Content area
Full text
Edward Jones uses recruitment for growth, says managing partner James Weddle. Weddle, in an interview for On Wall Street's annual special report, State of Wealth Management, describes how his firm approaches both college students and military personnel with opportunities to work in the employee advisory channel. He calls it an organic approach to growth, which avoids mergers and acquisitions.
How do you bring new people into the advisor industry?
We�re going to be working with several universities so that their students, as part of their coursework, study the material required for them to pass the Series 7 exam. That could potentially lead to an interview with us, or better yet, a career down the road. We also have an initiative that kicked off two or three years ago with the military, where we are in contact with some terrific, quality individuals who have generally been with the military for five to 10, sometimes 20, years. Mostly, they are well-educated, extremely disciplined and used to working hard, love being part of an organization with values and a culture, and can often be a great fit.
Is this an example, then, of Edward Jones trying to find candidates in places where other firms aren�t looking?
We�ve always chosen to grow, as we call it, organically. We haven�t merged, we haven�t acquired, and we�re not about to. We�re very protective of our values and the culture of our firm,...