A.G. Edwards – “This company was the precursor of the Economic debacle that is currently ongoing...”

Pros

The "original" philosophy of turning the Financal Services model upside down and focusing your intentions on servicing the needs of the client first, resonated with me when I first worked with A.G. Edwards. The training program was rather comprehensive with provided travel to / from St. Louis from your respective branch office. Preparation materials for those starting out in the industry to obtain their Series 7 and Series 66 were fully furnished via Pass Perfect. Additionally, passing of the AAMS (Accredited Asset Management Specialist) designation from the College for Financial Planning was a requirement that initially seperated your training from the competitors.

Cons

Once you successfully completed the training program you were "thrown into the deep end of the pool" at your respective branch. Here you were constantly cold-calling and trying to build a respectable 'Book of Business' all the while trying to meet and surpass clearly defined yet unrealistically unobtainable performance hurdles. hence, the true meaning of the word "Philosophy." Once Wachovia came into the picture, through their "merging" of the companies into a cross branded company, it was clear that the banking model would eventually become the financial investment objectives of the combined firm regardless of touting open architecture investment platforms for the client.

Advice to Senior Management

Senior Management should be loyal to their employees and not talk out of both sides of their mouth.
"We will never sell the Company" - "It is a merger of two great philosophies"
"If we have to we will implement a Poison Pill" - "Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your CEO"