There is a nice/funny/sad article by Mary Pilon in Saturday’s WSJ showing how Edward Jones continues to employ door-to-door salespeople to get individual investors to open accounts with the firm.  As other brokerage firms went high-tech over the past two decades with a focus on online trading, sophisticated investment strategies using Monte Carlo simulations, Edward Jones stayed the course as it had for the past 70 years.  From the piece:

In the midst of the worst stock market since the 1930s, Edward Jones has been growing the old-fashioned way: knocking on doors. The company is unrivaled in that business. Whereas other securities firms are shrinking, its 12,000-broker force has added 998 brokers this year. It plans to add another 5,000 by 2012, according to Jim Weddle, the firm’s chief executive.

And how does the firm pay for these personalized services?

While the rest of Wall Street was transformed by everything from low-cost trades to alternative investments, Edward Jones follows much the same model it did when it was founded in 1922. It features a combination of high fees and relatively conservative investments.

Presumably, then, these salespeople are professionally trained and know what they are doing.

Most Edward Jones advisers don’t have sales backgrounds. Their ranks have included a rocket scientist, a sandwich-shop supervisor and a pro baseball player. Frank Finnegan traded his Yankees pinstripes for a business suit in 1951. He’s still with the firm.

Ugh.  And the employ ex-Yankees to boot.  Edward Jones will hire anyone.

To me, money and investing is not something that you trust just to anyone.  Seems like charging individuals alot of money for a conservative strategy is not in the best interest of these clients.  Yet, what is kind of charming about it, is that it shows the unsophistication of the industry when you peel back the curtain.  I wonder if Morgan Stanley clients are any better off right now?

At least Edward Jones is open about it.