Edward Jones – Financial Advisor: Pat Cox

I have always been a firm believer in making my money work for me, so it was not too terribly long after I began working at ‘real’ jobs that I also began to explore options for long term investment opportunities to supplement my 401K contributions.
I worked with an EJ advisor back in Wisconsin for a little less than 2 years. Him and I had a great relationship and mutual understanding of my goals, but after I moved here I though it best to pass on my account to somebody local. Now granted that in this day and age you can easily accomplish anything you might need from a broker via phone or email, but I still like to have a face to face at least once every financial quarter. Call me old school.
I scouted around places for several weeks before deciding to stick with an EJ rep here in town, and I would advise anyone looking to work with a broker or investment banker to do the same. This is a person you are trusting with your money after all, and is not something you should take lightly. Practice due diligence, ask lots of questions and be sure to get references from them, especially if you are in it for the long haul. Any reputable broker will be more than happy to accommodate you. If they aren’t, Run!
This small EJ office is all about personal attention to the client, which is not something you are going to find at the larger financial services firms in the Chicago metro. It might sound prestigious hiring out one of the big boys like Fidelity or Morgan Stanley, but those are not people that are ever going to return your calls in a timely manner or be engaged in your account. Those big firms are fine for people that have a hands off type of situation with their portfolio. They also work for the wannabe gurus of the world who handle the bulk of their transactions online personally, and basically just need a brokerage house to facilitate them.
For the rest of us, Edward Jones is a good option.