Bear is essentially a single-line business. Unfortunately for the company, that businessmortgage-backed bondshas been the center of the credit meltdown until recently."We've been telling clients since November that larger, more diversified financial-services firms that are well-capitalized are in a better position to weather this turmoil," says Tom Kersting, analyst who covers the major banks for Edward Jones & Co. in St. Louis, Mo. That statement probably rings true today even more than it did a few months ago, he adds.
I have been with Jones for almost two years..rolled over my Fidelity 401(k). So far, so good..the gains have been good but they are slowing down, as are the dividends, and everyone is going to get hurt to some extent, but they have done well with me so far. I told them I wanted a risk averse mix, and this one is very diversified. I wasn't rich before, anyway...shrug..So no reason to be aggressive at this point.