A.G. Edwards 2001 Broker Comments
A.G. Edwards
A
(Hiring/recruiting) “Consistently at a reasonable rate, so
it’s not too many coming at one time.” (Benefits) “If
I had to break it down, I’d give the 401ks a 10 and health
coverage a seven.” (Sales support) “It’s generally
good. I get what I need when I need it. If I call with a question and
they don’t have the answer, they get back to me as soon as they
can or direct me to the person who does have the answer.”
(Training) “There’s a lot of training available, probably
too much, but it’s there if you want it or have the time to take
advantage of it.” (Quote/info system) “The recent upgrade
has really improved things.” (Account statements) “We have
new ones and the old clients complain because it’s different. The
new clients like it because it’s new. From the broker’s
view, it definitely works better.” (Research) “It depends
on which way the wind is blowing. It’s not perfect but it’s
better than others. Frankly, I have no complaints.” (Strategic
focus) “The fact we still have the ‘client first’
philosophy from the top down is top notch in my opinion. We’re
staying independent and providing great service. I’m 100% in
agreement with that strategy.”
B
(Hiring/recruiting) “We have a problem competing when other
firms are really going after brokers and throwing a lot of money
around. Sometimes it works against us because our brokers leave to go
to companies that pay up front.” (Benefits) “Generally, its
pretty good, but our health care provider is terrible. It takes a lot
of my time to straighten out billing issues.” (Sales assistant)
“I wouldn’t be alive in this business without her.”
(Training): “Excellent. I take advantage of whatever I
can.” (Account statements) “Ugh. They just redid them after
a two-year study and that only brought it up to a seven in my opinion.
I would like to see a reporting of performance. No one seems to do that
and I don’t know why. (Strategic focus) “We’re
committed to staying independent and remaining a retail brokerage firm.
I admire and respect them for that stand. However, I’m just not
sure the rest of the industry takes that path and I wonder how that
will be for us down the road.”
C
(Hiring/recruiting) “Since they don’t give any sign-on
bonuses, it’s getting harder to attract serious people.”
(Research) “Overall, we have good analysts.”
D
(Hiring/recruiting) “I’d like to see a higher level of
quality among those coming in; more experienced as opposed to new and
inexperienced.” (Sales ideas) “Most of what I see is
related more to the younger people who are initially building their
book. For more experienced brokers, there’s not much material
relevant to our business needs.” (Research) “That’s a
hard one to answer. I don’t think anyone’s research
department has been what it’s supposed to be these last 18
months.”
E
(Benefits) “Absolutely great benefits.” (Sales support)
“Overall it’s okay, but it could be improved.” (Sales
assistants) “We have enough, but we’re not getting good
quality.” (Ideas) “Above average, but not excellent. I do
use them occasionally.” (Training) “Very good, especially
in continuing education. There’s a lot available and you can draw
from it very easily.” (Quote/info system) “Greatly improved
over last five years.” (Operations) “Back office is
excellent, no problem there.” (Account statements)
“It’s now being transcribed through the Internet to the
broker, but clients tell us there’s too much information in
them.” (Focus) “This is a full service firm that
doesn’t bend to current winds of what’s in fashion at other
firms. They are going their own direction which I feel is the right
direction. They think through any innovation or upgrade to make sure it
is really in the best interests of the clients and the brokers.”
(Image) “We don’t do as much advertising as Merrill so
it’s hard to tell outside certain areas what the firm’s
image is with the public. Those who do know us think we’re
great.”
F
(Hiring/recruiting) “Excellent, I don’t think anyone else
does it better. (Sales assistants) “Great. We have enough help if
we need it.” (Ideas) “We get lots of them and they’re
good.” (Account statements) “I like them. I’ve never
had a complaint yet. We just changed them but through the years I
rarely ever heard anyone say it was hard to read or
understand.”
G
(Hiring/recruiting) “We have an excellent training program. A
lot of time is spent on the new broker before he or she is put into
production. Sometimes, though, I think they give the branch manager too
much autonomy in selecting or bringing in new people.” (Payout)
“Brokers are always greedy and want more. I’m satisfied. I
think they treat us pretty well considering all the resources we have
at our disposal that they have to pay for.” (Sales support)
“Comes back to a branch manager’s autonomy. If a manager
doesn’t want to pay for certain extras, we don’t get it.
And if he wants to, he can and we benefit. Maybe it’s just my
branch.” (Sales assistants) “If I want a sales assistant I
have to pay for it. The firm will pay the benefits, but I pay for the
help. It pays off in the end. I hired my own sales assistant.
She’s very high quality and she’s been extremely
valuable.” (Quantity of sales assistants) “Goes to autonomy
again. It’s poor because if I want one I have to pay, otherwise I
don’t have one.” (Training) “Makes everything
available and it’s all paid for by the firm.” (Account
statements) “Can’t please everybody. I think they’re
good. They just changed them recently and it’s a big
improvement.” (Research) “Everyone’s down on research
now considering the market. I think it’s as good as any other
firm, but I wouldn’t give anyone’s research department high
marks lately.” (Fixed-income) “It’s good. We
don’t have a profit center in our bonds department so we’re
very competitive and fair.” (Products) “It’s totally
up to me. I can sell whatever I want. I am not limited and no one tells
me what to sell or not to sell.” (Branch manager) “In my
case, she doesn’t provide an assistant or pay for any advertising
as some managers do.” (Focus) “We’ve been around for
over 100 years and things continue to remain pretty much as they were
even though it’s the first time there isn’t an Edwards at
the top. We know what works well here and what we’re good at. We
know where our roots are and our strengths and we continue to focus on
that. Ben Edwards has a motto: take care of your clients and have fun.
That’s what it’s really like here.”
H
(Sales support) “That’s our weak link, at least in this
branch.” (Quantity) “Never enough as far as I’m
concerned.” (Account statements) “We need to include more
information, like gains and lose. The more information that clients
have, the better off they are.” (Research) “I think
we’re relatively good compared to other firms, but it’s
tougher for us to hire analysts in St. Louis. A lot of times analysts
want to live on either coast rather than in the middle.” (Image)
“Most people, if they know who we are, think we’re great.
You never see us dragged through the mud.”
I
(Hiring/recruiting) “I think we can be a little more aggressive
in our recruiting efforts.” (Account statements) “We just
got new ones. I like the old ones better. The readability was very
good. I think if we could take the best of the old and mix it with the
best of the new, we’d have just about a perfect statement.”
(Research) “A bit too conservative.” (Fixed income)
“It just can’t get much better.”
J
(Hiring/recruiting) “It’s different because there’s
no upfront money. We’re in a city office so it’s difficult
to get people to come over with no upfront money.” (Research)
“When all stocks are down, no one’s pleased with their
research department.”
K
“The firm definitely takes care of its people in its 401(k) plan;
50% of all profits go to shareholders and 50% goes to employees. And we
have no long term debt.”
L
“In years gone by, the firm was labeled as making unsuitable
people managers, and I think that trend continues. The firm’s
image was almost nonexistent in my area [West Coast]. In others
it’s probably excellent. We’re just not a household name
yet, and that’s one of my major complaints or concerns about the
firm. We’re not as recognizable as Merrill Lynch or Smith Barney
or any other firm. You call people and say you’re with A.G.
Edwards and they ask, “Who is that?” Some people know us
from [advertisements during] the Nightly Business Report and Wall
Street Week. We’re a client-centered firm. The entire philosophy
of the company is structured for the benefit of the client and the
broker, rather than the benefit of upper management. It’s totally
opposite of most other firms. And I don’t think a lot of people
appreciate that distinction.”
M
“We’re not aggressive enough recruiting in this down
market. I think there are a lot of good people who have been laid off
at Merrill Lynch who we could pick up. Turnover in the back office is a
problem. You just can’t pay people enough to stay in those jobs.
The people who are there will do anything for you, but their lack of
experience and knowledge creates some inefficiencies. I can’t
imagine a better workstation. Our image is good, but our publicity
stinks. The one thing this firm does really well is that it
doesn’t pressure you to sell anything. I think a lot of the
litigation that goes on in this industry happens because brokers are
pressured into selling products and they probably put some people in
them who don’t belong there. That won’t happen
here.”
N
“We don’t offer any proprietary products, so we can offer
the best products on the street. I never met anyone who had anything
bad to say about AG. Our major concern was Ben retiring. But they
reiterated all the things that were important, like not having
non-compete agreements. Management say its their job to make sure every
day that this is a place you want to work and your clients want to work
with. That’s unusual. I’ve been with other wire house firms
and it’s completely different. No pressure here, no quotas. If
you take care of your clients, you’ll make a living here. I have
nothing but good things to say about Edwards.”
O
“The support is here. I can call St. Louis [headquarters] and
they’ll talk to me. I couldn’t do that when I was an Edward
Jones. I always get an answer. I wouldn’t want to work for any
other firm. Our name is well known and I think we all work
together.”
P
“It's difficult for the firm to hire experienced RAs due to their
policy of not offering upfront money. Most firms steal RRs with upfront
money. We don’t. However, we end up hiring high quality
people.”
Q
“We have a wonderful 401(k) plan. But I'm still trying to figure
out how to read the account statement.”
R
“It's tough to get decent sales assistants. The firm won't pay
enough to hire decent ones. And their research needs work.”
S
“Anyone serious about a career as a broker would be wise to apply
for work at this firm. The longer you stay, the better it is. Any
broker who's been participating in the 401(k) plan for some time now,
and has been a reasonable producer, is a multi-millionaire by
now.”
T
“It's a pleasure to work where you don't have to be on the
defensive about pitching a proprietary product. They do the right thing
by their clients.”
U
“In this poor business environment, it's nice to have a firm
behind you that's not firing people right and left or putting pressure
on you to sell more. That keeps morale up during bad times. I know the
people in St. Louis really care.”
V
“I worked for two big wire houses before coming here and A.G.
Edwards is definitely the best. Support from the home office is
strong.”
W
“We're in the midst of takeover rumors. We're an attractive
takeover candidate, with no debt, rising fee income, little compliance
problems. The Wall St. Journal has been saying that a bank wants to
take us over. But we want to stay independent. The problem is no one
owns enough stock to thwart a takeover attempt, not even the Edwards
family.”
X
“They hire people who speak English. Before coming here, I worked
for five different Wall St. firms, and those New York firms' back
office sometimes spoke Spanish. I had trouble understanding
them.”
Y
“I think as far as taking care of clients, integrity and doing
what’s best for the client, no firm is better.”
Z
“I came here in ’87 and was with Merrill Lynch prior to
that. I think this firm is very supportive. To some degree, we missed
the boat in the bear market in terms of sell recommendations. We need a
stronger “sell” indicator. I’ve been very impressed
with his firm. The focus is 100% on the client. You want to know 100%
of energies are devoted to the client. I can talk to analysts directly
or can do a conference call with a client and an analyst. I’m
happy. It’s unique here. It’s a big firm. The only thing is
I wish we had a little more advertising.”
AA
“I’ve been here almost seven years—that says a lot
these days. It’s a great firm. There’s no pressure to sell
any specific product. We have a strict compliance department that keeps
us out of trouble, and keeps our firm out of trouble. There’s
flexibility in using outside resources to enhance your business. They
allow us to run our own business. As long as you’re bringing in
assets and treating clients right, you’ll get rewarded on a
long-term basis. They’re allowing us to build relationships. They
encourage us to see clients in person—that solidifies the
relationship. It’s a great experience. I plan on being here for
awhile.”
AB
(Quote and information system) “I love it.” (Account
statements) “They give you more information.”
“I’ve been here 19 years. They won’t allow us to do
callable CDs. Other firms have sold them wrong. There’s a huge
market for them. Our competition is selling them. They’re so
worried about our customers. They’re so conservative, they
don’t allow us to be effective. [Overall] I love the
firm.”
AC
“It's a real good firm.”
AD
“Our benefits are the best in the industry, and I couldn't be
happier about payout. I think the firm should start advertising more,
get the name in the public, and be more proactive. We need to keep
growing. Commissions are down at all firms and they're trimming some
fat, in particular, the lower producers. We could get rid of some dead
weight. If you're not doing $225,000 [in commissions], you should
consider another career. I'm working 7:30 to 7 plus two Saturdays a
month, transitioning to fee based assets. I'll keep this up another
year or so, then maybe I'll go to 7:30 to 6.”
AE
“I'm very happy. I looked at several large firms, and chose A. G.
Edwards. Why? Because of the client-first environment here. It all
comes back down to basic structure of the home office. We have no
profit centers within the home office. The bond department is not a
profit center. There aren't people telling us to sell this or sell
that. There are no proprietary products. We can put the client with the
right product. Yes, we do investment banking. We have less than stellar
analysts. We have a great branch manager; in this business, we live and
work in the branch.”
AF
“The firm has focus. It's very ethical. After seven years I'm
very satisfied.”
AG
“The firm has invested a lot in technology and in helping brokers
become more productive. Our workstations, account statements, etc. have
improved. They give us a lot of training, everything from planning
strategies to computer basics, with A. G. Edwards University. It's over
our ‘intranet.’"
AH
(Hiring and recruiting) “Firms are constantly in competition
trying to hire the best brokers by putting a carrot in front of them.
Edwards doesn't pay up-front money. I would rather see other firms and
the SEC come down on up-front money. It puts pressure on the broker to
generate numbers. You might do something not beneficial to the
customer. When you accept front money you're giving yourself away for a
check. We have to do what's right for the customer. That's what we're
known for and it's more important than any advertising. We hire more
brokers in a down market. We allow them a comfort level over the next
year. This market is worse than 1987-88. The down market is longer. But
it's more of a traditional market, the way things were before the
dot-coms. I don't like the decimals. Compac is down 11 cents. What on
earth does that mean?” (Firm's image) “Image a function of
advertising. I think our ads are good now. I would like to see national
campaign with a combination of all media.”
AI
(Payout) “Ours is over 40%, probably the highest among the wire
houses.” (Benefits) “Our 401(k) plan is terrific. It works
out to when we put in $1 the company puts in about $3. We can offer any
products, no conflict of interest, our planning tools very good.”
(Ongoing training) “Ongoing training is great. We get info on the
intranet and get to go to St. Louis, too. They haven't traditionally
spent money on updating technology but now we're good, although it
would help to have a color printer. Our office isn't fancy, compared to
some, but we get to take home more money.”
AJ
“The reason we're here is because of the firm's ethical
philosophy. I've been with the firm 22 years, and wouldn't be with
anyone else in the industry. All firms say they put the customer first.
This is the only one that does it. Pricing is fare, product is good,
and research is excellent. Some of our brokers are fee-based. It's up
to each broker in the system. You can be transaction oriented or fee
based. It's left to the individual broker. You could do all insurance,
or all commodities. There are no mandated products. It is an absolutely
fabulous firm. I never met a broker who ever went anywhere else. You
die here; you don't leave.”
AK
“What’s good about A.G.? The people, the culture. Where
other firms provide lip service for what they say they’re doing
for the client, we truly do what we say. We always do what's best for
the client. We’re not fake, unlike other firms. Our words are
truly genuine.”
AL
“I like working here because we don’t have any proprietary
products. So I don’t have my manager trying to ramrod me into
making people buy stuff that’s crap. So if you buy something here
that’s crap, it’s your own fault.” “Our
benefits package is good and our payout is one of the best in the
industry.”
AM
“People are always trying to recruit me but I have no impetus to
move because I like it here so much. I can’t think of another
firm to work for. I don’t have to look over my shoulder and worry
about what management is up to. I just put my head down and work, and I
don’t have to worry about some force working against me. Everyone
is working toward helping the client. We’re all headed in the
same direction.”
AN
“The company lets us be who we are. The attitude and philosophy
of the company and main office filters down, from the headquarters to
the branches. The ethics and putting the client first and not grinding
us is very important. They give us freedom. From what I know,
we’re the only ones without a quota, which is wonderful. Nobody
is grinding us and we’re not grinding the clients.”
AO
(Hiring) “I’m pleased we don't give upfront bonuses."
(Strategic focus) “I honestly don't know what our focus is right
now. [Firm has] the same strategic focus that Ben Edwards had, but I
haven't seen any policy moves, one way or the other."
AP
(Hiring) “A lot of turnover." (Account statements) “[Old
statements] "were a lot more readable. [New ones] read like Greek to
most people." (Sales ideas) “[Firm] just seems to be a little bit
behind the curve, not as instantaneous as they might be." (Operations)
“[Firm] needs to hire better quality people.”
AQ
(Benefits) “We're the best in the industry." (Account statements)
“A little difficult to get to the bottom [line] of it."
AR
(Quantity of sales assistants) “Not enough." (Quality of sales
ideas) “They need to diversify their ideas.” (Operations)
“They've always done a fair and adequate job." (Research):
“Bad year to pick on them." (Quality of products offered) "They
offer everything."
AS
(Sales Support) “A lot of sales ideas and a lot of product.
Sometimes it’s cumbersome trying to find it all." (Firm’s
Integrity): "The thing I probably enjoy the most is their consistency.
They've consistently held to their principles. They treat everybody
here very well."
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