Edward D. Jones & Co., L.P.,, simplified as Edward Jones, is a financial services firm headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. It serves investment clients in the U.S. and Canada, through its branch network of more than 14,000 locations. The company currently has relationships with nearly 8 million clients and $1 trillion in assets, under management worldwide. The firm focuses solely on individual investors and small-business owners. Edward Jones is a subsidiary of The Jones Financial Companies, L.L.L.P.''', a limited liability limited partnership owned only by its employees and retired employees and is not publicly traded. Edward Jones appointed Penny Pennington as managing partner, effective January 2019, making her the firm's sixth managing partner and the only woman to lead a major U.S. brokerage firm.
History
Edward Jones was founded by Edward D. Jones in St. Louis, Missouri in 1922. Edward Jones' son Edward D. "Ted" Jones was responsible for the creation of the individual branch network, which has spread across rural communities and suburbs throughout the US and Canada. The first single broker office was opened by Ted, and staffed by Zeke McIntyre, in Mexico, Missouri. Ted opened another branch office in Pueblo, Colorado, with his brother-in-law Bill Lloyd as manager of the multi-broker office. When Edward D. Jones Sr., found the teletypewriter line bill, he insisted Ted either shut the office down, or find some way to pay for it. Ted Jones paid for it by opening one-broker offices on either side of the teletypewriter line, stretching from St. Louis, Missouri, to Pueblo, Colorado. That is why some of the earliest Edward Jones offices were Dodge City, Hays, Great Bend, Manhattan in Kansas, and Jefferson City in Missouri. Edward Jones Investments had the naming rights for the Edward Jones Dome in Saint Louis, Missouri. After the St. Louis Rams decided to move to Los Angeles, Edward Jones Investments exercised its right to terminate its sponsorship, and the facility is now known as The Dome at America's Center.
Business model
Edward Jones financial advisors offer commission-based and fee-based financial products. Offices are usually staffed by two associates: one Financial Advisor and one Branch Office Administrator. The Branch Office Administrator, or, BOA, acts as an assistant to the financial advisor, filling the roles of a secretary, manager, and co-worker. The one-broker-per-office model allows clients to choose their broker directly, and deal with that person exclusively. As of 2017, Edward Jones had the largest number of brokers, with 16,095, and, branch offices, with 13,499, among brokerage firms in the United States.
Corporate affairs
The company has its corporate headquarters in the City of Des Peres in St. Louis County, Missouri. Adjacent to the company headquarters is the Edward Jones South Campus, located at the intersection of Ballas Road and Manchester Road. The Edward Jones North Campus is located on a zoned plot southeast of the intersection of Interstate 270 and Dorsett Road in the City of Maryland Heights in St. Louis County. Edward Jones has locations in the United States and Canada. The company had offices in the United Kingdom for 10 years, before selling the division to British brokerage firm Towry Law in 2009.
Awards and rankings
J.D. Power and Associates designated Edward Jones Investments as the firm with the "Highest Investor Satisfaction" nine times between the years 2002 and 2019. The Canadian Arm of J.D. Power also designated the firm with "Highest Investor Satisfaction" for nine years between 2006 and 2019. In 2020, Fortune magazine ranked Edward Jones Investments at number seven on their Fortune List of the Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2020 based on an employee survey of satisfaction.
Criticism and controversy
Revenue sharing
On December 22, 2004, the Securities and Exchange Commission, NASD and the New York Stock Exchange settled enforcement proceedings against Edward Jones, related to allegations that Edward Jones failed to adequately disclose revenue sharing payments that it received from a select group of mutual fund families that Edward Jones recommended to its customers. As part of the settlement, Edward Jones paid a $75 million fine. Edward Jones also agreed to disclose on its public website information regarding revenue sharing payments including the admission that "Edward Jones' receipt of revenue sharing payments creates a potential conflict of interest in the form of an additional financial incentive and financial benefit to the firm, its financial advisors and equity owners in connection with the sale of products from these product partners."
Municipal bonds overcharging
On August 13, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission required Edward Jones to pay a $20 million fine because, according to the SEC: "Edward Jones undermined the integrity of the bond underwriting process by overcharging retail customers by at least $4.6 million and by misleading municipal issuers."
