Edward Jones Investments History

This article was written by Phin Upham

Edward Jones is a commission-based investment firm with an intriguing twist. It takes a personal approach to investing and creates offices that are staffed by no more than one broker. This way, a client can carefully choose his broker and interact with only that person. Because of this unique model, Edward Jones is considered one of the largest brokerage firms (in terms of sheer numbers) in the United States.

The company was founded by Edward T. Jones in 1922. He was the originator of the branch network, which was useful in a time when he was attempting to expand through rural stretches of the US. Edward’s son, also named Edward “Ted,” opened the first single-broker office in Mexico, Missouri. He opened a second office in Colorado with his brother-in-law and used a teletypewriter line to keep in touch with the offices.

When Edward senior found out, he insisted the branch close its operations or find some way to pay for the correspondence. Junior responded by opening a series of offices along the line, stretching from east to Midwest.

The company is currently headquartered in Des Peres in Missouri. The main building is part of a campus of a few buildings clustered together at the intersection of Ballas Road. It’s received “Highest in Investor Satisfaction” from JD Power and Associates 8 times, and it ranked number one in Smart Money Magazine’s full-service brokerage survey. Fortune also called Edward Jones one of the best companies to work for in the United States.

About the Author: Phin Upham is an investor at a family office/hedgefund, where he focuses on special situation illiquid investing. Before this position, Phin Upham was working at Morgan Stanley in the Media & Technology group. You may contact Phin on his Phin Upham website