Date: Thursday, September 07, 2006 

Resource: Daily Herald

CATHY ALLRED - North County Staff
Investment representative Mike Chamberlain and his office administrator Dorothy Miller greeted visitors at an open house celebrating their new Edward Jones branch grand opening on Aug. 25 and Aug. 26.

Updated every Monday, government bond, corporate bond and tax-free bond rates are posted on the window of the Pleasant Grove Edward Jones office located next to the Smith's plaza and Blockbuster Video on 399 E. State St. But it is the personable approach towards clients with the company setting up offices in communities that sets Edward Jones apart from other investment firms.

In customer service J.D. Power, a national rating company, rated Edward Jones number one from 2004-2006 over and above other investment firms.

"There are several of them in the same arena," Chamberlain said. "We're different in that our only focus is meeting the needs of individual finance investors ... we also have a great track record in doing what's right for the client."

The company doesn't have an proprietary products to sell and from the "top down our instruction is to do what is right for the client," he said.

Each office offers banking services, annuities, business retirement plans, education savings, equity investments, equity research, estate considerations and trust services, financial calculators, fixed-income investments, individual retirement accounts, insurance, investment banking, investor education programs, managed asset accounts, mutual funds, online account access, personal financial organizer, portfolio and retirement plan reviews, retirement plan rollovers and consolidation and systematic investing.

More expensive than online or discount brokerages, Edward Jones offers a full service office for good quality investments over the long term.

"(It) helps save our clients in commissions in fees because we are not trying to tell them to buy and sell, we are telling them to buy quality investments and hold," Chamberlain said.

Chamberlain received his investment and finance training at an Edward Jones training center in Tempe, Ariz. A BYU alumnus with a degree in psychology, Chamberlain knew he wanted to work with individual, but he realized he liked business as well.

"My parents were retiring and the level of help they got just wasn't adequate in the care and concern," he said. "It just triggered that interest in me."

He spent the first 18 months in business apprenticing at the Edward Jones Orem office, one of 9,000 Edward Jones offices nationally.

"I love to let people to know what their options our so they can get out and do what they want to do -- to live their best life possible," Chamberlain said. For more than 10 years Edward Jones Financial has been in the top 10 companies for employees by Fortune Magazine. In 2002 and 2003 the same magazine rated the company number one.

"I love it, it's a great place to work," Dorothy Miller, branch office administrator, said. "I enjoy working with Mike. I like working one on one with clients."