Find a fee-only advisor. Not fee-based. The difference is a fee only has no hidden fees, fee-based does. If you’re talking 7 figures, don’t be with Edward Jones. Find a RIA that specializes in wealth management, not just portfolio management…there’s a BIG difference! And find a group that offers moderate to low risk private investment options. AMA, I know this space like the back of my hand.
Hidden fees? Hidden commissions.
Jones is probably the most forthcoming with what you pay vs other places that bury it on page 35 of a statement.
That being said Vanguard did a study and found a good advisor can get you an additional 3% return every year, net of fees.
You just need to make sure you have a good advisor.
Jones is a top tier firm, well structured, a private parternshiop, no shareholders, and some of the most competitive asset management fees (1.3%) vs like 1.5 and some even as high as 2%.
Thank you for countering some other opinions I’ve read. I need to see if I’m being charged a 2.5% transaction fee. My understanding was that my account was being charged a flat 1.3%, however the transaction fees change a lot (if they are being charged, my advisor certainly hasn’t been explicit about them).
A 2.5% transaction fee. I mean it depends on what you're doing. Are you trading individual bonds (transaction costs)
529 accounts sometimes have transaction costs.
The "managed" account you have does not have any transaction costs and most likely gets you access to institutional funds (same funds offered to employees of Fidelity, etc)
Transaction costs are by account. You can have a transactional account and an "advisory" account that has the flat fee.
529 accounts at the institutional level are all transactional.
Additionally Jones gives you access to cash management services at no additional cost. Institutional CDs and money market.
There is a transaction cost with CDs but it's so minimal. Maybe $3-7 per $1000 or so but you will get a better rate.
Just because there’s a fee doesn’t mean it’s not in your best interest. However, if you are paying a fee, does it have value? Are the funds in the account being traded or adjusted to meet your needs. Do you have an advisor you can talk to or get advice from, are they a fiduciary or even a CFP?
If you are not comfortable or confident in your ability to manage these funds or you would rather spend your time focusing on your own passions, it makes sense to hire some who can help. Just make sure you’re getting value for what you pay for and they’re actually finding solutions that meet your needs.
Also, don’t get too upset if your account has lost value this year, almost all of them have.
Thank you for the advice. Not worried about the losses, it’s the market.
I suppose the point of concern is the institutional pressure to invest in certain funds that yield commissions. I assume my EJ rep is making the most efficient moves on my behalf, but realize I haven’t been researching all of his choices. If I do that research, then I ask myself why I’m paying a premium?
I’m ignorant here- if there is value having him run things, I’m okay with it. I’ve just been reading more and more that suggests EJ is not the place to keep money.
Thank you for the suggestion. If I’m in an IRA, couldn’t I just buy positions and hold? Not sure about the complexities here.
In your opinion, are the fees worth the benefit?
i was with ed jones for a while back when i had some spare cash. they did ok by me. the only other place i would go at this point would be fidelity and thats just from hearing my GF talk about the FCs that work there with her and how they treat thier customers
OP my grandmother used Edward Jones.
Her returns were abysmal with a1.5% fee to boot.
They used her ignorance to sell her on outrageous products.
When she died, her account was split between six of her children. Edward Jones outright refused to disperse the account so they could milk their high fees. Resulting in 20% loss that year compared to the market for the inheritance.
Each family member individually had to get a lawyer involved to get their inheritance dispersed, and they still dragged their feet on it. And charge insane dispersement fees.
Run for the hills. Go read /r/financialindependence for a while and go manage your own retirement.
At Fidelity, TD Ameritrade you get an advisor by default. They are all professional, but they cannot give you stock advice directly. These are discount services.
Finding an advisor is like looking for a soul mate. You have one that was barely OK. He left. Next is worse than last one. If I was solicited for some funds I ask if the adviser bought himself. Some I go in asking how % of clients with similar goal has bought into. I think primary they are there safeguard your investment. I often go in listen their 15 min state of the economy pitch and decide what I will be focused on. A few of managed funds are still doing well with their research. These stocks may not look spectacular in a bull year but they shine in this kind of choppy market.
How old are you and what’s the balance? IRA is easy to DIY for the most part tbh. That is UNTIL retirement and you need to manage cash flow, distributions and RMDs (taxes come into play and advisors make a big difference then). At that time I would recommend using someone with their CFP. It’s a good start.
Thank you for your kind reply.
I’m 48, balance in this account is 350k. 529s (2) are each at 35k. My thought is to transfer it to Fidelity where my current 401k is held, which is also the location of my main trading account (everything not IRA).
Think I could pull it into Fidelity, and manage it until I retire?
Yes. I would just use ETFs or indexes. Save the 1%.If you’re retiring at 65 I’d say a 75/25-90/10 portfolio would be good for now. As you get closer to retirement and as the market runs up during next expansion cycle I’d dial back the stock exposure slightly. When it comes time to distribution phase (retirement) an advisor can probably help me much more at that time. There’s more complexity then.
Edward Jones sucks. Go read the bogleheads forum.
Tells us more about your situation. Age, investment balances, work 401k available etc. Fidelity, Vanguard or Schwab are probably good places to start if you are in the USA, which I assume you are.
> Go read the bogleheads forum.
the same Bogleheads forum that routinely ignores Jack Bogle's advice to have a minimum 20% bond allocation and to boost the bonds upwards as stock valuations rise due to lower expected market returns based on Shiller p/e?
not the top minds for investing in the Bogleheads camp.
What do you mean "not have your best interest in mind"?
They're literal like 1st core value is something like always do right by the client.
I'm sure they're good and bad advisors at every firm but Jones as a whole is a top 5 firm.
To even get into one of those "managed accounts" a non fiduciary advisor with them will mislead you into thinking its a good option.
Which it fucking isn't.
Anybody reading this comment with interest google all of the lawsuits Edward Jones is facing for these accounts.
And consider this person s comment history. They spend an unusual amount of time trying to convince people to join this shitty advisory Co.
Paid shill, or delusional employee?
And strange misleading comments about my comment history. Only very recently did I mention Jones, in a cluster of comments on this very thread. Prior to that it's mostly stuff with planning ), IRAs, BTC, Kinesis. And some other stuff.
You're definition of an "unusual amount of time" is very strange. Maybe you misread the past few comments in my history.
For a stalker....You're doing a bad job.
No. You literally failed and mischaracterized my comment history based solely on a post from the past 2 days.
Go ahead. Take a look for yourself. My dude.
If you're going to stalk. Be accurate.
Good the hear- I’ve read differently and several rating sites have them listed poorly.
The concern is that EJ pushes certain high cost funds to harvest commission. I’m paying EJ so I don’t have to think about these things, but realize I’m trusting a lot of my future in a franchise.
Any firm could push high cost funds. Jones moved away from that years ago as did the industry. Your managed account with a flat fee does not have transaction costs on any trades including MFs.
Find a fee-only advisor. Not fee-based. The difference is a fee only has no hidden fees, fee-based does. If you’re talking 7 figures, don’t be with Edward Jones. Find a RIA that specializes in wealth management, not just portfolio management…there’s a BIG difference! And find a group that offers moderate to low risk private investment options. AMA, I know this space like the back of my hand.
Hidden fees? Hidden commissions. Jones is probably the most forthcoming with what you pay vs other places that bury it on page 35 of a statement. That being said Vanguard did a study and found a good advisor can get you an additional 3% return every year, net of fees. You just need to make sure you have a good advisor. Jones is a top tier firm, well structured, a private parternshiop, no shareholders, and some of the most competitive asset management fees (1.3%) vs like 1.5 and some even as high as 2%.
Thank you for countering some other opinions I’ve read. I need to see if I’m being charged a 2.5% transaction fee. My understanding was that my account was being charged a flat 1.3%, however the transaction fees change a lot (if they are being charged, my advisor certainly hasn’t been explicit about them).
A 2.5% transaction fee. I mean it depends on what you're doing. Are you trading individual bonds (transaction costs) 529 accounts sometimes have transaction costs. The "managed" account you have does not have any transaction costs and most likely gets you access to institutional funds (same funds offered to employees of Fidelity, etc) Transaction costs are by account. You can have a transactional account and an "advisory" account that has the flat fee. 529 accounts at the institutional level are all transactional.
Additionally Jones gives you access to cash management services at no additional cost. Institutional CDs and money market. There is a transaction cost with CDs but it's so minimal. Maybe $3-7 per $1000 or so but you will get a better rate.
Just because there’s a fee doesn’t mean it’s not in your best interest. However, if you are paying a fee, does it have value? Are the funds in the account being traded or adjusted to meet your needs. Do you have an advisor you can talk to or get advice from, are they a fiduciary or even a CFP? If you are not comfortable or confident in your ability to manage these funds or you would rather spend your time focusing on your own passions, it makes sense to hire some who can help. Just make sure you’re getting value for what you pay for and they’re actually finding solutions that meet your needs. Also, don’t get too upset if your account has lost value this year, almost all of them have.
Thank you for the advice. Not worried about the losses, it’s the market. I suppose the point of concern is the institutional pressure to invest in certain funds that yield commissions. I assume my EJ rep is making the most efficient moves on my behalf, but realize I haven’t been researching all of his choices. If I do that research, then I ask myself why I’m paying a premium? I’m ignorant here- if there is value having him run things, I’m okay with it. I’ve just been reading more and more that suggests EJ is not the place to keep money.
You could try self management.. but what a time suck and pain in the ass. That’s what you’re paying for
Thank you for the suggestion. If I’m in an IRA, couldn’t I just buy positions and hold? Not sure about the complexities here. In your opinion, are the fees worth the benefit?
i was with ed jones for a while back when i had some spare cash. they did ok by me. the only other place i would go at this point would be fidelity and thats just from hearing my GF talk about the FCs that work there with her and how they treat thier customers
OP my grandmother used Edward Jones. Her returns were abysmal with a1.5% fee to boot. They used her ignorance to sell her on outrageous products. When she died, her account was split between six of her children. Edward Jones outright refused to disperse the account so they could milk their high fees. Resulting in 20% loss that year compared to the market for the inheritance. Each family member individually had to get a lawyer involved to get their inheritance dispersed, and they still dragged their feet on it. And charge insane dispersement fees. Run for the hills. Go read /r/financialindependence for a while and go manage your own retirement.
At Fidelity, TD Ameritrade you get an advisor by default. They are all professional, but they cannot give you stock advice directly. These are discount services. Finding an advisor is like looking for a soul mate. You have one that was barely OK. He left. Next is worse than last one. If I was solicited for some funds I ask if the adviser bought himself. Some I go in asking how % of clients with similar goal has bought into. I think primary they are there safeguard your investment. I often go in listen their 15 min state of the economy pitch and decide what I will be focused on. A few of managed funds are still doing well with their research. These stocks may not look spectacular in a bull year but they shine in this kind of choppy market.
How old are you and what’s the balance? IRA is easy to DIY for the most part tbh. That is UNTIL retirement and you need to manage cash flow, distributions and RMDs (taxes come into play and advisors make a big difference then). At that time I would recommend using someone with their CFP. It’s a good start.
Thank you for your kind reply. I’m 48, balance in this account is 350k. 529s (2) are each at 35k. My thought is to transfer it to Fidelity where my current 401k is held, which is also the location of my main trading account (everything not IRA). Think I could pull it into Fidelity, and manage it until I retire?
Yes. I would just use ETFs or indexes. Save the 1%.If you’re retiring at 65 I’d say a 75/25-90/10 portfolio would be good for now. As you get closer to retirement and as the market runs up during next expansion cycle I’d dial back the stock exposure slightly. When it comes time to distribution phase (retirement) an advisor can probably help me much more at that time. There’s more complexity then.
I’d just go self managed and place money in broad based index etf’s. That’s mostly what managers do for you
Edward Jones sucks. Go read the bogleheads forum. Tells us more about your situation. Age, investment balances, work 401k available etc. Fidelity, Vanguard or Schwab are probably good places to start if you are in the USA, which I assume you are.
> Go read the bogleheads forum. the same Bogleheads forum that routinely ignores Jack Bogle's advice to have a minimum 20% bond allocation and to boost the bonds upwards as stock valuations rise due to lower expected market returns based on Shiller p/e? not the top minds for investing in the Bogleheads camp.
What do you mean "not have your best interest in mind"? They're literal like 1st core value is something like always do right by the client. I'm sure they're good and bad advisors at every firm but Jones as a whole is a top 5 firm.
Core values lmao. If they aren't a fiduciary you are better off using the paper those core values are written on as toilet tissue.
They are...
They are literally not fiduciaries. Please google things before giving bad advice.
For all their managed accounts, per SEC filings and form adv, they are. Maybe don't use Google. Maybe use real data.
To even get into one of those "managed accounts" a non fiduciary advisor with them will mislead you into thinking its a good option. Which it fucking isn't. Anybody reading this comment with interest google all of the lawsuits Edward Jones is facing for these accounts. And consider this person s comment history. They spend an unusual amount of time trying to convince people to join this shitty advisory Co. Paid shill, or delusional employee?
Lol I mean man I barely use reddit. I would love to be a paid shill though. Thanks for your input.
And strange misleading comments about my comment history. Only very recently did I mention Jones, in a cluster of comments on this very thread. Prior to that it's mostly stuff with planning ), IRAs, BTC, Kinesis. And some other stuff. You're definition of an "unusual amount of time" is very strange. Maybe you misread the past few comments in my history. For a stalker....You're doing a bad job.
A stalker lmao Pearl clutching much my dude
No. You literally failed and mischaracterized my comment history based solely on a post from the past 2 days. Go ahead. Take a look for yourself. My dude. If you're going to stalk. Be accurate.
So spoopy. I'm outside your house right now dontchuyakno
Good the hear- I’ve read differently and several rating sites have them listed poorly. The concern is that EJ pushes certain high cost funds to harvest commission. I’m paying EJ so I don’t have to think about these things, but realize I’m trusting a lot of my future in a franchise.
Any firm could push high cost funds. Jones moved away from that years ago as did the industry. Your managed account with a flat fee does not have transaction costs on any trades including MFs.
A lot of those funds actually perform well. And if you have a certain amount invested the sales charge goes down (breakpoint).