Brad Smith, a financial advisor with the financial services firm Edward Jones in Littleton-Lake Gaston and Angie Acree, a senior branch office administrator, recently attended an invitation-only training opportunity at the firm's headquarters in St. Louis.

The two-day Advanced Practice Management Forum is offered to branch teams throughout the country who rank among the top-third most successful in the firm in helping clients work toward their long-term financial goals.

"The Advanced Practice Management Forum gave us an opportunity to share ideas with other successful teams, visit with home office experts to discuss ways to meet more clients' needs and view technical demonstrations highlighting a variety of systems and tools," Smith said. "Angie and I also were able to tailor some of the training to focus on areas of our business that we want to grow."

Said Acree: "Attending this training together will help us better serve our clients. We now share a clearer vision of the best practices, tools and resources to use in earning new clients, deepening relationships with existing clients and overall delivering an ideal client experience."