Q: How long have you been with Edward Jones?
A: I’ve been in the UK for nine years and in my current position for two years, so it’s been a time of extraordinary growth. Q: What makes Edward Jones unique in the UK?
A: The market position that Edward Jones has in the UK is truly unique. We look different in financial services in any country that we operate in, but we’re so unique here – not only in how we do business, but the business that we do for our clients. We compete on the basis of great customer service, and so right there we’re differentiated from so many people who want to say we can do the best job of making you money. Well, what we know is that often translates into a firm that’s willing to take a lot of risk with client’s money to post big returns. Most of our clients don’t want someone taking a lot of risk with their money. They want more stable, predictable returns, they want somebody who’s looking out for their best interests, and the key to it all is they want an individual, a human being, that they can trust. This makes us so unique in the marketplace that we’ve recognized that and we allocate our resources, both capital as well as training and technology, to support that notion. What we have is an opportunity for a customer to deal with one person that they’ve got a trusting relationship with, and their financial needs are met. This makes us quite unique in the marketplace. It’s a very powerful proposition. Q: What is the true value an Edward Jones client receives?
A: I think the essence of value to an Edward Jones client is having the personal recognition as an individual and the personal recognition of their needs and their comfort level. When you run the Edward Jones business model where a client walks into a branch office and the Branch Office Administrator (BOA) can call them by name and the Financial Adviser knows them by name and probably knows the name of their dog as well, that’s personal service. It starts with the greeting from the BOA and extends right on through to the Financial Adviser hosting them back in the office and having a face-to-face interview, for the client that is not going to happen anyplace else. So many other firms are stressing stripping out expenses, i.e. in the form of offices or people, that the clients receive less service – certainly less personalized service. At Edward Jones we’re taking all of our training and technology and making sure that that face-to-face moment where the client’s going to get great service, and we’re trying to optimize that moment, and we’ve done a great job of that. Q: If I’m a Financial Adviser thinking of transferring, what would stand out about Edward Jones?
A: When we attract an individual who’s been in financial services and they recognize the Edward Jones opportunity and start with us, I think there are many points of differentiation. One would be that our commitment to training is evident from the very beginning where they see that our pass rates for exams are the highest that are published in the industry. That gets people’s attention. But then it doesn’t stop there. Then we commit to training and development as they are in the field and working with clients. So you have a technical development in training that helps them increase their knowledge of the ever-changing nature of financial services, and I mean it’s changing both on products, client needs, and regulatory issues. So you have to have a commitment to be able to keep people up to speed on that, and have them be aware of all the changes that are taking place. Then our commitment to giving great client service is evidenced by the way our Compliance Department works with existing Financial Advisers is really quite an eye opener for a lot of people. Then when we see the commitment to having a branch office with a full-time administrator there for the experienced individual, I don’t know of anyone else who’s willing to make that kind of a commitment to customer service. So that’s the best part of the job, I think, for a transfer broker. Q: In your opinion, what keeps Edward Jones at the top of its game?
A: In the financial services industry today I think there are three ways that you can compete. You can compete on the basis of price to try and attract customers by being the low cost provider. Now that’s the right kind of business model for some people, but frankly it’s not much fun and the rewards aren’t quite as great for helping customers. The second way you can compete in financial services is on the basis of investment performance. Now that seems to be very attractive to firms that like to advertise on billboards and put magazine ads because they can put a big number in the ad, unfortunately the risk that you have to take to achieve those big numbers is taken with the client’s money. Our clients aren’t that interested in having somebody take a lot of risk with their money. The third way that you compete in financial services is on the basis of service. Now, in order to do that you have to have everything in your firm aligned towards providing a great customer service experience, and that requires a commitment of capital and resources to do that, and those resources go into everything from having a location that’s convenient to that client, as well as having the training so the people are prepared to do their job, and in our case – and we feel critical to it all – is that you have a full-time person dedicated to client service, and that’s the BOA, someone who’s a full-time administrator supporting the efforts – the marketing, sales, and probably the technology research – that goes with being a good adviser. Q: Talk a little about the support that Edward Jones Financial Advisers receive.
A: One of the things that I think makes Edward Jones unique in the marketplace and so attractive to individuals who have been in financial services is we’ve struck a wonderful balance between providing great support and structure with the autonomy and freedom of individuals who are successful at Edward Jones. They have an entrepreneurial spirit and they want to be able to do what they feel is in the best interests of their client. We take that quality that these individuals possess – you know, it’s a real drive to give good customer service and do what’s in the best interests of their clients – and we put support and structure and technology behind that so that when the client comes in for service, or for an investment idea, or to conduct a review appointment with their broker what they see is the person who’s there, calls them by name, understands their situation, and it’s a very personal moment because it’s all based upon trust and it’s based on this relationship that’s been developed over time. What the client doesn’t see, and frankly it’s great that they don’t have to be exposed to it, is all the resources that go behind supporting that adviser. Q: How does Edward Jones approach recruiting?
A: Our approach to recruiting individuals to join our organization is a wonderful reflection upon our organization, how we do business, our principles and our values. We try very hard to be sure that individuals hear both sides of the story when they join Edward Jones, just as we would expect any Financial Adviser to present a client an idea with both the up side, as well as any risks inherent in that solution. When we talk to individuals about the opportunities of joining Edward Jones, you’ll often hear us stress the amount of hard work and the long-term commitment that’s required in building a successful business. That’s reality. We know that it is, and we feel individuals must hear that and must fully take on board all the information to make a good career decision. At the same time I think it's just a wonderful compliment to our organization that we’re confident enough in our ability to support these individuals that we really stress the challenges that they’re going to face. We know that thousands of individuals before them have faced those challenges with our support and they’ve succeeded. That’s why we’re here. Q: What advice would you give to someone considering the Financial Adviser position at Edward Jones?
A: The financial services industry in the United Kingdom has gone through tremendous upheaval. There are tremendous regulatory pressures that are taking place, and the marketplace itself is changing. So there are a lot of people who are experienced, who are looking around and trying to find a new home where they can best serve their clients. Those individuals should take a close look at Edward Jones because all of our resources – our training, our people, our technology – are aligned behind that individual adviser supporting their clients through great customer service. That’s a great opportunity for someone who’s been in the industry. There have been plenty of folks who talk about supporting the broker, but we’ve made a commitment, a long-term commitment, so that our success is only derived from that individual office being successful, the individual client being well served. That must happen before we’re successful, and we’re committed to that.
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