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A Brief History of the Firm and a Description of Their Service
Edward Jones is a brokerage firm with a long history of providing investment options and
advice to its clients. Founded in 1922 as Edward D. Jones & Co., the firm was born into the
bustling excitement of the Roaring Twenties as the stock market became a popular vehicle for the
"everyday American" to become rich (Waller, 2003, p. 14). From its humble beginnings as a
single-room office, Edward Jones has now grown to be an international firm with more than
49,000 associates in offices across the United States and Canada. Today, the company is led by
managing partner, Penny Pennington who is the only woman to head a U.S. brokerage firm of
this size (Edward Jones, n.d., paras 4-6).
Edward Jones offers its clients total wealth management, which includes "preparing for
retirement, estate planning, paying for education, and preparing for the unexpected" (Edward
Jones, n.d., para 1). For the purposes of this paper, the author will focus on the retirement
planning service that Edward Jones offers. No matter the age, everyone in the US and Canada
needs to plan for retirement. Edward Jones works alongside clients by conducting an in-depth
analysis of current assets and a projection of future financial needs, then offers solutions to help
clients get from point A to point B which in this case is retirement. This solution can include IRA
accounts, insurance policies, and annuities.
Current Global Marketing Efforts
In 1990, Edward Jones took its first step into foreign marketing by opening a branch
office in Canada (Waller, 2003, p. 128). Due to the similarities between the two countries, the
company's marketing strategy remained similar in both countries. The products offered in
Canada are a mix between direct product extensions and product adaptions to meet the local
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legal requirements. While the firm added resources in French and offered different Canadian
account types, the financial advisors' methods of prospecting clients and marketing financial
solutions remained the same as their American coworkers. At this time, the decision-making
authority remains in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A. (Edward Jones, n.d., para 3).
In 1997, Edward Jones expanded again by opening an office in England, with plans to
work with clients across the UK. The company attempted to alter its marketing approach by
reaching out to potential clients through phone calls instead of door knocking. This was
unsuccessful and maintaining their UK offices soon became unsustainable (Waller, 2003, p. 128).
In 2009, the firm withdrew from business in the UK (Edward Jones, n.d.).
Edward Jones' Mission
While Edward Jones does not have a listed mission statement, many of their marketing
materials highlight the phrase, "helping serious, long-term investors achieve their financial
goals" (Edward Jones, n.d., paras 3-4). By using these words, the company clarifies their ideal
client. In addition, they set themselves apart as a company that intends to have lifelong clients
who are working towards financial health.
Competitive Strategy
Edward Jones is currently utilizing a growth competitive strategy. When the company
began, Edward Jones Sr. had no intentions to build the company much farther than Missouri.
However, when his son, Edward Jones Jr. joined the team, he started what has been a continual
streak of growth at the firm (Waller, 2003, p. 32). Due to the small sizes of the branch teams,
offices are relatively easy to start in comparison to big banks or investment firms full of cubicles.
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Today, the company continues to add more advisors and open more offices. despite slowdowns
with the Covid-19 pandemic (Edward Jones, 2021, p. 7).
SWOT Analysis
One of Edward Jones' biggest strengths is its reputation. The company is well-known for
operating in large cities to small towns, often with offices staying the same location for decades.
With branch teams kept to sometimes as little as two people, the client experience is more likely
to be personable than at a large bank or a robo-advisor. This strength leads to referrals as current
clients recommend an advisor that they know and trust. Word-of-mouth referrals are a powerful
marketing tool (Marshall, 2019, p. 75). In addition, Edward Jones has regularly ranked high in
Fortune's Best Places to Work, securing its place at number 20 in 2021 (Fortune, 2021, para 21).
This strength helps the firm hire and retain talent.
One of Edward Jones' weaknesses is its history of being slow to adopt changes. For
example, clients must call in and speak to their advisor to request a trade. Trade orders cannot be
accepted through email or voicemail or anything aside from a phone call or in-person meeting. In
today's decentralized, virtual financial industry, trades at other firms can be placed on a mobile
device with a simple tap.
Another weakness exhibited by the firm is a lack of diversity. In their 2021 Annual
Purpose, Inclusion and Citizenship Report, Edward Jones reported only 8% of their financial
advisors were people of color, while 9% of their home office associates were people of color. In
addition, only 21% of their financial advisors are women (Edward Jones, 2021, p. 11). While this
is certainly not unheard of in the financial industry, the stark lack of diversity weakens the firm's
ability to truly hire the best of the best, instead of only hiring the best of a finite demographic.
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Opportunities for the firm include expanding further into Canada since the company has
experienced success there. In addition, the firm could become FDIC certified to offer its clients
secure, guaranteed accounts alongside their brokerage accounts. Consumers today are interested
in having a wide variety of products and services available to them (Marshall, 2019, p. 73).
Threats to Edward Jones include the increasing popularity of robo-advisors and other
cheaper brokerage options. When considering building an investment portfolio, some consumers
may consider a computer to be a better analyst than a human, especially when that computer will
charge half the commissions of a human advisor. Edward Jones’ prices are comparable to its
competition; however it is by no means a cheap investing option. Fidelity, a competitor for
Edward Jones, has recently released index funds with no expense ratio which can be held in
brokerage accounts with no fees or commissions, the first in the industry to make such an
offering to its clients (Fidelity, 2021). With free index funds putting high returns in investors’
pockets, Edward Jones faces the threat of losing clients over their fees and commissions.
Figure 1
SWOT Analysis Summary
Strengths Weaknesses
- Reputable and personable
- Forbes 100 company
- Slow to adopt changes
- Ranks poorly in diversity
Opportunities Threats
- Further expansion in Canada
- FDIC certification
- Robo-advisors
- Cheap brokerage options
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References
Edward Jones. (n.d.). Homepage. https://web-prod-origin.ac.edwardjones.com/us-en
Edward Jones. (n.d.). Our history. https://web-prod-origin.ac.edwardjones.com/us-en/why-
edward-jones/about-us/our-history
Edward Jones. (2021). Annual purpose, inclusion and citizenship report.
https://www.edwardjones.com/sites/default/files/acquiadam/2021-09/CAU-12493A-
A_2021-PIC-report.pdf
Fidelity. (2021). Fidelity zero index funds. https://www.fidelity.com/mutual-funds/investing-
ideas/index-funds?
imm_pid=700000001752670&immid=100774&imm_eid=ep64414288260&gclid=CjwK
CAjwp_GJBhBmEiwALWBQkyGkmI6MGPRTBaOAw4a-qYd-
SqHMxFtCnqEAyKWsnUoJXKbh2r1iqBoCrIoQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Fortune. (2021). Fortune 100 best companies to work for 2021.
https://www.greatplacetowork.com/best-workplaces/100-best/2021
Marshall, G. (2019). Marketing management (3rd ed.). McGraw Hill Education.
Waller, D. (2003). Edward jones: A book about edward jones' history, values and culture.
Edward Jones.
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