Edward Jones continues push into proprietary funds

Edward Jones is expanding its lineup of proprietary mutual funds for its 12,000 brokers and financial advisers a year and a half after the brokerage launched its first fund, the Bridge Builder Bond fund. Edward Jones' move into the proprietary fund business runs counter to its long-stated message to its advisers not to rely on proprietary funds but instead use a cadre of outside money managers, long led by American Funds. Edward Jones announced in December the preliminary registration of four new stock funds with the Bridge Builder brand. On Monday, the Bridge Builder Trust requested a one-month extension of the registration period for the new funds. They are: Bridge Builder Large Cap Growth, Bridge Builder Large Cap Value, Bridge Builder Small/Mid Cap Growth, and Bridge Builder Small/Mid Cap Value. The four sub-advised funds are expected to be up and running by the middle of the year and will be available to Edward Jones' clients on its fee-based advisory platform, according to a statement from the company. Olive Street Investment Advisors, an Edward Jones subsidiary, will be the investment adviser to the new funds. Initially, the funds are expected to have three to five sub-advisers each, according to a company statement. Steve Seifert, a partner at the firm, told InvestmentNews in August 2013 that the brokerage had no firm plans to launch funds beyond the one bond fund. “Our intent is not to be a manufacturer of products,” he said at the time. John Boul, a spokesman for Edward Jones, said firm executives were not doing interviews about the new funds and pointed to a December company statement about the new funds. Jim Weddle, the firm's managing partner, said in that statement that the new funds are being created to support the growth of client assets on its fee platform, called Advisory Solutions, which was launched in 2008 and has more than $128 billion in assets.