Just talked to my financial adviser. He was formerly with Edward Jones but just left for a smaller regional firm. He finally had enough of their woke policies (of which I wasn’t aware until today). He was expanding his local branch and had a guy lined up to add to his office. Great qualified candidate, was about to pul the trigger on the hire. Home office told him he needed to hire a non-binary person of color. He was basically threatened to get with the times.

I’ll be transferring all my investments in the coming weeks.

This is a tough time to be job hunting as a Caucasian straight male.

Affirmative Action

^^^ Isn't it grand that the way you fight discrimination and racism is by deploying discrimination and racism .

Oh man, I guess we should have had a thread on Edward Jones years ago

I dropped my account with them in 1999. Here's why.......

In 1999, Edward Jones Corp office gave money to DEFEAT Missouri's Proposition_B which would have allowed CCW permits to be issued at the time.

Edward Jones Corp office appears on several lists of anti gun businesses

I told my Edward Jones guy that I could no longer have an account with them since they are anti-gun, so I closed it and that was that.

Even aside from them being anti-gun, a friend of mine who is a finance guru told me that they are more of a sales organization, and their real goal is get something like more than 5% of your portfolio EVERY YEAR through fees, loaded mutual funds, commissions, selling you an annuity, churning your account, etc. Big rip off. FWIW, Edward Jones does not serve as a fiduciary. Their advisors aren't legally required to put their clients' needs ahead of their own.

This crap has been going on forever. I was told, in about 1980, that I could only hire a minority for a financial position - In Billings, Montana. Good luck with that.

Good for you Leemur, once done let them know why.

My company doesn't even try to hide it, in fact they celebrate it. We have quotas to meet, qualifications be damned

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
Good for you Leemur, once done let them know why.

Once my account is transferred, they’ll get a letter explaining exactly why. They aren’t losing a high roller but if enough people check out, it’ll leave a mark.

A minority isn’t enough any longer, now the minority has to be “non-binary” as well?!? How does a hiring manager or a selection committee determine that? Is there an owner’s manual that comes with corporate policy as stoopit as that?

How do they prove a person is "non-binary?" I've been checking that blog to mess with the system since it came out, no pun intended.

You don’t need to dump Edward Jones because of their woke policies.

You should dump them because they absolutely suck as an investment firm.

Well if they were any good it would make sense to stay with them. I could care less about Edward Jones and their politics. I use a brokerage firm to help with my investments.

We bank with Chase. Fantastic service from them in banking and investments, but they push ESG, lots of money to BLM, "Stakeholder Capitalism". Jamie Dimon--mostly negative vibes except for his telling Rashida Tlaib where to get off when it came to funding petroleum exploitation.

quote:

Originally posted by Fredward:
How do they prove a person is "non-binary?" I've been checking that blog to mess with the system since it came out, no pun intended.

Too bad you didn't intend that pun. It's a good one.

I used to work for a European Investment Bank. They were doing overt woke DEI BS and rainbow virtue signaling starting a decade ago. It went into overdrive around 2019 and got to be unbearable in 2020 before I cut bait. The whole financial services sector is a hostile work environment if you are a straight white male.

quote:

Originally posted by Leemur:
Home office told him he needed to hire a non-binary person of color.

And I thought it was against federal law to discriminate in hiring/firing based on sexual orientation. Prohibited: "Discrimination because of sexual orientation or transgender status."
 
See EEOC Federal Laws Prohibiting Job Discrimination

I'd bail on them, or any other name brand (and especially your bank) higher cost/commission firm but for financial reasons, not wokeness.
Maybe there are some individuals that at a particular company that you might like but they mostly have less talented employees that follow a formula for your investing and they charge a premium for that cookie cutter type advice.
Do some research yourself to be a more knowledgeable investor and you can be much more successful over time. You don't have to be an expert or have a degree in the subject.
Many people think you must have someone handle your money that reads the financial tea leaves to do well, an in-house Warren Buffet. They hammer that home in their advertising.
The truth is that those companies don't employ those people. What they do is bamboozle you with marketing and sales talk to convince you they do, so you'll pay those higher fees and commissions.
Stick with the basics, common sense, and do some reading about basic investing and don't expect to win the lottery. Then go with a lower cost outfit like Vanguard or Fidelity with much lower fees.
Over time, a percent or two or three makes a big difference.

I went with my advisor because of his knowledge, performance and character, not because he was with Edward Jones. I’m far from his biggest client but he never failed to return a call and spent all the time I wanted going over options, answering questions, etc. I’ve done great with him at Edward Jones and I see no reason to think I won’t do as well if not better with him at the new firm.

Back in the Seventies I worked for the US Post Office in Gaylord, Michigan. Every time they hired someone the bosses in down state Michigan gave them hell because they didn't hire a black person. At that time in all of Otsego County there was one black man living in the county and he was 76 years old and not interested in a job of any kind.
Rod