Author Topic: My work is switching our 401(k) plan to Ed Jones  (Read 7483 times)

Optimiser

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My work is switching our 401(k) plan to Ed Jones
« on: August 08, 2017, 04:01:50 PM »
I just got an email saying that next month we will be switching from American Funds, whom I wasn't thrilled about, to Edward Jones. Apparently this will save us .23% and give us more options. I don't know what the options will be yet, and I might not until we have a meeting with our new advisor on the 22nd. However, I haven't heard anything good about Edward Jones, especially when it comes to their fee structure. I assume it will still be worth investing in up to the match, but probably not after that.

Does anyone currently have an Edward Jones 401(k) who can give me some idea what I might be looking at, or does it vary too much from company to company?

Any good questions I could ask the advisor during our staff meeting in a few weeks that might make my coworkers realize this is a bad deal without making me look like an asshole?

I already asked that we switch to Vanguard or have it added as an option before this switch was being considered. My boss told me she was not a fan of Vanguard, but would consider it. It seems she decided against it.

ysette9

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Re: My work is switching our 401(k) plan to Ed Jones
« Reply #1 on: August 08, 2017, 04:24:43 PM »
My condolences on your loss.

https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/How_to_campaign_for_a_better_401(k)_plan

I was just reading up on this myself earlier today to help me craft a response to what I perceive as the too-high fees for the Target Date Funds in my own 401(k) plan. I'll follow this thread with interesting in hopes I can glean something that will help me craft my own letter.

Below is the majority of the email I sent my own HR folks expressing my concerns about high fees.

Quote
Good morning,

Thank you for the update the reduction of fees for the self-directed account option. It is always good news when fees are reduced and more options made available to employees. I wanted to take this opportunity to provide a little feedback on the fund selection and recent changes in expense ratios that I have noticed. If this isn’t the best communication method then I appreciate your help guiding me to a more appropriate party.

I did a quick analysis of the current expense ratios of the funds offered and how those have changed since the beginning of 2016. While some funds have decreased in cost, the overall trend is towards higher fees. This is disappointing. As you can see from the table below, more funds have increased their fees than those which have decreased them.
table of funds and fees

Despite this I am pleased to see that Company still offers some good choices among the options (in green above). I would like to continue to raise my concern about the high-cost funds, the Target Date Funds in particular (all funds listed in red). The TDF fees are expressed as a range which obscures the truth; the best I can do to weigh my options is to focus on the high end of the fee range as a worst-case scenario. Doing this, it is clear that the options that Company provides its employees for Target Date Funds are significantly more expensive than the low cost leaders out there. Below is a comparison of our funds against the industry low-cost leader, Vanguard.

Table comparing our funds to Vanguard's

For a new employee starting out now with Company and contributing $18K to his or her 401(k) each year in a 2055 Target Date Fund, over the course of a 35-year career, the difference between a Vanguard fund and our fund (assuming the high end of the fee range) is over $400,000. (reference: http://401kfee.com/how-much-are-high-fees-costing-you/) That is a significant difference and unacceptable when low cost options are so readily available.

The company already offers some great options in the 401(k) aside from the funds above so I am confident that we can get some low-cost Target Date Funds.

Thank you for your attention to this matter,
Ysette9



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Re: My work is switching our 401(k) plan to Ed Jones
« Reply #2 on: August 08, 2017, 04:35:37 PM »
Sorry I don't have experience with an employer sponsored retirement plan thru Edward Jones so I can't add much to this discussion. 

Like ysette9 said, you have my condolences. Just curious if any reason was given by your boss for not being a fan of Vanguard?  Are the decision makers in your company getting a bit of kickback or have some other incentive to go the Edward Jones route? 

Optimiser

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Re: My work is switching our 401(k) plan to Ed Jones
« Reply #3 on: August 08, 2017, 05:24:43 PM »
Here is the conversation I had with my boss back in February. We are a small CPA firm and she is one of the 401(k) trustees, I'm not sure who the others are.
Quote
Me:
[our former advisor] mentioned the possibility of adding Vanguard to our 401(k) plan. Are you considering doing that?
Her:
we will look into it.  but it won't be immediately
Me:
I'm sure you have a lot of factors to consider, but I'm a big fan of Vanguard and their low cost index funds.
Her:
yeah.  i'm not a fan personally of Vanguard, but i know a lot of people are.  Our plan has made a lot of money in the Am Fund platform for years, but we are considering it ... but we won't meet with [our former advisor] and any proposal until spring time.  There will be notification that goes out once we make a decision one way or the other.  Administration of the plan will be more complicated and take more of my time which adds cost as well. but i'll keep you posted

Then today we got this email:

Quote
Hi all….
 
We will be changing our 401k plan advisor.
 
Due to changes made by the Department of Labor, we were going to have to change the share platform of our plan and the way expenses are charged, etc.  We also were going to add some more funds that were not just American Fund based investments.  So the Trustees of the plan decided to look into other options.
 
We will be moving to Edward Jones, [new advisor] effective September 1, 2017.  This move will open up the availability of a few more fund groups and will save us all .23% in fees, which adds up as your account balance builds.  This also provides you someone here in town that will make access to the advisor easier.
 
[new advisor] will be coming to the office on Tuesday, August 22nd at 3pm in our conference room to go over the changes to the fund groups, the transition (which should be seamless), etc.
 
Please bring your questions.
 
Thank you!

I asked if I could get information on fund options and fees before the meeting, but it sounds like that may not be possible.

As far as kickbacks or other incentives for switching, I'm not sure. I'm also not sure what the Department of Labor changes she is referring to, so if anyone has any insight into that please enlighten me.

Miss Piggy

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Re: My work is switching our 401(k) plan to Ed Jones
« Reply #4 on: August 08, 2017, 05:31:18 PM »
I'm also not sure what the Department of Labor changes she is referring to, so if anyone has any insight into that please enlighten me.

It's the DOL fiduciary rule:
http://www.investopedia.com/updates/dol-fiduciary-rule/

Mighty-Dollar

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Re: My work is switching our 401(k) plan to Ed Jones
« Reply #5 on: August 08, 2017, 05:35:22 PM »
EJ are commission hungry salesmen.
Can't you switch to E Trade or AmeriTrade or Vanguard?

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Re: My work is switching our 401(k) plan to Ed Jones
« Reply #6 on: August 08, 2017, 05:37:12 PM »
Sucks, but it may not be the end of the world. Choose the most reasonable of the lousy options. Save to the match. Divert the rest of your savings/investments into taxable accounts elsewhere. If you stick with super low-cost providers, it will mitigate your fees until such time as you change jobs or, better still, FIRE.

I realize there are tax implications, but without more information,  I can't speak to that. It's possible that you're in a tax bracket where the tax savings outweigh the fees. It's also possible that your earnings in FIRE will be more than they were in your career (It happens. #askmehowiknow), so the tax savings are kind of illusory. This shit is complicated and I'm notrying an accountant.

Oliver

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Re: My work is switching our 401(k) plan to Ed Jones
« Reply #7 on: August 08, 2017, 05:39:34 PM »
I'm at a small company with an Edward Jones plan. I made a half-hearted attempt to talk my bosses into switching to Vanguard - they then took my concerns to our Edward Jones rep, who told them that Vanguard has "hidden fees." My bosses are good people but I'm not sure they're very intelligent – that's why my attempt to talk them into switching to Vanguard was half-hearted. 

While it sucks to know you could be investing without the fees, it's well worth it with the employee match and not bad enough for me to bother fighting my bosses to switch. If that's worth it to you, I would take your time, make a thorough, well-reasoned argument and see if you can find others at your work to campaign for Vanguard as well.


arcyallen2

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Re: My work is switching our 401(k) plan to Ed Jones
« Reply #8 on: August 09, 2017, 06:59:27 PM »
EJ are commission hungry salesmen.

Ugh. Can we be done with this needless and pointless bashing? It's like screaming "YANKEES SUCK!"

Edward Jones is a fine firm, as is American Funds. Jack Brennan (previously Chairman and CEO of our beloved Vanguard) said American Funds was "one of the best firms in our business". They (EDJ) supply a service and charge a fee to people who want that service. Some people want to do it on their own, so they don't want to pay a fee to Edward Jones or anyone else. That's fine, too. I assure you while some people can't understand why you'd want to pay for advice, there are others who can't understand how you'd think you could do it properly -without- that advice. Both are quite sure they're right.

EDJ isn't a bunch of "commission hungry salesmen" but they do work on commission like most of the world. I can tell you I've known hundreds of them, dozens very well, and maybe a handful would I characterize poorly. Maybe all the EDJ advisors you know have been crooked. But I'd guess not.

If your company announced a change, how about simply sitting down with the guy (regardless of his firm) and actually TALKING WITH him? Your ability to do this is, after all, why your fees are higher with them vs Vanguard or some other low-cost/low-service firm. It's not better overall investments. It's service. Do some face to face research and find out for yourself! Heck, ask him outright "Why would I -want- to work with you over xyz?" And then (and this is important): listen.

Don't crap on the service based on what others have said. Doing that is like crapping on MMM because you heard early retirement is a scam.

TomTX

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Re: My work is switching our 401(k) plan to Ed Jones
« Reply #9 on: August 09, 2017, 07:58:09 PM »
EJ are commission hungry salesmen.

Ugh. Can we be done with this needless and pointless bashing? It's like screaming "YANKEES SUCK!"

Edward Jones is a fine firm, as is American Funds. Jack Brennan (previously Chairman and CEO of our beloved Vanguard) said American Funds was "one of the best firms in our business". They (EDJ) supply a service and charge a fee to people who want that service. Some people want to do it on their own, so they don't want to pay a fee to Edward Jones or anyone else. That's fine, too. I assure you while some people can't understand why you'd want to pay for advice, there are others who can't understand how you'd think you could do it properly -without- that advice. Both are quite sure they're right.

EDJ isn't a bunch of "commission hungry salesmen" but they do work on commission like most of the world. I can tell you I've known hundreds of them, dozens very well, and maybe a handful would I characterize poorly. Maybe all the EDJ advisors you know have been crooked. But I'd guess not.

If your company announced a change, how about simply sitting down with the guy (regardless of his firm) and actually TALKING WITH him? Your ability to do this is, after all, why your fees are higher with them vs Vanguard or some other low-cost/low-service firm. It's not better overall investments. It's service. Do some face to face research and find out for yourself! Heck, ask him outright "Why would I -want- to work with you over xyz?" And then (and this is important): listen.

Don't crap on the service based on what others have said. Doing that is like crapping on MMM because you heard early retirement is a scam.

MMM isn't skimming a couple percent of my retirement funds every year.

Hotstreak

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Re: My work is switching our 401(k) plan to Ed Jones
« Reply #10 on: August 09, 2017, 09:23:23 PM »
EJ are commission hungry salesmen.

Ugh. Can we be done with this needless and pointless bashing? It's like screaming "YANKEES SUCK!"

Edward Jones is a fine firm, as is American Funds. Jack Brennan (previously Chairman and CEO of our beloved Vanguard) said American Funds was "one of the best firms in our business". They (EDJ) supply a service and charge a fee to people who want that service. Some people want to do it on their own, so they don't want to pay a fee to Edward Jones or anyone else. That's fine, too. I assure you while some people can't understand why you'd want to pay for advice, there are others who can't understand how you'd think you could do it properly -without- that advice. Both are quite sure they're right.

EDJ isn't a bunch of "commission hungry salesmen" but they do work on commission like most of the world. I can tell you I've known hundreds of them, dozens very well, and maybe a handful would I characterize poorly. Maybe all the EDJ advisors you know have been crooked. But I'd guess not.

If your company announced a change, how about simply sitting down with the guy (regardless of his firm) and actually TALKING WITH him? Your ability to do this is, after all, why your fees are higher with them vs Vanguard or some other low-cost/low-service firm. It's not better overall investments. It's service. Do some face to face research and find out for yourself! Heck, ask him outright "Why would I -want- to work with you over xyz?" And then (and this is important): listen.

Don't crap on the service based on what others have said. Doing that is like crapping on MMM because you heard early retirement is a scam.


So, you work there or at which competitor?  How long have you been toeing the company line on this one?

Hargrove

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Re: My work is switching our 401(k) plan to Ed Jones
« Reply #11 on: August 09, 2017, 09:39:48 PM »
If your company announced a change, how about simply sitting down with the guy (regardless of his firm) and actually TALKING WITH him? Your ability to do this is, after all, why your fees are higher with them vs Vanguard or some other low-cost/low-service firm. It's not better overall investments. It's service. Do some face to face research and find out for yourself! Heck, ask him outright "Why would I -want- to work with you over xyz?" And then (and this is important): listen.

Baloney.

I have done exactly this. I'll give you the transcript.

Hey, the old fund had the amount we had vested showing, but yours doesn't seem to. Is there a way to put that on the main screen?

"Oh, well, uh, see, uh (more stalling), your manager can give you that information but AH HA HA HA of course you don't need it because that would only matter if you were going to leave! Leaving is no good! Ah ha ha..."

This doesn't show investments in shares, but in... units. That seems confusing and unnecessary. Why are they in units?

"The units are just how we keep track of these in one simple place, it's really the same thing." (real answer: so we can obfuscate how much we're keeping in cash to loan out for free - up to 10% of your investment, which is in an "account" with our "account name" investing in the "underlying security" at our special rates)

Which funds are the lowest fees?

"Oh I think you'll find our proprietary funds have much lower fees. Why, they're even lower than Vanguard!" (real answer: the expense ratio is lower than Vanguard, only before the total plan overhead of nearly an added 1%, and the 10% in the extra-low-fee funds that is kept in cash)

Are you a fiduciary?

(5 seconds of silence) "Well, we are advisors, who (half a minute of stammering)..."

So, no?

"Well, no..." (then the brass said they were the fiduciary and they approve of the plan)

Plllllease.

Fine, we don't need to indict every salesman personally, and that would even be irresponsible, but we don't really need to argue for their "service" either.

"Gah, a spike pit!"
"No! Let me use these palm fronds to show you it's just part of the path and give you Peace of Mind™!"
"Oh man, I sure do love buying Peace of Mind™, and that in no way makes what you're doing predatory. Thanks Mr. Financial Advisor!"

Travis

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Re: My work is switching our 401(k) plan to Ed Jones
« Reply #12 on: August 09, 2017, 10:26:31 PM »
EJ are commission hungry salesmen.

Ugh. Can we be done with this needless and pointless bashing? It's like screaming "YANKEES SUCK!"

Edward Jones is a fine firm, as is American Funds. Jack Brennan (previously Chairman and CEO of our beloved Vanguard) said American Funds was "one of the best firms in our business". They (EDJ) supply a service and charge a fee to people who want that service. Some people want to do it on their own, so they don't want to pay a fee to Edward Jones or anyone else. That's fine, too. I assure you while some people can't understand why you'd want to pay for advice, there are others who can't understand how you'd think you could do it properly -without- that advice. Both are quite sure they're right.

EDJ isn't a bunch of "commission hungry salesmen" but they do work on commission like most of the world. I can tell you I've known hundreds of them, dozens very well, and maybe a handful would I characterize poorly. Maybe all the EDJ advisors you know have been crooked. But I'd guess not.

If your company announced a change, how about simply sitting down with the guy (regardless of his firm) and actually TALKING WITH him? Your ability to do this is, after all, why your fees are higher with them vs Vanguard or some other low-cost/low-service firm. It's not better overall investments. It's service. Do some face to face research and find out for yourself! Heck, ask him outright "Why would I -want- to work with you over xyz?" And then (and this is important): listen.

Don't crap on the service based on what others have said. Doing that is like crapping on MMM because you heard early retirement is a scam.


So, you work there or at which competitor?  How long have you been toeing the company line on this one?

I'd be quick to remind everyone that none of us know a person's intentions, just their actions. While it is probably doubtful, it -is- quite possible the advisor this post is originally about actually believes a big market crash is coming. While I don't think shorting the market is the solution, his -intentions- shouldn't be assumed. And leveraged ETFs....yikes....usually the firm overlooking the advisor (if there is one) would throw up some red flags on this. If he's independent, well, that's a different story.

Also, I was an advisor for Edward Jones for years. They're one of the most conservative firms out there. While they do (and should) charge for their advice via loads, fees, etc. I think you'll be hard pressed to find a full service firm more client-focused. I know of advisors they've proactively fired (with no prompting from the client) for churning accounts. There's nothing wrong with bare bones Vanguard and Fidelity, but many many people want help and are willing to ask and pay for it.

If I had ever tried to sell a leveraged ETF, a phone call would have come pretty quickly asking why!

Radagast

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Re: My work is switching our 401(k) plan to Ed Jones
« Reply #13 on: August 09, 2017, 10:47:47 PM »
EJ are commission hungry salesmen.

Ugh. Can we be done with this needless and pointless bashing? It's like screaming "YANKEES SUCK!"

Edward Jones is a fine firm, as is American Funds. Jack Brennan (previously Chairman and CEO of our beloved Vanguard) said American Funds was "one of the best firms in our business". They (EDJ) supply a service and charge a fee to people who want that service. Some people want to do it on their own, so they don't want to pay a fee to Edward Jones or anyone else. That's fine, too. I assure you while some people can't understand why you'd want to pay for advice, there are others who can't understand how you'd think you could do it properly -without- that advice. Both are quite sure they're right.

EDJ isn't a bunch of "commission hungry salesmen" but they do work on commission like most of the world. I can tell you I've known hundreds of them, dozens very well, and maybe a handful would I characterize poorly. Maybe all the EDJ advisors you know have been crooked. But I'd guess not.

If your company announced a change, how about simply sitting down with the guy (regardless of his firm) and actually TALKING WITH him? Your ability to do this is, after all, why your fees are higher with them vs Vanguard or some other low-cost/low-service firm. It's not better overall investments. It's service. Do some face to face research and find out for yourself! Heck, ask him outright "Why would I -want- to work with you over xyz?" And then (and this is important): listen.

Don't crap on the service based on what others have said. Doing that is like crapping on MMM because you heard early retirement is a scam.
Now I know you are a paid schill. I was willing to agree that American Funds is not as bad as is commonly made out, but anyone who can subtract 2 from 4 can see that Edward Jones is a shitty instution, a massive tax upon stupid people. Yes, that is correct. Every single EJ participant is either stupid, ignorant, or unwilling (or paid). There are no exceptions.

So I should take that back a little. You might not be a paid schill. The other options are that you are stupid or ignorant, at least one of which is reversible.


[MOD NOTE: The poster admitted to knowing some of these people personally.  There's no need for this level of insulting.]
« Last Edit: August 10, 2017, 02:01:17 PM by FrugalToque »

Radagast

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Re: My work is switching our 401(k) plan to Ed Jones
« Reply #14 on: August 09, 2017, 11:18:54 PM »
Should we be surprised that there is a bogleheads wiki entry for this? https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Setting_up_a_401(k)_plan

Somehow my small employer has a Simple IRA through Schwab, which has an astounding assortment of amazing investments for any style or objective. I am usually jealous of 401k employees and their high contribution limits, but I'd rather have a 12,500 cap with Schwab than an 18,500 cap with EJ or AF.

Paul der Krake

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Re: My work is switching our 401(k) plan to Ed Jones
« Reply #15 on: August 10, 2017, 03:46:30 AM »
Should we be surprised that there is a bogleheads wiki entry for this? https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Setting_up_a_401(k)_plan

Somehow my small employer has a Simple IRA through Schwab, which has an astounding assortment of amazing investments for any style or objective. I am usually jealous of 401k employees and their high contribution limits, but I'd rather have a 12,500 cap with Schwab than an 18,500 cap with EJ or AF.
Simple IRAs are the bomb for employees of small business because they remove nearly all the overhead associated with maintaining a 401(k). An employer that refuses to open a Simple IRA for their employees is a huge red flag, and you should run. There is no acceptable justification for not doing it.


Optimiser

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Re: My work is switching our 401(k) plan to Ed Jones
« Reply #16 on: August 10, 2017, 09:10:53 AM »
Should we be surprised that there is a bogleheads wiki entry for this? https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Setting_up_a_401(k)_plan

Somehow my small employer has a Simple IRA through Schwab, which has an astounding assortment of amazing investments for any style or objective. I am usually jealous of 401k employees and their high contribution limits, but I'd rather have a 12,500 cap with Schwab than an 18,500 cap with EJ or AF.

Thank you. From that link I found this. https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/How_to_campaign_for_a_better_401(k)_plan

Once I find out how bad the new plan is, I should have enough info to hopefully successfully campaign for new options.

arcyallen2

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Re: My work is switching our 401(k) plan to Ed Jones
« Reply #17 on: August 10, 2017, 09:26:02 AM »
I love that fact that when I recommend people simply LISTEN to (and not necessarily agree with) conflicting opinions, I am crapped upon.

This is why most of these forums are not worthwhile - people just want to shout what they think and not listen anymore. That's what's given us our crappy political environment, and it's what will keep us all ignorant by limiting our growth.

I wish you all the best of luck. I readily admit -I- don't know everything, and that I hope to learn and change (improve) my mind by listening to others - ESPECIALLY when I'm confident about what I think. The moment I, or anyone, stops listening to differing ideas, we stop growing.

[MOD NOTE: You understand the difficulty of being a moderator in this environment, then?  Good.  Now understand that you're not going to be well trusted showing up here out of the blue defending high MER funds.  No one here is going to like that.  Yes, I'll enforce a modicum of politeness in the general style of retort, but that's all.  It has nothing to do with politics, so don't bring that up.  It has to do very specifically with the way we advocate for funding an early retirement.]
« Last Edit: August 10, 2017, 02:04:32 PM by FrugalToque »

Hotstreak

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Re: My work is switching our 401(k) plan to Ed Jones
« Reply #18 on: August 10, 2017, 09:55:43 AM »
I love that fact that when I recommend people simply LISTEN to (and not necessarily agree with) conflicting opinions, I am crapped upon.

This is why most of these forums are not worthwhile - people just want to shout what they think and not listen anymore. That's what's given us our crappy political environment, and it's what will keep us all ignorant by limiting our growth.

I wish you all the best of luck. I readily admit -I- don't know everything, and that I hope to learn and change (improve) my mind by listening to others - ESPECIALLY when I'm confident about what I think. The moment I, or anyone, stops listening to differing ideas, we stop growing.

ATTN ALL FORUM MEMBERS:  Before you buy your next car you need to go listen to the salesmen at the Mercedes, BMW, and Audi dealerships.  You don't need to buy them or like it, but if you should at least listen to them!....

Travis

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Re: My work is switching our 401(k) plan to Ed Jones
« Reply #19 on: August 10, 2017, 10:02:44 AM »
I love that fact that when I recommend people simply LISTEN to (and not necessarily agree with) conflicting opinions, I am crapped upon.

This is why most of these forums are not worthwhile - people just want to shout what they think and not listen anymore. That's what's given us our crappy political environment, and it's what will keep us all ignorant by limiting our growth.

I wish you all the best of luck. I readily admit -I- don't know everything, and that I hope to learn and change (improve) my mind by listening to others - ESPECIALLY when I'm confident about what I think. The moment I, or anyone, stops listening to differing ideas, we stop growing.

Of your 11 posts on this forum, half have been an unflinching defense of fees, loads, and prime examples why the Fiduciary Rule needed to be created in the first place.

Hargrove

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Re: My work is switching our 401(k) plan to Ed Jones
« Reply #20 on: August 10, 2017, 01:48:26 PM »
It IS a shame that the people trying to fleece you are often the best acquainted with the language of tolerance and peace. Sure, not giving divergent views a chance is indeed unfortunate. Manipulating that to defend a predatory financial scheme is worse.

On these forums you can find everything from politically incorrect rants to relationship advice to polyamory to Christian theological discussions to financial advice. Absolutely any of it done with a modicum of respect is generally tolerated, including your post, and left alone by mods, but you are not guaranteed a warm reception by other posters, just like speaking your mind at an in-person forum.

Seems to be working as intended.

Pylortes

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Re: My work is switching our 401(k) plan to Ed Jones
« Reply #21 on: August 10, 2017, 10:16:32 PM »
EJ are commission hungry salesmen.

Ugh. Can we be done with this needless and pointless bashing? It's like screaming "YANKEES SUCK!"

Edward Jones is a fine firm, as is American Funds. Jack Brennan (previously Chairman and CEO of our beloved Vanguard) said American Funds was "one of the best firms in our business". They (EDJ) supply a service and charge a fee to people who want that service. Some people want to do it on their own, so they don't want to pay a fee to Edward Jones or anyone else. That's fine, too. I assure you while some people can't understand why you'd want to pay for advice, there are others who can't understand how you'd think you could do it properly -without- that advice. Both are quite sure they're right.

EDJ isn't a bunch of "commission hungry salesmen" but they do work on commission like most of the world. I can tell you I've known hundreds of them, dozens very well, and maybe a handful would I characterize poorly. Maybe all the EDJ advisors you know have been crooked. But I'd guess not.

If your company announced a change, how about simply sitting down with the guy (regardless of his firm) and actually TALKING WITH him? Your ability to do this is, after all, why your fees are higher with them vs Vanguard or some other low-cost/low-service firm. It's not better overall investments. It's service. Do some face to face research and find out for yourself! Heck, ask him outright "Why would I -want- to work with you over xyz?" And then (and this is important): listen.

Don't crap on the service based on what others have said. Doing that is like crapping on MMM because you heard early retirement is a scam.

It would have been appropriate for you to mention that you are or that you did in the past work for Edward Jones.  After reading your post (before I saw someone else quote another post where you previously admitted to working for them) my initial thought was based on your defense you likely had some connection to them.  I'm not going to beat you up for working for them that, but I wished you told us. 

When I first started working after college my small company had a 401k plan administered by Edward Jones.  Our advisor was very nice and spent time with each employee.  That might have been of some use and was appreciated by many employees.  But the guy was also putting us into loaded mutual funds with initial sales charges above 5%!!  Uggghh.  I knew this was horrible but all the options were this bad.  I was very happy the day I left and could finally roll the account over into an IRA and ditch Edward Jones.  To the original poster, you have my sympathy.  I don't personally know what their current practices are but I do have understand that Ed Jones is still known for very high fees and costs, so I can't imagine this change will be a good thing for you.

BTDretire

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Re: My work is switching our 401(k) plan to Ed Jones
« Reply #22 on: August 11, 2017, 09:57:41 AM »
EJ are commission hungry salesmen.

Ugh. Can we be done with this needless and pointless bashing? It's like screaming "YANKEES SUCK!"

Edward Jones is a fine firm, as is American Funds. Jack Brennan (previously Chairman and CEO of our beloved Vanguard) said American Funds was "one of the best firms in our business". They (EDJ) supply a service and charge a fee to people who want that service. Some people want to do it on their own, so they don't want to pay a fee to Edward Jones or anyone else. That's fine, too. I assure you while some people can't understand why you'd want to pay for advice, there are others who can't understand how you'd think you could do it properly -without- that advice. Both are quite sure they're right.

EDJ isn't a bunch of "commission hungry salesmen" but they do work on commission like most of the world. I can tell you I've known hundreds of them, dozens very well, and maybe a handful would I characterize poorly. Maybe all the EDJ advisors you know have been crooked. But I'd guess not.

If your company announced a change, how about simply sitting down with the guy (regardless of his firm) and actually TALKING WITH him? Your ability to do this is, after all, why your fees are higher with them vs Vanguard or some other low-cost/low-service firm. It's not better overall investments. It's service. Do some face to face research and find out for yourself! Heck, ask him outright "Why would I -want- to work with you over xyz?" And then (and this is important): listen.

Don't crap on the service based on what others have said. Doing that is like crapping on MMM because you heard early retirement is a scam.

   I didn't hear you refute the extra $400,000 lost to EDJ over a 35 year period.
What if you had 100 employees, that's $40 million dollars your employer
conspiring with EDJ screwed the employees out of.
These brokers can't pick stocks any better then a monkey with a dart.
There is no need to pay high fees!

Optimiser

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Re: My work is switching our 401(k) plan to Ed Jones
« Reply #23 on: August 23, 2017, 02:46:58 PM »
OP checking back in.

We had our meeting with the Ed Jones rep who is in charge of our new plan yesterday.

I was very pleased to see that we have more funds to choose from than we did on our old American Funds plan. Our new plan has 30 fund options plus target date funds. The expense ratios are reasonable, with the highest being 1.17, with most being significantly lower. There are even some Vanguard and Fidelity index funds (VWNEX, VFIAX, VIGAX, and FSCKX) with expense ratios between .04 and .20.  All other costs associated with the plan are paid by my employer.

The Ed Jones rep wants to set up free financial planning meetings with everyone at some point before our new plan takes effect. I haven't decided if I will meet with him or not. I'm not opposed to hearing what he has to say, but I won't be moving any additional assets over to Edward Jones.  He did say a few red flag type things during our meeting like we should probably not be to heavy into stocks because the market will likely correct soon, and he says that the funds that were available to us were hand selected based on their ability to beat the market.

Travis

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Re: My work is switching our 401(k) plan to Ed Jones
« Reply #24 on: August 23, 2017, 03:18:38 PM »
He did say a few red flag type things during our meeting like we should probably not be to heavy into stocks because the market will likely correct soon, and he says that the funds that were available to us were hand selected based on their ability to beat the market.

Feel free to take the meeting, but don't lose track of the fact that he's there to sell a product. 

TomTX

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Re: My work is switching our 401(k) plan to Ed Jones
« Reply #25 on: August 23, 2017, 05:45:41 PM »
OP checking back in.

We had our meeting with the Ed Jones rep who is in charge of our new plan yesterday.

I was very pleased to see that we have more funds to choose from than we did on our old American Funds plan. Our new plan has 30 fund options plus target date funds. The expense ratios are reasonable, with the highest being 1.17, with most being significantly lower. There are even some Vanguard and Fidelity index funds (VWNEX, VFIAX, VIGAX, and FSCKX) with expense ratios between .04 and .20.  All other costs associated with the plan are paid by my employer.

The Ed Jones rep wants to set up free financial planning meetings with everyone at some point before our new plan takes effect. I haven't decided if I will meet with him or not. I'm not opposed to hearing what he has to say, but I won't be moving any additional assets over to Edward Jones.  He did say a few red flag type things during our meeting like we should probably not be to heavy into stocks because the market will likely correct soon, and he says that the funds that were available to us were hand selected based on their ability to beat the market.

Ah, the 401k is his foot in the door to get employees to move other funds over too.

Well, not as bad as I thought! So, use his cheap offerings for work, and keep the rest away!