Edward Jones approaching 20 years of service to Elizabethton

By Greg Miller
STAR STAFF
gmiller@starhq.com

   Next December, Edward Jones will mark two decades of service to Elizabethton.
   "It's a big, big milestone for me personally," said Dave Wortman, Edward Jones investment representative, located at 504 E. E St. "When I came here 20 years ago, the only other Edward Jones office (in this area) was in Greeneville. Just in the Tri-Cities area, we now have about 25 Edward Jones offices. I'm talking about Kingsport, Bristol, Johnson City, Greeneville, the immediate Tri-Cities area.
   "Our growth, not just here in Elizabethton, but in the whole Tri-Cities area, has been nothing short of very, very good. We have two Edward Jones offices here right now. We were going to have a third one. My daughter, Lindsey, was, we thought, going to have her office in Elizabethton and we would have it open by mid-year. However, an office came open in Johnson City two weeks ago, and Lindsey was doing such a good job here. We had clients on the book over there that needed to be taken care of, so we have relocated her to an existing office in Johnson City. We're real proud of that, and eventually we will have a third office in Elizabethton."
   Last year was the first year in four years "when we saw the financial markets, especially the Stock Market, rebound," Wortman said.
   Patience over the last few years was an important virtue through a variety of problems such as the 9-11 terrorist attack, a recession, "the tech bubble bursting," Y2K, and a war in Afghanistan, Wortman said. "We've been through a lot in the last four years, and it was good to see that the strength of the U.S. economy was such that we could get things back on track, even though in 2003 we went to war again in Iraq.
   "It was a good year. We saw investors be rewarded for their patience, and we also saw our business grow." Assets under management grew to $115 million.
   For the sixth year, Fortune magazine has ranked Edward Jones high on its "100 Best Places to Work For" in America list. This is the fifth year that Edward Jones has remained in the top 10 of this prestigious ranking. Edward Jones was No. 1 for two consecutive years. This year, Edward Jones took the No. 4 spot.
   The Fortune "100 Best" ranking is employee-driven, with two-thirds of the scoring based upon how randomly selected employees respond to an anonymous survey designed to measure the quality of workplace culture. The remainder of the score is based on an in-depth analysis of company culture and human resources practices.
   "I can truly say that I'm grateful to work for a firm that I believe in, and it is evident that my co-workers share my sentiments. I also know that Edward Jones would not be what it is today without clients and friends like you, and I thank you for that."
   Wortman's number one goal every year "is to take care of my clients. Sometimes that's an easier job than others... It's helping people stay on track, keep their eyes on the target, to not panic and sell their investments at the wrong time."
   Wortman describes last year's Stock Market activity as "cautiously optimistic" as things got better. People with 401k plans, IRA accounts and in their personal investing were "waiting for not just a little bit of a rally, but they were waiting for the markets to substantially get better before their confidence came back. The people who won, however, the people who came through this the best are the ones who continued to add to their account during the last three or four years."
   The presidential election could play a key role in Stock Market activity this year, according to Wortman. "Probably the biggest issue that's going to be disruptive as we go through the next couple of months is the presidential election," he said.
   "I personally don't believe the financial markets will like it if Kerry (Democratic presidential candidate and senator from Massachusetts John Kerry) who at this time appears to be the leading nominee (is elected). I say that because he has publicly stated that he was for rolling back the tax cuts, etc., that were enacted and put into place in May of 2003. Any time you raise taxes, whether it's at the personal level or the corporate level, that takes money out of the economic cycle. I would view that as a negative, that the economy would not like that."
   Wortman's office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information, call 543-7848.