I started with Edward Jones in 2018 and left in 2024; I am White male with a degree in finance and two of the big professional designations. Because of DEI, I never received a Good Knight, was never approached about an RTP, and never got my own office. All the while I noticed that EJ catered to the "lowest common denominator" and gave all kinds of assets/handouts, RTPs and offices to "persons of color" (an Edward Jones' term), female FA's and the "alphabet community". All to check the box of DEI, and I can say with the fullest of confidence, it was far from earned. For those of you who do not know if an FA shares/gives assets to a person who fits the DEI mold, the giving FA receives an additional 10% compensation. They seem to predominantly hire ill-educated, sales type people.
The training was a joke; it was all sales based. I never received legit training directly related to financial planning, investment analysis, portfolio management, etc. I learned all of that on my own through designations like the CFP, CIMA, and CFA Level 1. The culture is definitely a "cult" and talk about "fake friendships". It was definitely a weird social environment. Early on I stopped taking TAP trips, going to summer Regionals, and all of the other mindless meeting/events that EJ holds. I forgot to mention, I was offered a failing office from an FA that was terminated. I knew that FA and I knew how horrible to book was managed and wanted to nothing to do with it. I turned it down and they took it SO personal. If I would have fit the DEI mold, I would have been handed a "gold mine". I saw that on many occasions. It didn't really bother me, I believe in a meritocracy. I wonder how the clients would feel about it??
Anyways, I built a book from zero to Level 9, producing $850,000 in a 6-year time period. I took a million dollar check to transfer to a sophisticated firm and have transferred 85% of my book. The remaining 15% can stay put for all I care. It is nice to be around legitimately educated people who understand capital markets, investment management, and financial planning. This firm values quality over quantity and there is zero DEI cr-p. If you have formal education in finance, economic, business, etc, EJ is not the place for you. I stayed for longer than I should have due the COVID lockdown. That slowed my exit by about 2 years.