They are very different from every other brokerage firm in that they do send their advisors out, door-to-door, especially in their early stage. They get out of training, and then they knock doors, try to make contacts, find people who may have some financial need or may want to talk investments. It's hard, grueling, low-reward work. They struggle like hell for two years or so to build up a clientele, sell them some things, earn a commission, and try to meet their sales quota before Jones fires them.
The negatives about Jones: (1) What you already noticed--usually the ones who knock on your door and will meet with you at your kitchen table are inexperienced and don't have a ton of financial planning knowledge. (2) They work strictly on commission, and since there's a quota hanging over their heads every month, the temptation is there to sell you something you might not need so they can keep their job and pay their mortgage. (3) There's high turnover. It's hard to hit those numbers (I failed), so the adviser you met with today could be gone in six months.
The positives about Jones: More than most financial firms, they really do have a "do-what's-right-for-the-client" culture. There are exceptions, as in any organization. But they tend to stick with mostly conservative investments, fund managers with good, long track records. They don't get into the crazy options and futures trading. They are a partnership, not publicly-traded, so they're very cautious. You did NOT see Jones leveraging their assets 30 to 1 and making big bets on CDO's and derivatives. As mentioned, Jones will meet with the "small" investor; the Merrill Lynch and Smith Barney people usually won't talk to you if you don't have at least $100K to invest. While the individual that knocked on your door may be fairly new, they have a deep bench of mentors and experienced advisers that can help her. You can even look around for a more experienced Jones adviser if you feel more comfortable.
The best advice I can give you is ask lots of questions, always ask if this is the best option for me, what other options are there, etc. Don't sign with anyone unless you feel very comfortable that you can work with this person long-term.
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