Leaving Edward Jones!?

December 20, 2023 12:57 AM

I am ready to leave Edward Jones for another brokerage firm. I’m completely new at this as I was left this portfolio and have a lot of anxiety about it. More below…

I have opened my account and I guess I am ready to go at the new brokerage firm but do I actually need to call and talk to Edward Jones? Should I be wary of any paperwork or anything like that? My life is very complicated right now and I have a lot of anxiety about something going wrong. Thank you in advance!

posted by catspajammies to Work & Money (9 answers total)

You just need to find out what paperwork or facilitation the new brokerage needs from Edward Jones. I've made that move before, but the steps may differ depending on the specific brokerage. The new one should make it pretty easy for you, because it's in their best interest to do so. Edward Jones made it pretty easy too, if I recall correctly.
posted by limeonaire at 1:34 AM on December 20, 2023 [4 favorites]

Response by poster: The new brokerage firm said it would be really easy and the handover teams just do everything, I was just afraid it’s not actually that easy because I have a lot on my plate.
posted by catspajammies at 1:54 AM on December 20, 2023

I work for one of the big brokerage firms, it really is that easy. That is part of the appeal. Limeonaire has it exactly right. You shouldn’t have to do much but provide information and a few signatures to get everything moved.
posted by pearlybob at 2:36 AM on December 20, 2023 [4 favorites]

My wife recently moved her accounts from one broker to another. The new broker handled the move and it went seamlessly.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:40 AM on December 20, 2023 [2 favorites]

I moved accounts a few years back -- we'd tried out a financial advisor for a little while and then decided that was not right for us, and as part of that I chose to move everything to Vanguard. I delayed calling for a while because I was afraid it would be awkward, but for them it was just a business call and the actual transfer of the accounts was extremely simple. I guess there is a chance that you'll be hit with a "how can we retain your business?" script, but just like cancelling any other service you can just say no thanks and proceed.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:07 AM on December 20, 2023 [2 favorites]

You do not have to speak to EJ. Ask your nrew firm to initiate an ACAT transfer. You will need to provide the information on your statement from Edward Jones such as account number. You may have to prove your identity by answering basic questions, but it really is simple. The back office will deal with the actual transfer of stocks, options, bonds and cash. I have seen it take more than one attempt, but that was because of administrative errors.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 2:42 PM on December 20, 2023 [1 favorite]

Btw, I have been the COO of a broker dealer division of a publicly traded company. This is brokerage operations 101. This process happens many many times per day. The only time this could be a small complication is if the shares you hold are not in "street name" but rather you have the physical certificates or they are in your name. I highly doubt that is the case, but anyone else reading this might care.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 2:46 PM on December 20, 2023

I did this in exactly the same circumstances, though from Schwab to another brokerage. The amount of the transfer was not huge, maybe $25,000. I got a brief call from someone at Schwab a month or more later wondering why I transferred the money, thinking that there was some problem at the local branch that put me off. I said I had inherited it, but used another broker for my own investments and wanted to keep everything in one place. He said "of course, that makes perfect sense. Have a nice day." I actually thought it made good business sense to follow up on defectors, and I've moved other accounts since from other brokerages and never been contacted as to why.
posted by citygirl at 6:05 PM on December 20, 2023 [1 favorite]

2¢ just to say that it was painless and easy to move an inherited account from Wells Fargo Investments to Vanguard. Took like a week for everything to transfer over.
posted by oldnumberseven at 6:16 PM on December 20, 2023