Q: Describe your role within the firm.
A: I am responsible for the department that prices and markets new tax-free bond issues that help municipalities (Cities, Counties, School District, States, etc.) borrow funds for public projects. Q: Describe how your division contributes to the firm's success.
A: The Products and Services division is responsible for providing quality investments to meet our clients' needs. For our area specifically, we provide investments that may benefit clients that need tax-free income. Q: What year did you start at Edward Jones? What year did you start in your current position?
A: I started in 1982. I have been in the Municipal Bond Department my whole career but my job has evolved over time. I started as a "wire operator" sending back fill reports on trades and responses to wires that the brokers sent in. I took my Series 7 & 63 when I was 19 years old and became a municipal bond trader. I saw a need for a separate area to handle the new issue portion of the municipal bond department and I was allowed to create the Municipal Syndicate department in 1993 and have been responsible for the area since its creation. Q: What did you do prior to joining Edward Jones?
A: This was my first job. I graduated from High School in 1981 and went away to college for one semester. I didn't like dorm life so I moved home and decided to work my way through college so my parents wouldn't have to pay room and board. Q: Are there any memorable experiences you'd like to share that encapsulate or typify what it’s like to work for Edward Jones?
A: Working at Edward Jones is like being a part of a large extended family. I have had many memorable experiences. In 1990, I ran a branch office in Junction City, Kansas while the Financial Advisor and his wife were away on an Edward Jones trip. He invited me to stay in his home and drive his car while I was working in his office. On another occasion, my husband and I and our oldest son, then 2 years of age, were vacationing in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. I stopped in a local Financial Advisor's office to say hello and he invited our family to go out on the lake in his boat the next day. Q: Describe the culture at Edward Jones and how it’s different from your previous job. What is unique?
A: I cannot compare it to a previous job, but I can say that I have stayed at Edward Jones for 25 years because of the culture. Because of the responsibility based style of management, you are able to work nearly autonomously as long as you are meeting your goals and objectives as agreed to with your manager. There is great opportunity to grow if you are a self-starter and motivated. You can be creative and look for new ways to meet your goals. Q: One area Edward Jones prides itself is enabling associates to maintain a strong work-life balance. How does this approach impact you?
A: I have been blessed by the flexibility that Edward Jones has offered me. I really struggled when I came back to work after my first child was born. I think women, in particular, feel guilty about working and leaving their children with someone else. I have been given opportunities through my career to use a work at home status one day a week and also to use a flex schedule working 6 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. so that I could pick up my children from school and be there for them in the afternoons to help with homework and prepare a real home-cooked meal. That flexibility helped relieve that guilt and made me feel like I was being a good mom despite the need to work outside the home. Had I not been able to experience that flexibility, I may not have experienced the long career that I have enjoyed. In addition to my experience with my children, I had a difficult period when my mother was diagnosed with cancer and needed to undergo extensive chemotherapy treatments. My mom lives 75 miles from the hospital, and I was able to arrange a flexible schedule that allowed me to take her to and from chemo treatments during her illness. My mom is now cancer free. Q: What does the firm being a partnership mean to you?
A: The partnership form of business has helped me personally by helping build a stream of income from the investment opportunity. There is no other investment current available that even comes close to the return on investment provided by the opportunity of being a limited partner. It also gives you comfort that you will have a stream of income going into retirement as the firm will generally allow retired employees to hold the limited partnership interest as long as they don't go to work elsewhere. The limited partnership structure also means that we can focus on long-term growth unlike corporations that must focus on short-term performance at the expense of longer term performance. It also gives employees a sense of ownership. If I see trash on the floor, I will pick it up. If I see lights left on in a conference room, I will turn them off. I watch expenses as if it were my own business. Q: Do you think Edward Jones has taken good care of you in terms of overall compensation package, including medical benefits, vacation time, retirement planning and salary?
A: I have always felt that my compensation package is very fair. My base salary is good and the bonus opportunities are often very attractive. Having worked here for 25 years, I have five weeks of vacation which is very appealing because it allows me the opportunity to attend my son's basketball tournaments out of town, attend field trips and still have true vacation with my family. The profit sharing and 401k match are also very beneficial. I have always been comfortable with the medical benefits as well. Q: Do you feel there are opportunities for advancement and greater income potential at Edward Jones?
A: I feel that there are good opportunities for advancement if you have the right attitude and desire. You can't wait for someone to give you an opportunity; you have to look for them and ask to be able to pursue them if management agrees with your assessment of the potential in your idea. Q: What qualities do you think a person needs to have to succeed in the home office environment?
A: There are opportunities for people with many different skill sets to succeed in the home office. If you are a person that needs direction every step of the way, it may not be the place for you. People who thrive on the environment at Edward Jones are people who have vision, are self-motivated, and create their own opportunities. Q: How do you see your future at Edward Jones unfolding?
A: I enjoy my work. I take great satisfaction in being able to help municipalities raise funds to build schools, hospitals, libraries and roads, help Financial Advisors become successful by training them about how municipal bonds can meet their clients’ investment needs and help customers by providing high quality tax-free bonds to meet their needs. I expect to continue my current work into the future and someday retire from Edward Jones. Q: How has the firm supported your professional growth via training opportunities?
A: Since I finished my college career while working here, there was some tuition reimbursement. I believe the reimbursement is actually much better now than it was when I started. I felt a need to become a better public speaker, so I requested the opportunity to take Dale Carnegie training which the firm approved and paid for.
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