My friend works at Edward Jones and told me they’re shifting all office support jobs to India. The document processing time has gone from 2 days to 25 days in their department, and more layoffs are expected next year as they go department by department.
Hope nobody needs anything urgent! Another reason to stay away from them.
Edward Jones is a terrible company. They take as much money as they can from people who trust them with investments.
Classic corporate move. They cut corners to fill the higher-ups’ pockets while screwing over employees and customers. Same story everywhere.
Actually, Edward Jones is structured differently. It’s a limited partnership, and most of the partners are employee partners, not external investors. Still, if this outsourcing is to save money, it could backfire big time. Investment advisers rely on good support to serve their clients, and if that fails, they’ll leave, taking their clients with them. It’s a competitive industry, and advisers can go independent or join other firms like Fidelity, Schwab, or LPL. If Edward Jones loses enough good advisers, they’re in trouble long term.
Totally agree. My elderly relative got tricked into expensive funds by their financial advisor after inheriting money. The returns were way below the S&P 500.
Any portfolio that’s not all stocks is going to underperform the S&P 500 in good years. It’s all about managing risk, especially with someone elderly.
Edward Jones is a joke. If you use them, that’s on you.
They’re my only option for investing through my 403b. The rest are insurance companies selling terrible annuities.
You should consider rolling it over into an IRA. I moved most of my money from Edward Jones to Schwab and only keep a small amount with Edward Jones.
You might want to talk to the plan administrator about their fiduciary duty. Edward Jones shouldn’t even be an option in retirement plans.
I’ve brought it up before. They don’t care—it’s a school system.
You could always use an annuity for market exposure and roll it into something better later. You should have more than one option for your 403b.
Nope, unions aren’t allowed.
This happened at my old company too when they outsourced support to India. It was a disaster. The turnover was so high we were constantly working with new people who didn’t know what they were doing.
A lot of companies think they’re saving money with outsourcing, but they don’t realize how much they lose in quality. Sure, you can pay lower wages, but if you don’t attract good employees, or they keep leaving for better jobs, it’s going to cost you in the long run. I’ve seen outsourcing succeed, but only when done right. The cheapest option almost always fails.
This is a sign to move your money if you can. If they’re cheaping out on support staff, where else are they cutting corners? Security? Advisor quality? You don’t move to an overseas call center because it’s better for the customer. Look into Fidelity or Schwab if you want better service.
It’s happening everywhere. India is taking most of the US operational jobs, especially in finance.
Yep, same in insurance. Big companies have been outsourcing for years. My company did it too.
Same thing in travel. My company has 400 employees in the US but 800 customer service agents in India.
Insurance companies have been moving ops to India, Indonesia, and the Philippines since the mid-2010s.