Edward Jones recently announced the recruitment of a former J.P. Morgan advisor with a $135 million book of business, noting that Orrin "Jason" Nordstrom had previously left Edward Jones but decided to return to leverage an expanded product set, new technology and revamped options for branch office structures.
Similar stories are highlighted on the firm’s notable hires page, including the recruitment of another J.P. Morgan veteran, Jeremy Adams, who had overseen a book of $230 million within J.P. Morgan Wealth Management.
Adams said he was drawn to Edward Jones’ “unique model,” which will provide him “greater autonomy in how he runs his practice alongside a community of fellow financial advisors.” Adams also cited access to dedicated administrative support and “robust home office resources” as drivers of his move to switch firms.
Penny Pennington, Edward Jones' managing partner, said that stories like these “warm her soul” and demonstrate that the 20,000-strong advisor firm has been on a significant journey during her six years at the helm.
It had been more common to hear about advisors passing over Edward Jones in search of greater flexibility, Pennington acknowledged in a recent conversation with ThinkAdvisor in New York. That has changed, however, thanks to a new team-based approach, a revamped client segmentation strategy and an embrace of holistic financial planning.
“I believe [potential recruits] have long understood that we are a firm that puts the client at the center of all our decisions, and that we are a firm where people can be very productive in growing their practices,” Pennington observed. “But, they also had a view of Edward Jones as taking more of a cookie cutter approach to the advisor business. We still have room to run, but those days are over.”
The road ahead will have its challenges, Pennington said, but the leadership team is optimistic about Edward Jones’ ability to continue to attract talented advisors — from those just starting to career changers and experienced wealth managers — and to serve multiple generations of investors with a variety of money goals.
Comprehensive Experience
When Pennington took over in 2019, she said, "We made a pledge to our advisors to serve more clients, more completely. We already had some of the highest net promoter scores in the industry, but we still listened to our advisors as they were saying, ‘We want more. We want a more comprehensive and complete experience.'"
This emerged naturally, Pennington said, as clients experienced increasing complexity in their financial lives.
“Advisors were consistently telling us that they wanted to be able to serve folks across wealth levels, from those just starting out to the highly affluent,” Pennington said. “We took that feedback to heart, and you can see how we’ve tuned our strategy accordingly.”
This frames the newly launched Edward Jones Generations solution, she noted. A team of home office professionals and tax and legal representatives from EY and Husch Blackwell work alongside advisors and client support team members to deliver ongoing financial planning and execution.
Clients will receive in-depth advice backed by high-net-worth services including cash flow analysis, trust and estate considerations, philanthropic strategies and business owner planning. In addition, clients will have access to an expanded network of third-party referrals to support real estate transactions, specialty insurance, family governance, business owner succession and executive health screenings.
“Edward Jones Generations is the next step in our overall vision, and we’re very excited to roll it out to the advisor force throughout 2025 and to expand the program further with new capabilities and new partners in the years ahead,” Pennington said.
Full Embrace of Financial Planning
Another firm priority that is helping to attract advisors, according to Pennington, is the embrace of MoneyGuide Elite across the advisor force.
“We are now above 2 million clients who are active on the MoneyGuide platform, and it’s making a real difference in their lives and in deepening their relationship with their advisor,” Pennington said. “We hoped and expected that our financial advisors would really see the merit of a much deeper discovery process and deeper planning conversation with their clients, and that’s happening three times as quickly as we originally projected.”
The software helps advisors guide clients across short-, medium- and long-term goals, Pennington explained, and in legacy planning, tax optimization and risk management.
“The client and the advisor are both getting the experience they have been looking for,” she said.
Unified Investment Experience
Another key push is Edward Jones' years-long effort to move from five distinct investment management solutions in favor of a unified platform.
It’s been a big lift, Pennington said, but the end is now in sight, with anticipated completion of the migration later this year.
“The end goal here is to make our advisors more effective and efficient as they manage client portfolios across the branch offices,” Pennington said. “We believe the financial planning opportunity will increase as a result, because clients will be bring more assets onto the platform. It’s a win-win-win for Edward Jones, our advisors and the many millions of investors we serve.”
Pictured: Penny Pennington
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.