Strengths- A.G. Edwards possesses much strength, as a reputable firm that is one of the largest and oldest in the country. The company began in 1887 and now has 700 branches across the US and in Europe, with approximately 16,000 employees. Among those employees, there are 7,000 financial consultants. With so many consultants and locations that are liberally spread out across the US and Europe, it is clear that the company’s advantage is to be able to reach out to a wide array of clients, and therefore have a larger, more diverse client base than smaller firms. A.G. Edwards serves its clients as a broker-dealer, but may act as an investment advisor on designated accounts.
For years, AG Edwards has received employee approval and praise for its down-to-earth work environment and generous benefits. Just recently, Fortune magazine ranked the company 99th out of the 2007 “100 Best Companies to Work For” list (http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2007/snapshots/99.html). A company chorus and corporate tickets to baseball games are just a few examples of how the company unites and brings together employees, making them feel appreciated and encouraging them to work hard.
Along with a strong positive work-environment in general, the company’s specialty is training. In order to train all of its future financial consultants, the firm invests an average of $75,000 for the employee’s first five years. An average of $50,000 is spent over the same period to train experienced transfers. Perhaps the reason why they call the program “A.G. Edwards University” is because so much time and effort is spent on training. Employees’ options for the training are flexible; with online and in-person classes available. It is important to note that the company does ...