Edward Jones gained profits and advisors in third quarter

As the holidays approach, Edward Jones has much to celebrate.

In the third quarter of 2024, the St. Louis-based mega-firm saw significant increases to both its bottom line and its advisor headcount. Net revenue was up 18% from the same time last year, reaching $4.12 billion.

"This growth enables us to serve more clients more completely as a multi-segmented financial services firm and positions ourselves for success now and into the next decade," Don Aven, principal of talent acquisition at Edward Jones, said in a statement emailed to Financial Planning.

The firm's wealth management unit expanded as well. By the end of the quarter, Edward Jones employed 19,885 financial advisors, a 5% increase from the third quarter of 2023. And client assets were up 23%, reaching $2.2 trillion.

"We're investing in our financial advisors to ensure they're well-equipped with tools and resources to help our clients achieve their financial goals now and into the future," Aven said.

That investment, in the form of compensation for financial advisors, came out to $1.58 billion in the third quarter of 2024 — a 21% jump from the previous year.

But the news was not all good. The firm, which operates in both the United States and Canada, saw its operating expenses rise to $3.56 billion, up 15% from last year. Edward Jones chalked this up mainly to "increases in financial advisor compensation and benefits expense and variable compensation."

The firm also lost some advisors along the way, though fewer than last quarter. Advisor attrition came out to 4.7%, down from 5.3% in Q2.

The latest numbers continue something of a winning streak for Edward Jones. In each of the three quarters of 2024 so far, the firm's advisor headcount ticked upward and its net revenue grew by double digits. All this followed a solid year in 2023, when Edward Jones' profits rose by 15%.

This good fortune marks a turnaround from 2021, when the firm suffered a net loss in its advisor headcount for the first time in a decade.

Today the news at Edward Jones is very different. Jason Diamond, vice president of the recruiting firm Diamond Consultants, has credited a number of internal reforms the firm made to appeal more to wealth managers.

"By now, if you were looking for an excuse to stay at the firm, those changes are probably enough for you," Diamond told Financial Planning in August.

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