to the home office and industry at large and they get back to doing what’s right for clients and not the GP return or stock price. Thank you for finally saying it! They were forcing clients to fee based which I did not succumb to the koolaid so ended up being an outsider in a so called great firm I had a client that lost her husband that had mutual funds for 12 plus years and they stated to me she had no choice but to liquidate the account which causes tax liabilty or move to fee based at 1.35 five times more I would not put my name on that and ironically neither would main office they wanted me to do it but they wouldn’t I left this and many other fees like 1099 t on limited partnerships charging clients years later is wrong I left because they are wrong so before you go calling anyone anything look in the mirror okay the green koolaid is bad try a different color you will be glad you did cockroach. 464 Allegheny Blvd Ste 2, Franklin, PA 16323, 11065 State Highway 18 Ste 4, Conneaut Lake, PA 16316, 26 Nesbitt Rd Ste 103, New Castle, PA 16105, 19047 Park Avenue Plz Ste 40, Meadville, PA 16335. They said that proprietary mutual funds were the devil…until they weren’t. I’ve called local EJ brokers who masquerade as financial advisors, and I’ve called the headquarters, but nobody… NOBODY can tell me where this LIST OF ELIGIBLE INVESTMENTS FOR GUIDED SOLUTIONS is located. Well, I was there, i got the training from EJ and the Transamerica wholeseller – Neither told me that my clients would be stuck with EJ for as long as they own this product. Jones is almost forcing clients into fee based IRA accounts. When was the last time you heard of a bonus or reward trip for great service? They now have 5 advisors in my town 4 years ago I was the only one. “In orchestrating this scheme to churn revenue from essentially dead assets, Edward Jones made misleading statements and material omissions to their clients, including Plaintiffs, about the amount of fees they would pay,” the filing said. Hey, Ron, maybe you know where the list of Eligible Investments for Guided Solutions is. They sold against fee based in favor of A shares until they figured out the advisory was a way to increase revenue and help in those down markets where new money is hard to gather. When you begin calling to follow up on your letter, make sure you keep notes of who you spoke with, when and what they told you. What if they come from another firm managed at 1.5%? Only one fee based acct in my book of 178 million. Of course, not all FA’s at Jones do what they are being sued for but the FA that I had before I started as an employee did this to me. I was fast tracking there before I quit and formed my own independent practice as a fiduciary advisor. We live in a rural hardworking community with a huge percentage of retirement accts. Please note that not all of the investments and … I converted very few…unless clients chose it and gave them all costs to compare. Edward Jones Funds Edward Jones is a company that sells mutual funds with $31,792M in assets under management. As I said earlier in this blog. From the beginning seemed just wrong to me–you know that intuition thing. It continually uses the words scam and scheme…that’s hard to prove. We’ll probably hide behind DOL as an excuse. How much ended up in the new ‘Bridge Builder’ funds? I can honestly say I saw this coming (lawsuit) because the industry (and regulators) know what EJ has promoted in the past (Class A shares) and they have made the 180 turn (to advisory fees) – which is okay for new assets, but the reverse churning is wrong, simply wrong and highly unethical. I have taken a lot of grief for my stand. How much risk am I willing to take? A podcast dedicated to presenting fresh ideas and best practices for the wealth management industry. What is my time frame? Most of us on the post have been on the EJ side and now on the indie side. Hence converting a no fee income portfolio to a monthly “management” fee. Except for this horrible decision to convert existing accounts to advisory and to make those investments in proprietary funds, Jones has truly endeavored to do the right thing for clients. Sorry to hear that you cant compete in your towns with Jones crushing you like the cockroaches that you are. Sounds like the individual has character! I am beyond frustrated!!! Be sure to ask your advisor about ALL the fees you pay: commissions, fees, expense ratios, retirement account fees, closing fees, low balance fees and more. No trades were allowed to be placed in accounts that were not fee based. > Reply to An Independent FA who is thrilled to be able to actually put their clients needs first! Download a free version from Adobe's website. This lawsuit had to be in the works for at least a year. So if the FA moves or the client wants to close their accounts, they still have to leave the annuity in an EJ account. However I do know for a fact advisors are telling their clients it’s mandatory when it’s not. I’m so scared because I don’t have much money left and I feel completely betrayed right now and very angry. Fee advisory was the devil to EJ, now it’s the gold standard – SMH. Do you have no reward or compensation in your practice for bringing in new assets?