Investment firm wants to grow its presence in the GTA and establish a three-man downtown office
Edward Jones is expanding – and it wants advisors with entrepreneurial spirit to grow its presence in Toronto.
As part of its market opportunity strategy, the firm wants to add another 30 professionals to its 207 advisors working in the GTA. And in a new concept for the investment firm, it’s establishing a downtown operation, bringing three experienced advisors together to head up a branch and share real estate, while also mentoring three new finance professionals under them.
Scott Ward, Edward Jones area leader for the GTA, assists with the company’s leadership and growth performance in the region. He points to its 17% growth rate in the GTA and said the clients and market are there for further expansion.
He said: “You can also look at the countless number of investment professionals that live [in the Toronto area]. In our industry alone there are thousands … and some of those people could be great future Edward Jones advisors.
“So we want to make sure that we have a structure set up not just to serve the clients but also the advisors that want to work and build a good client-centric business.”
Ward said the firm is seeking advisors who put the client first and are excited about making a difference to the lives of people and their communities. He emphasized Toronto’s diverse make-up and wants its team of professionals to reflect the city.
He said: “We want people who work hard, who want to build something - we want that entrepreneurial spirit. We want people who feel that they have a hand in their own success and the success for the people they are working for and helping.”
Ward added that, after starting out as an advisor at Merrill Lynch, he made the switch partly because he was attracted by the chance to build his own practice with the backing of a Fortune 500 company’s full-time administration team.
He said: “[You have] the ability to be independent, unbiased, balanced and objective; listen to what your clients’ needs are and focus everything around them. Our sole purpose is to help individual investors and their families do well so all our resources and all of our communication and everything we do is built towards trying to help build the client relationship.
“If you are an advisor looking for that type of place and really put the client first, you are not going to find anywhere better.”
Edward Jones prides itself on its unique business model of one financial advisor and one branch office administrator but the decision to set up a three-man office downtown – with the experienced Jonathan Rivard, Ryan Henderson and Chris McIntyre and their teams – was driven by location and the steep cost of operating in the heart of the Big Smoke.
The cost of living in itself, said Ward, drives people’s need for advice with worries over salaries and real estate, for example.
He said: “We’ve entered a shared real estate opportunity where we’ve got three successful advisors who were around downtown, one a little north, one in Richmond Hill, one out in Etobicoke and they’ll all move to share real estate but still be independent. We’ve also left an opportunity to bring in three more new advisors to learn and be mentored by those three successful leaders.”
For more information, contact Tim Pausner, Edward Jones Talent Acquisition, on (905) 306-8619 or via email at [email protected]
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