Edward Jones
Edward Jones was founded by Edward D. Jones Sr. in 1922 in St. Louis, Missouri to help individuals pursue their serious, long-term financial goals. Since then, Edward Jones has gained its success by taking a personal approach to business by believing in creating long-term relationships with clients. Today, Edward Jones is a leader in the financial services industry as the firm serves nearly 7 million investors. Furthermore, Edward Jones is the largest partnership on Wall Street and ranks #5 on Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For by Fortune Magazine.
This spring, Edward Jones allowed 50 individuals from across the nation to learn about financial advising and cultivate communication and business skills through the Financial Advisor Spring …show more content…
Internship Program. The program’s curriculum was intended to provide exposure to the work of a successful financial advisor and training to improve the ability to meet and talk with others. For ten weeks, I worked as a branch intern for Ms. Sara Fitzpatrick, a financial advisor in St. Peters, Missouri, for 15 hours a week. The program’s curriculum consisted of three major projects and supporting branch operations. It was an absolute privilege to work with Sara and observe how she and her branch office assistant, Diane, worked together in partnership. Sara and Diane were excellent hosts as they allowed me to observe their day-to-day activities. Throughout the program, Sara and Diane shared the challenges and rewards of being a financial advisor, explained the Edward Jones culture, and allowed me to shadow appointments. The program’s curriculum was designed to give interns an idea of what it takes to be a successful financial advisor. Throughout the program, I primarily focused on the three major projects in the curriculum. For the first project, I conducted a survey that was used to help me better understand the increasing need for financial services. The purpose of this project was to learn about the general public’s level of financial literacy and the significance of understanding their financial needs. For this project, I reached out my network, asked them to participate in a financial literacy survey created and distributed by Edward Jones via email. Interns were encouraged to gather 75 to 100 emails, and I was able to gather 146 email addresses in the two weeks given to reach out to our contacts. The day before the survey was emailed out, I contacted nearly all of the individuals who agreed to participate and reminded them to check their inboxes in the coming days. Out of the 50 interns in the program, I had the greatest number of participants as 82, or 6.7%, of the 1220 participants surveyed came from my network. After receiving the survey results, I was able to discover trends in the data gathered and determine the various needs of financial services amongst various ages, genders, races, income, and education levels.
For the second project, I was tasked with understanding how financial advisors build a practice to meet client needs. To learn how a successful practice is developed, I observed the day-to-day operations of various Edward Jones branches. I observed two financial advisors who are at the beginning stages of their careers, two financial advisors with an established practice, and the top performing financial advisor in our region. This project allowed me to learn of the various challenges advisors face at different levels.
For the third project, I generated a business plan and created a capstone presentation to present to the firm. For this project, I used the information gathered in the first two projects to create a business plan focused on how I would serve the financial needs of individuals in my market. In order to become a financial advisor, candidates must design a business plan to share with the firm. In June 2017, I will be eligible to apply to become a financial advisor at Edward Jones and will be better prepared to apply when it I will be required to submit a business plan.
In addition to working on the three projects, I am currently assisting Sara by coordinating a seminar about identity theft for her clients. Because I will be in the area this summer, I will be coordinating a seminar for Sara to host on June 8, 2017 titled, “Identity Theft & Finance.” This experience is allowing me to learn how to plan a successful event that will benefit Sara’s clients by educating them on this imperative issue.
While interning for Sara, Sara and another financial advisor in the region held a client appreciation event at Cottleville Wine Seller where a representative from Invesco gave clients a brief market update. The event was extremely successful as clients felt appreciated and valued by their Edward Jones advisors. I am thankful I had the opportunity to attend to witness another example of how Edward Jones advisors serve clients.
Edward Jones truly has a remarkable internship program that allows interns to see exactly what it is like to be a financial advisor. The program directors did an excellent job in leading us throughout the curriculum. Each week, the program directors hosted a webinar session to review the weekly agenda. During the webinar sessions, the interns were able to ask questions and share experiences with each other, and I found it beneficial to learn about the other interns’ experiences. One of the most beneficial aspects of this internship included the networking opportunities. Although there were no other interns near me, I was able to connect with other interns via email and LinkedIn.
While I genuinely enjoyed every aspect of this opportunity, if I had to select one con about the internship, it would be the timing.
This internship happened to occur at a time of transformation in the financial services industry as I witnessed the firm operate under ambiguous circumstances. With to the Department of Labor’s new fiduciary rules regarding retirement accounts and discussion about repealing the rule, Edward Jones decided to move forward with the ruling despite much uncertainty surrounding the it and advisors were struggling to adjust to this significant change. Due to the timing of this internship, productivity had been slowed down as some branches were overwhelmed with the changes. Although productivity may have been slowed down, this valuable learning experience provided me with a realistic view of the life of a financial advisor as I was able to witness financial advisors operate during intense circumstances.
This internship will strongly benefit me in the future as the program directors have given interns the opportunity to continue with the program this summer. This summer’s opportunity will give interns a completely different set of tasks that will further allow interns to see what it is like to be a financial advisor at Edward Jones. This spring’s internship has been extremely rewarding, and Sara has offered to serve as my host financial advisor this summer where I will be in her office 40 hours a week for 10
weeks.
If individuals are passionate about becoming a financial advisor at Edward Jones right after they graduate from college, they have the opportunity to take part in the Financial Advisor Career Development program upon graduation. At the beginning of the program, Edward Jones compensates individuals to study at home for the Series 7 and Series 66 exams and gives individuals all necessary study materials. After the exams have been passed, individuals spend the next seven months training to become a financial advisor.
Edward Jones is a remarkable company as it is nationally known to be one of the best firms to work for. I feel as if management is honest, ethical, and confident in its business, and I am proud to tell others about my experience with Edward Jones. This firm is an excellent workplace for millennials, women, and minorities, and I believe I will be able to grow a successful business at Edward Jones as I have a diverse background that will allow me to better connect with individuals in my community. The Edward Jones Financial Advisor Internship Program has driven my passion to pursue financial advising after graduation. This firm is an excellent workplace for millennials, women, and minorities, and I believe I will be able to grow a successful business at Edward Jones as I have a diverse background that will allow me to better connect with individuals in my community.
This spring, Edward Jones allowed 50 individuals from across the nation to learn about financial advising and cultivate communication and business skills through the Financial Advisor Spring …show more content…
Internship Program. The program’s curriculum was intended to provide exposure to the work of a successful financial advisor and training to improve the ability to meet and talk with others. For ten weeks, I worked as a branch intern for Ms. Sara Fitzpatrick, a financial advisor in St. Peters, Missouri, for 15 hours a week. The program’s curriculum consisted of three major projects and supporting branch operations. It was an absolute privilege to work with Sara and observe how she and her branch office assistant, Diane, worked together in partnership. Sara and Diane were excellent hosts as they allowed me to observe their day-to-day activities. Throughout the program, Sara and Diane shared the challenges and rewards of being a financial advisor, explained the Edward Jones culture, and allowed me to shadow appointments. The program’s curriculum was designed to give interns an idea of what it takes to be a successful financial advisor. Throughout the program, I primarily focused on the three major projects in the curriculum. For the first project, I conducted a survey that was used to help me better understand the increasing need for financial services. The purpose of this project was to learn about the general public’s level of financial literacy and the significance of understanding their financial needs. For this project, I reached out my network, asked them to participate in a financial literacy survey created and distributed by Edward Jones via email. Interns were encouraged to gather 75 to 100 emails, and I was able to gather 146 email addresses in the two weeks given to reach out to our contacts. The day before the survey was emailed out, I contacted nearly all of the individuals who agreed to participate and reminded them to check their inboxes in the coming days. Out of the 50 interns in the program, I had the greatest number of participants as 82, or 6.7%, of the 1220 participants surveyed came from my network. After receiving the survey results, I was able to discover trends in the data gathered and determine the various needs of financial services amongst various ages, genders, races, income, and education levels.
For the second project, I was tasked with understanding how financial advisors build a practice to meet client needs. To learn how a successful practice is developed, I observed the day-to-day operations of various Edward Jones branches. I observed two financial advisors who are at the beginning stages of their careers, two financial advisors with an established practice, and the top performing financial advisor in our region. This project allowed me to learn of the various challenges advisors face at different levels.
For the third project, I generated a business plan and created a capstone presentation to present to the firm. For this project, I used the information gathered in the first two projects to create a business plan focused on how I would serve the financial needs of individuals in my market. In order to become a financial advisor, candidates must design a business plan to share with the firm. In June 2017, I will be eligible to apply to become a financial advisor at Edward Jones and will be better prepared to apply when it I will be required to submit a business plan.
In addition to working on the three projects, I am currently assisting Sara by coordinating a seminar about identity theft for her clients. Because I will be in the area this summer, I will be coordinating a seminar for Sara to host on June 8, 2017 titled, “Identity Theft & Finance.” This experience is allowing me to learn how to plan a successful event that will benefit Sara’s clients by educating them on this imperative issue.
While interning for Sara, Sara and another financial advisor in the region held a client appreciation event at Cottleville Wine Seller where a representative from Invesco gave clients a brief market update. The event was extremely successful as clients felt appreciated and valued by their Edward Jones advisors. I am thankful I had the opportunity to attend to witness another example of how Edward Jones advisors serve clients.
Edward Jones truly has a remarkable internship program that allows interns to see exactly what it is like to be a financial advisor. The program directors did an excellent job in leading us throughout the curriculum. Each week, the program directors hosted a webinar session to review the weekly agenda. During the webinar sessions, the interns were able to ask questions and share experiences with each other, and I found it beneficial to learn about the other interns’ experiences. One of the most beneficial aspects of this internship included the networking opportunities. Although there were no other interns near me, I was able to connect with other interns via email and LinkedIn.
While I genuinely enjoyed every aspect of this opportunity, if I had to select one con about the internship, it would be the timing.
This internship happened to occur at a time of transformation in the financial services industry as I witnessed the firm operate under ambiguous circumstances. With to the Department of Labor’s new fiduciary rules regarding retirement accounts and discussion about repealing the rule, Edward Jones decided to move forward with the ruling despite much uncertainty surrounding the it and advisors were struggling to adjust to this significant change. Due to the timing of this internship, productivity had been slowed down as some branches were overwhelmed with the changes. Although productivity may have been slowed down, this valuable learning experience provided me with a realistic view of the life of a financial advisor as I was able to witness financial advisors operate during intense circumstances.
This internship will strongly benefit me in the future as the program directors have given interns the opportunity to continue with the program this summer. This summer’s opportunity will give interns a completely different set of tasks that will further allow interns to see what it is like to be a financial advisor at Edward Jones. This spring’s internship has been extremely rewarding, and Sara has offered to serve as my host financial advisor this summer where I will be in her office 40 hours a week for 10
weeks.
If individuals are passionate about becoming a financial advisor at Edward Jones right after they graduate from college, they have the opportunity to take part in the Financial Advisor Career Development program upon graduation. At the beginning of the program, Edward Jones compensates individuals to study at home for the Series 7 and Series 66 exams and gives individuals all necessary study materials. After the exams have been passed, individuals spend the next seven months training to become a financial advisor.
Edward Jones is a remarkable company as it is nationally known to be one of the best firms to work for. I feel as if management is honest, ethical, and confident in its business, and I am proud to tell others about my experience with Edward Jones. This firm is an excellent workplace for millennials, women, and minorities, and I believe I will be able to grow a successful business at Edward Jones as I have a diverse background that will allow me to better connect with individuals in my community. The Edward Jones Financial Advisor Internship Program has driven my passion to pursue financial advising after graduation. This firm is an excellent workplace for millennials, women, and minorities, and I believe I will be able to grow a successful business at Edward Jones as I have a diverse background that will allow me to better connect with individuals in my community.