so does anyone use edward Jones ??They have many offices around me in north Indiana .

If not can I go directly to Vanguard and set up an IRA thru them ?? I see alot of you seem to like them .

Edward Jones  is good to go for a Roth IRA

I know a few people who've used EJ and the returns were not great. If your just doing a basic Roth and putting it into a few funds, I think you'd be fine doing it yourself with just a lil homework IMO. I use both vanguard and fidelity and like them both. Fidelity has a better research functions, but the returns of their main funds are comparable.

I did , very happy with mine and the stocks I have separately BUT It's not E.J. that was the thing, it was the individual E.J. agent.  My 'go to' guy on this stuff had met with a number of advisors including several different E.J. offices and agents. He approved of only this one specific individual.

Wife and I both do EJ. Their investment strategy is very long term no frills. 4 IRA accounts (2 Roth, 2 Traditional from rollovers) and a MM account. We like it.

In college I started a Roth IRA account at EJ.  After I became more educated I decided EJ wasn't for me for the following reasons:

1. Account manager would only recommend loaded mutual funds.  Returns weren't great either once you factored in the front end load.
2. Account manager tried to steer me away from index funds.
3. Fees were high for individual stock purchases.
4. Fees went up quite a bit within a year of having the account.
5. A full service brokerage firm isn't what I need.

YMMV.  We all pay for our education.  Thankfully mine was under $1k in commissions and fees before I learned about target retirement date funds.

I do a lot self directed now between 401(k), Roth IRA, and UTMA accounts at Fidelity and Scottrade.

EJ will cost you more than you need to spend and they won't beat the market in returns over the long term.

Take a look at bogleheads.org - lots of good information.

If you need to meet with someone in person, search for a registered investment advisor.  They have a responsibility to serve you whereas a broker can try to sell you loaded funds with high commissions.

With a little research, you can do it all yourself at Vanguard, Schwab, or Fidelity.  Keep it simple and lost cost (mutual fund expense ratios).

I would go with Vanguard. VERY highly reputable in the personal finance industry, usually have more top ranked funds in Kiplinger and other financial journals, and have the lowest fees in the industry (Or damn close to it).

For the average bear, its easy enough. You call, set up an account, and the funds are labeled according to the year you plan to retire. So you can get a fund that has a targeted retirement date of 2040 or 2055, and depending on that year depends on how they gradually move away from stocks and into bonds to protect your current holdings as you reach your retirement.

Funds start at $1,000.

Their Strategic Equity Funds are also very highly ranked.

I have had a roth at EJ for many years.  It has done very well 18.6% last year.  I also have a Scottrade account which I manage myself.  It has also done well.

I would not use EJ. Their fees and expensive funds they put you in will grind down your returns.

Vanguard is damn hard to beat and is super low cost. Read over at bogleheads and you can learn a lot.

If you don't want to fool with it much vanguard's target date funds ain't that bad. It is as easy as falling off a log. You open your account, use their chart and find the target date fund based on your age and you are done. Performance wise this should beat EJ over the long haul and you have the satisfaction of knowing you are not making the BMW payment for the broker at EJ.

What fees and other costs are you guys referring to? I get charged a $40 maintenance fee PER YEAR for a couple of the accounts, but the only other fees I get charged is when I buy/sell something. You must be the guys who are pseudo-day traders. EJ, is more suited for those who want to park their cash for the long term and not fuck with it.

I disagree.  I do not day trade.  I do not buy individual stocks.  Everything I buy is a mutual fund.  I buy and hold.

The costs being discussed are the costs to trade (i.e. buy a mutual fund, whether 1 time or a little each month) as well as the costs the mutual fund itself charges to operate.  The mutual fund costs are typically referred to as Total Expense Ratio.

Lower costs are better since a multitude of research has proven that fund managers cannot beat the market each and every year for a 10 year or longer time horizon.

EJ makes money by fees and commissions on what they sell.  Their own mutual funds will have higher costs than those at Vanguard, Fidelity, or Schwab.  You could by Vanguard or other mutual funds via an EJ account, but EJ will charge you for each transaction.

The lowest cost option for the vast majority of folks is Vanguard.  Pick a target date fund if you want it simple.  Conversely, you can pick 3 or 4 different VG funds if you have the time to learn the basics.  Or you can go with EJ and waste some of your $.

+1

Vanguard Index funds are hard to beat unless you want to have a full time job managing your money.

thanks guys , this is exactly the info I was looking for . I will ck out vanguard and Fidelity and Blogerhead

sorry . double post

I still have an account at EdwardJones.  In the late 1980s, they were the only brokerage firm operating in my county seat.

This was pre-internet, (at least for me).  There have been several posts in this thread, both pro & con EdwardJones.

I will agree with most of what has been said.  You can do better if you do a little research and make your own decisions.

For some one who needs a face to face environment, and maybe even a little handholding every once in a while, EdwardJones is a good choice.

A lot depends upon the individual running the office.  If you have more than one office in your area, check with all to see if you prefer one over the other.

I do a lot of trading with a well known internet broker these days.  I still do business with an EdwardJones office, have several long term stock holdings there.  I also have both classic and Roth IRA there.  Yes, I would have been better off in the late 1980s to have chosen a no load mutual fund for my IRA.  Well, that is water under the bridge now.

I am older and wiser now, and if I had to start over, I would not choose the same path.  However, a quarter of a century ago, I was not as wise and experienced as I am now.  EdwardJones may just be the place for some people.

If you are comfortable making your own choices, then you won't want EdwardJones.  If you are uncomfortable, and inexperienced, it may be a good place for you to start.  They do specialize in rural areas, which doesn't mean as much now as it used to, but is still nice.

Yes, they do charge high fees.  Fees that you can escape elsewhere.  Handholding can be expensive.