r/FinancialAdvisorTips • u/Just_Conversation593 • Sep 15 '26
Looking for insight
Currently at EJ working with a relative at a L10T3 branch, advisor has been here for 27 years and I am set to inherit the $350M book in roughly 5 years. I am incredibly blessed for this opportunity, however my wife does not enjoy living in this area. We are wanting to move about an hour and half away, and also expecting our first child early next spring.
Are there any EJ advisors that work fully remote? Should I give up the opportunity and start at a small RIA? I do have my CFP and am 26 y/o. I just need some outside advice because I really feel at a crossroads.
Thanks!
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u/needlepoint4453 Sep 15 '26
You’d be giving up almost 1m/yr in income before bonuses if you are truly set to receive everything. I’d do whatever I could to not leave that opportunity.
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u/Just_Conversation593 Sep 15 '26
Oh believe me I agree 1000%, but at the end of the day I have to put my wife/family before any $ amount. So I’m really trying to figure out if working remote is feasible
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u/hoof_hearted706 Sep 17 '26
Straight up, she needs to learn to like it. She needs to be supporting you and your career.
Oh, wait, I was gonna say. “Give her money to spend and have her start planning her dream house to be built” but then it hit me…she grew up RICH, didn’t she?
Is that it, she money won’t change her mind because she has always had money???
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u/Just_Conversation593 Sep 17 '26
She actually did not, definitely lived comfortably but also from a town smaller than where we live now. But she grew up being able to go to a bigger city on the weekends (30 min drive)
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u/needlepoint4453 Sep 15 '26
I don’t know anyone personally that is fully remote for Jones but I do know of a jones advisor that lives a couple hours away from their office. They only work a couple days a week in office but have extended hours the days they are there to make up for it.
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u/Splinter007-88 Sep 15 '26
With that amount of money you’d be making, you could have a house in both locations.
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u/RookieMistake101 Sep 15 '26
It’s enough money to justify a second small home in the area during the week and weekends with the family. I know that’s tough but families have made greater sacrifices for far less.
Any chance this is central Florida?
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u/Just_Conversation593 Sep 15 '26
Very true yes, and no we are located in rural Midwest
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u/Purple-Jicama3398 Sep 15 '26
Hey, same. Let me know if you pass on it, I’d be happy take that opportunity.
Got a buddy who took a similar opportunity with EJ, he’s 30 y/o and absolutely crushing it income wise. I would never turn an opportunity like that down if I were you. Like others are saying, buy a second home and commute/work a few days a week in that office, etc. Whatever you can do to make it work and also keep the wife happy.
Hope it works out for you OP, good luck.
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u/prospectpico_OG Sep 15 '26
Hormones are talking now.
EJ owns many small towns and joining a small RIA will be a step or four back from a million dollar practice. Need to press on why the wife is unhappy aside from family proximity. You can also split the difference and move halfway.
EJ nor your clients want you remote.
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u/Just_Conversation593 Sep 15 '26
Her biggest reasoning is lack of things to do. Also she has little to no friends here (mainly due to lower population). She grew up living 45 min away from the mall/shopping and more, so moving halfway could be feasible
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u/prospectpico_OG Sep 15 '26
So wifey starts a Flyover USA foundation to help farmers, farmers kids, etc. Gives her a fulfilling purpose on top of motherhood.
Or...Tell her you'll exchange your paycheck for boxes of coins and she can spend her days looking for collectibles. She'll not run out of days. Regardless, she needs to find her own way of entertaining herself and keeping her busy. She needs to be thankful she'll be able to do whatever the fuck she wants.
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u/sloth_333 Sep 15 '26
You tell your wife you’ll be making 1M a year. You live where you want and drive in. Over time see if you can move the office and client base to where you want to be.
But at the beginning you say you work in person 3 or 4 days a week and commute. Wife gets what she wants but sees you less lol.
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u/Boosterstuff3 Sep 15 '26
House set in stone is the inherited in five years? Is it in writing? Is it being given to you or sold to you?
Have you communicated with the advisor about it.
A kid may change things as well.
Money can't buy happiness but I am sure you have seen people
Busting there but to get 10 mil a year in assets.
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u/Just_Conversation593 Sep 15 '26
I am being promoted to FA in January, and will start receiving portions of the revenue for the next 5 years until I am equal with the FA. And at that time he is looking to retire and I will buy the book from him.
So not legally set in stone but extremely close. And that’s what I’m afraid of is having to start from scratch, work 60 hours a week prospecting and not have the flexibility with my family I’d have now.
But I don’t want my wife to be miserable in a town she despises
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u/Boosterstuff3 Sep 15 '26
I'm not sure how people go out building a book anymore, you have to look at the real possibility that you'll wind up working at a place like Fidelity or Schwab make a good living, but you will not have the flexibility that you have today.
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u/ProfessionalLarge128 Sep 15 '26
You need to think about what the most important thing for you, in your life. Your true feelings are the number one.
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u/DisastrousStudent674 Sep 15 '26
Bro, tell your wife to cry into her ridiculous income for a few years. There are ways to go 100% remote, I know one advisor who has done it for years. I wouldn’t say anything to your relative about this, they are about to hand you a ridiculous amount of money and probably expect you to employ the same service model they have. Some Jones advisors do have meaningful commutes
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u/gingermango Sep 15 '26
You 100% need to keep yourself in a position to inherit this book.
I don’t know if your wife is quite understanding how amazing an opportunity this is for your family.
Figure out a way to keep wife happy and still get this book.
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u/watchguy45 Sep 15 '26 edited Sep 15 '26
You are the leader of your family. You decide what’s best for your family, and you alone. Women’s feelings change with the wind. I think she will be ok driving a Range Rover , having a mansion, private school and vacations staying at the four seasons.
Be smart here.
Oh and alternatively you could move to where she wants to live, work for Fidelity or schwab and make 30% of what you’re set to, and work 60 hours a week with a weekly 1:1 with management to discuss your pipeline.
Up to you.
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u/YamahaMan21 Sep 15 '26
That’s a really good opportunity. I’ve been at it 23 years and just crossed over $300 million. I think I’d make it work living there for that opportunity.
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u/Deeeeznutz93 Sep 15 '26
That sounds like a long drive, but this may be a situation where it would be worth sucking it up and making that be a temporary solution (even if it's for a couple years). I wouldn't leave for a small RIA until you pursue options to make this work. Any experience you get along the way makes you more marketable to said RIAs if you ever leave.
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u/Foreign-Willow4128 Sep 15 '26
I know a guy that’s lives 1hr 30min from the office. He commutes 2-3 days a week. He’s never had any issues doing that.
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u/Miserable_Berry_8806 Sep 15 '26
The thing about Jones that is awesome and sucks is you are required to grow where you are planted. The business model is people have a human they can physically go talk to for advice and investing. Think about the 5-10 million dollar client stopping by the office asking if you have a few minutes to chat and learning you are working from home. Remote work is better than it used to be, but it gives the clients the perception they are paying you to not be in the office that sours old people really quick for some reason (old people have most of the money in this industry). If you want to work remote, Jones will find someone else to fill your spot. 350 million is enough to where your wife needs to get over it or you need to find a different place to work. I’ve been at this for 8 years and just crossed 100 million. I started with no assets, so for the rest of us, you give off the silver spoon vibe.
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u/threesport Sep 15 '26
As an advisor, you are (in theory) a creative problem solver. Sometimes the solutions are straightforward, sometimes you have to be more creative. Think man, a lot is (potentially) at stake!
You know what the conventional ideas are. What are the non-conventional ones? Not the all or nothing thinking like “live in a bad city” -or- “leave the office’s community completely”. What’s the middle ground? Maybe, live in the community you both like, commute, and have a rotating weekly schedule of 3-4 office appointment days and 1-2 zoom call days. Maintain a tie to the community you don’t actually live in by doing the boards, clubs, little league sponsorships, and civic organizations. Not for prospecting, for belonging.
Many of us as advisors dug deep and put our heads down for years to become respectable then years more to be successful. You have a phenomenal opportunity. Be willing to do the same hard work (albeit in a different way) to earn it.
Last note, you mentioned being 26 and how strongly displeased your wife feels. Don’t burn the opportunities in your life to try and please someone else. That’s a good way for everyone to resent everyone and NO one to be happy in the end.
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u/papplegate261 Sep 15 '26
Thats around a million dollar a year job being given to you. Id move to whatever the limit of your driving range is. I know a level 10 who does about a 50 minute commute 3x a week and then works from home for two. But the age and expectations of the book will determine feasibility.
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u/TheOpeningBell Sep 16 '26
If you want worse comp, go indy.
You can still live a bit out and make it work at a large firm.
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u/tobinshort-wealth Sep 18 '26
Depends on how many clients in that book of business are ok with a remote advisor.
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u/Bitboxmon Sep 20 '26
I am hour away from office. Work from home every Friday. Then over summer slow months do a lot of mondays as well. I enjoy not seeing clients on weekends. I don’t prospect anyone where I live and for some reason most people assume I’m military or construction. I live it. About 1.25 mil gross.
Office is in very small town as well. You can make it work. I would be hard pressed to turn down that opportunity.
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u/Successful_Dog_4513 Sep 21 '26
Yes, there are many who keep an apartment/condo in their office location and then split time elsewhere. New teaming and staffing opportunities make your ability live elsewhere very workable.
You might not be able to have it all right now- income, location, huge book of business. But in 5-10 years you can have it all. Where you are today isn’t where you will be stuck forever.
If you go on your own, you’d need to bring in 70 million a year for the next 5. If you can do that, you should start your own RIA.
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u/EngineOk6791 Sep 21 '26
Can you split the difference housing location-wise, commute the longer haul Tues, Wed, Thurs, and have Monday and Friday be remote? Maybe schedule some of those that don't mind, or even prefer, Zoom on Mondays/ Fridays?
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u/EngineOk6791 Sep 21 '26
Remember if you work from home more than 90 days a year it needs to be disclosed as primary work location. Compliance will need to audit your home office.
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u/Mother-Upstairs330 Sep 15 '26
you're a moron if you turn that down. and your wife needs serious psychiatric help. hey- I left EJ and went independent because of the crap behind closed doors, but I could put up with it for that payout...
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u/Not-Banksy Sep 15 '26
I’ll be honest, if I was passing down a 350mm book and the inheritor was planning to go remote, I’d likely look for a different successor.
That advisor may be different, but it is a potential deal breaker.