Balancing Independence and Support

Chris Knaus, Financial Advisor
Long Valley, New Jersey

Chris Knaus grew up watching her mother go to work each day in Manhattan to climb through the ranks of a major insurance carrier. Knaus later joined her team, working there for more than 15 years. As her family grew, Knaus opted to stay home with her young children. When she was ready to get back into the workforce, she felt called back to the financial services industry but wanted a career on her terms.

“I wanted to be a financial advisor in a town of my choice,” recalled Knaus. “I saw it firsthand in my mother’s business; she saw clients all over the tri-state area. Her calendar was a logistical nightmare.”

Knaus, like so many other financial advisors, was drawn to the Edward Jones model. She could independently work close to home while getting the support she needed to succeed from the firm’s headquarters and a dedicated branch office administrator. Flexibility and the choice to define her own success brought Knaus to Edward Jones in 2015.

From early in her career, Knaus had an appreciation of the value dedicated support provides financial advisors at Edward Jones.

“In the past I was in an environment where agents shared administrators,” she said. “My branch office administrator enables me to focus on building client relationships. I don’t spend my time vying for administrative resources or worrying that someone else will poach my clients.”

As a private partnership, Edward Jones financial advisors can always do what’s best for their clients. This allows financial advisors to build their ideal practice without being beholden to account minimums, cross-selling and compensation grids to which publicly held companies often employ.

Clients always come first, and colleagues are united in a culture that cares for clients and one another.

“When it comes down to what we need as humans, that’s the stuff that matters,” she said. “My colleagues were there for me through tough times in life. We’re not a cold, sterile brokerage house. We support each other.”

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