Q: What did you do before joining Edward Jones?
A: After several years as a stockbroker in London and Belfast, I joined Edward Jones as a Financial Adviser in September 2001. Q: What attracted you?
A: Joining was an extremely attractive proposition for several reasons. First, Edward Jones is a global company, with the huge number and variety of opportunities that come with that. Second, the company was just starting up here in the United Kingdom (actually in many ways it still is) and of course it's always very exciting to be part of the success of any enterprise in its formative years. It's a wonderful opportunity not only to succeed, but to prosper. Third, we have a very strong ethical culture: no-one is here to sell anyone anything they don't want or need. That's very important. Q: Where do you see yourself going?
A: We are a very much a partnership. When I first worked in the industry, stockbroking firms were all partnerships, rather like legal practices, and brokers all aspired to becoming Partners, part-owners in other words, of their companies. In the late eighties and early nineties all that changed, with the vast majority of these firms being taken over by large banks and corporations. It's very refreshing to be part of something that I can aspire to have a sense of ownership in, and it's principally this that makes the opportunity at Edward Jones so unique. We are one of the very few large partnerships in existence in the financial services field. Also, being based in Belfast, I am the first Edward Jones Financial Adviser on the island of Ireland, and as we continue to expand into Europe, perhaps by opening offices in the Republic of Ireland, I am aiming within the next five to ten years to be playing a leadership role in that expansion. Q: How did you find the training?
A: Learning and development here is second to none. As well as all the academic qualifications needed to be a successful Financial Adviser, the company also provides training in different sales techniques, something I'd certainly never received before, and which I've found extremely valuable.
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