Office address: 12555 Manchester Road, Saint Louis, MO 63131
Website: edwardjones.com
Year established: 1922
Company type: financial services
Employees: 55,000+
Expertise: investment advice, retirement planning, wealth management, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, unit investment trusts, charitable gift funds, fixed-income investments
Parent company: The Jones Financial Companies, L.L.L.P.
Key people: Penny Pennington (managing partner); Ken Cella, David Chubak, Keir Gumbs, David Gunn, Tina Hrevus, and Kristin Johnson (principals)
Financing status: corporation
Edward Jones is a private financial firm headquartered in St. Louis, operating over 15,000 branches throughout North America. The company focuses on helping individual investors with services like investment advice, retirement planning, and wealth management. It is known for its partnership structure, strong community presence, and a workforce of about 55,000 employees.
Edward D. Jones Sr. set up Edward D. Jones & Co. in 1922 in downtown St. Louis. The first office was just a single room with a desk, three chairs, and a hat rack. From the start, he wanted the firm to treat both associates and clients with fairness and respect.
Ted Jones, the founder’s son, joined the company after working in New York. He became the 18th broker and soon took the business beyond St. Louis, driving hundreds of miles to reach small towns.
In 1957, the firm opened its first branch office in Mexico, Missouri. By 1968, Ted Jones became the second managing partner, pushing for employee ownership and a focus on service.
By 1980, Ted Jones saw his goal of 300 offices realized and named John Bachmann as managing partner. John brought in Peter Drucker, who encouraged the company to expand into cities. This advice helped Edward Jones triple in size in five years, and the firm celebrated its 1,000th office in Stoughton, Wisconsin.
Edward Jones moved into Canada in 1990, and by 2008, the firm had opened its 10,000th branch. Leadership changed hands several times, with Doug Hill and Jim Weddle guiding the company through new milestones. In 2017, the company joined the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion to show a commitment to a more inclusive workplace.
The firm named Penny Pennington as managing partner in 2019, making her the only woman leading a major US brokerage. As of 2024, it managed $2.2 trillion in client assets and continues to grow its presence in the US and Canada.
In 2025, Edward Jones announced several leadership changes as part of its shift toward comprehensive planning. The firm also launched Edward Jones Generations, a private client service for high-net-worth clients.
Edward Jones offers personalized wealth strategies and advanced planning, especially for high-net-worth clients:
Edward Jones is also known for business owner solutions and workplace financial planning. The firm is recognized for its advisor network, personalized service, and focus on innovation in wealth management.
According to Edward Jones, collaboration shapes its culture and is rooted in its partnership structure. It also reports that its culture motivates associates to help each other succeed, not compete, and that success is shared across the company.
The company highlights several benefits for associates:
Edward Jones encourages associates to shape their own career paths and reach their highest ambitions. The firm supports growth through mentorship, skill-building, and opportunities to make a difference for clients and communities. Associates are stated to be valued for their drive and are given tools to maximize their impact and career success.
Penny Pennington is the managing partner and leads Edward Jones as it moves away from its traditional one-advisor, one-office model. She joined the firm in 2000 as a financial advisor, became a principal in 2006, and held several leadership roles before taking her current position in 2019. Pennington has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Northwestern.
The Edward Jones leadership team brings experience and unique skills to guide the firm’s direction:
The leadership team includes people with a range of backgrounds and responsibilities. Their combined expertise helps Edward Jones adapt and grow in a changing industry.
By 2026, Edward Jones will have opened Generations hubs in Scottsdale, St. Louis, West Palm Beach, and Dallas for high-net-worth clients. It seeks to expand advisor training and add investment options like exchange funds and alternative investments. These steps will help the firm better serve wealthy clients and compete with larger firms.
These new Generations hubs are part of a broader effort to deliver more for high-net-worth clients. In a sit-down interview with Investment News, Edward Jones’ Tom Lewandowski said that Generations provides tailored planning and access to private credit, real estate, and alternatives. By combining personal advice with advanced technology, the firm helps families manage wealth transfer and make confident financial decisions for the future.
The rollover recommendation disclosures will 'get Monday-morning quarterbacked every time the market takes a dive,' one lawyer noted.
The RPA Broker-Dealer Roundtable and Think Tank covered getting data, providing plan access and helping participants with low balances.
Carson Group is the latest to sign up for the three-year-old service that lets advisers allocate assets in held-away accounts like 401(k)s. It is compliance-friendly and secure, the firm says.
The former broker, Dalas Gundersen, sued Edward Jones in 2015, seeking damages, after three fake gay-sex ads were posted on Craigslist earlier that year listing his business phone number.
Guy Rodgers Private Wealth Strategies is based in Mansfield, Texas.
The financial services firms that people identified as their main source of retirement advice tended to be those with the biggest 'share of wallet,' consumer research firm Hearts & Wallets found.
As lawmakers called on Wells Fargo to be broken up last month, retirees and near-retirees are focusing less on wealth aspects of retirement.
The DC industry must be realistic and admit that financial wellness is largely a failure, an acknowledgment that's a key step on the road to success. Because we cannot afford to fail.
Despite payout rates and branding that suggest higher levels of support, the top brokerage firms are not meeting adviser expectations, according to a recent survey of over 3,000 advisers.
Covid has helped retirees focus on the importance of well-being over wealth. A new study shows that the timing and funding of retirement have shifted as a result of the pandemic and that retirees are paying more attention to the nonfinancial aspects of retirement.
Mike Fuller and Rob Barber in Arroyo Grande, California, are leaving Raymond James and affiliating with LPL through OSJ Perennial Financial Services.
Only 36% of Americans were able to identify a 529 as an education savings tool, and only 20% of parents say they have used a 529 account or are planning to use one.
While the firm is planning to hire financial advisers in 2021, it may see a slowdown in the typical number of new advisers that join the firm in a given year.
Consumer research firm Hearts & Wallets surveyed 5,900 people and found that most have no idea how they pay for financial services.
The past year has exposed a stark divergence in the investment behavior of millennial investors compared with their older counterparts. A huge generational transfer of wealth, at roughly $68 trillion, is poised to fall into the hands of the millennials.
