steamed, part II

am I the only one that mindlessly watches something on tv, and then starts making smart-aleck comments to it? it happened to me tonight. Folding load of clothes #5 on my bed, on the tv was a commercial from Edward Jones. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Do they think the public is that stupid? I wish I could find the commercial on youtube to include here, but just watch for it some time.

The gist is a man/customer probably late 30s, or 40s walks into his neighborhood EJ office to get some reassurance from his broker. Appearantly the broker called him in, "I know you must be watching the news and concerned right now..."
Me: What he's really saying is I'm scared to death, I've never seen stocks tank 20% in one year, but I better portray to you my confidense in my abilities to keep managing your money. I'll call you in to my office to let you know I'm on top of things.

More blah-blah-blah from the "advisor" on how secure the guy's investments are.
Me: Please don't withdraw any more of your funds, my books are starting to look bad right now. Can't afford to lose any more clients.

More reassuring. And the 'client' is totally sucking up this stuff the guy is saying.

And finally the clincher of the commercial is the advisor telling the client "In my experience in these down trends...blah blah blah."

This is when my gasket blew. For Mr. Advisor to have any experience in these current downtrends, he would have to have been trading stocks since the '30s. Maybe if he was 25 then that would make an advisor with this kind of experience about 104 years old.

Unrealistic to go back to the depression? Let's just go back to the the last bad recession. Mid 1970s. If this advisor was 25 then, he'd be 59 now. Maybe. Maybe the advisor represented in this ad was in his early 60s. Maybe I could believe he had lived through managing portfolios through a tough recession. But, no, this company gives off the young and hip vibe.

Then the investor gives this sigh of relief that this advisor has so much experience to help guide him through this tough time.

Oh. My. Gosh. give me a break. Who believes this stuff?

I did look on the EJ website to find out exactly what prior experience you need to have to become an advisor:


"At Edward Jones, we believe in ability, not seniority. This means when you join us as a Financial Advisor, you ultimately determine your rewards and compensation based on your performance, not years of service. We also believe you are at your best when you control your career. That’s why there are no bosses here. You'll build your own business from your own branch office and plan your own day, every day. And excelling here doesn't require a finance degree or financial background. We provide all the training you need, regardless of your area of study, although a financial background is a plus."

You can go to their site and click on different "stories" of how each advisor came to choose a career with EJ. None of them were in their 60s. None of them majored in economics or finance. I didn't notice any with prior stock market experience. Most were bank tellers, western union, insurance just looking for a change in their career and more control of their future.

I'm not against investing with this company. That's fine if it's your choice. Or if you are an advisor with the company. That's cool. But be up front in your experience level and qualifications. If you've been a bank teller for 6 years and decided to get trained with this company, then don't sit on the other side of the desk and say stupid things like, "In my experience investing in these down trend markets." because, guess what, you don't have any experience with what's happening lately.

Not any more than the rest of us.