Thread regarding Edward Jones layoffs

@cb Sponsorships at this level are a new thing in 2026 and the firm is making some significant investments. The thought is to increase our presence in urban and coastal areas, i.e. Oregon, UNC, Duke, McClaren. It's too new to know the ROI on those just yet but the Allen Jackson one apparently brought in millions.

That said, marketing is effective in bringing in new clients and higher AUC clients than the firm average. The elephant in the room is the # of FAs leaving and the assets that are leaving. Marketing is doing their part but the issue is somewhere else in the firm. I don't believe FAs have a minimum AUC to attract, but because Marketing does, the resulting AUC is higher.

Don’t put a lot of faith in these surveys. I’m guessing a lot of people will not tell the whole truth, because they’re afraid of consequences. Regarding asset outflows, someone needs to look at the data to figure out the root causes. From my view (and I don’t have any data), there are some capabilities that are table stakes while others are “nice to have”. It feels like we are mixing them and priorities all over the place. We need to focus on the FEW things that really matter instead of getting carried away with shiny objects. And we need people who are willing to roll up their sleeves and get the work done instead of hiring consultants left and right who will tell you what you want to hear, or people who love to attend meetings but don’t want to do any real work to figure out how to make the business run better. Because gravity does exist, and we can’t build ideas that aren’t anchored to reality. They’re a waste of time and resources. Not only are they NOT going to give u healthy ROI, they will pull time & resources away from the things (tablestakes) that deserve our full attention.

300 people in PM were impacted by a reorg - new depts, roles, etc. but not displaced. Maybe a handful of people did have this happen which is not acceptable, but 300 did not lose their jobs. It’s ridiculous but let’s be accurate.

@eg ebm is not reorging please stop lying

@cm Several EBM associates have talked about the reorg. They are scared and upset. I bet Reputation Management is currently conducting their focus groups with ELT to make sure the messaging lands the right way with associates after CES. It’s not just AI slop. It’s ELT engineered propaganda. And they are so scared of a revolt, we have to pay more consultants to guide the elites in what to say so they can sleep at night without nightmares.

@OP "engagement is up!"...yeah, mcdummy, of course it is, you clowns brow beat all of us into taking the stupid thing on the final day. Not to mention, everyone knows you will lie about how bad the numbers are AND double down on the insanity. We are run by a group psychotic sority girls who are still trying to get even at society because "Chad" ignored them back in the day. The only thing they have at the end of the day is their expensive wine and a socially akward cat.

Anyone who read that copilot email from her was gaslit on a whole different level today. These people have no shame, no morals, and are drunk on their own power. The only trend I see with this place is:

"If the numbers look bad, hide them."

"If the numbers continue to look bad, just lie about the results."

"If the numbers keep getting worse, punish the worker bees harder, it's their fault our terrible ideas have failed!"

If EJ is relying on marketing to go up market, then they already failed.

@dw SM is the MOST TOXIC person on ELT by a long shot and that is saying a lot knowing who else is on it. I hope and cannot wait for the next MP to kick her to the curb... and maybe, just maybe start reversing her terrible directives and policies that have creative a culture of fear, toxicity, and exhaustion. She is a snake.

We’ve all seen the recent comms and "executive" summaries regarding the latest CES results. According to the official narrative, things are looking up, momentum is building, and our trajectory is improving.

If you just skim the highlights, you’d walk away thinking most metrics are trending in the right direction. But there’s a massive gap between the official takeaway and the raw data.

Having seen the actual, unvarnished survey results, the picture is completely different. Core areas aren't just "facing challenges" - they are flashing red. Yet, instead of confronting those hard truths transparently, the messaging has been carefully scrubbed, sliced, and spun so that an outside reader or someone without context would assume everything is fine.

Spinning poor data doesn't fix the underlying issues; it just alienates the people who live those realities every day. Real leadership means looking at tough feedback, owning it, and treating the organization like adults who can handle the truth.

If we genuinely want to improve, we have to start by being honest about where we actually stand - not where leadership wishes we were.

OP - where did you hear that Marketing is going through a reorg? I’m in Marketing and haven’t heard anything. But then I’m a lowly associate who may not be privy to such info.

Layoff hundreds of people every year for the past several years who are required to keep their families' assets at the firm while associates, and then act surprised that those assets are leaving out the door with them. What does leadership expect getting rid of their captive associate customers?

300 people is a pretty good chunk of displacements. I feel like our marketing strategy has been a disorganized mess the last few years. We seem to have no idea what we want to be or appear to be to the public. The more assets and FAs that flow out the door, the more "panicked" the marketing strategy seems to be. We keep dumping crazy amounts of money into sponsorships, events, etc, but nobody really knows 'why' EDJ should be their choice to invest with. We have a branding problem, and now (at home office) we have a morale problem. Everyone is on edge and keeps waiting for the next shoe to drop and people like S.MCD to tighten the sc--ws even more. It is an absolute circus right now and I have no idea what the next move is by ELT. It's like they are in panic mode, but also lashing out at the very people who keep this place running. My hunch is that by january there will be another big announcement that won't be in our favor.

I'm doing everything I can to help move those assets out. Probably $6M by the end of the month. I'll try to quit slacking and pick up the pace.