Edward Jones increases headcount, profit in 2024

Edward Jones ended 2024 with a 5% increase in its advisor headcount, bringing its total number of financial advisors to 20,125.

That was up 893 net advisors from the end of the previous year, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. The St. Louis-based wealth manager reported its rate of attrition — or the percentage of current advisors who leave in any given year — came in at 5%. That was up slightly from 4.7% in 2023.

Edward Jones reported $74 billion in net new assets last year. Although that inflow total helped drive its total clients assets under care up 13% year over year to $2.2 trillion, it was nonetheless down 24% from the previous year's haul. 

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Edward Jones meanwhile said it was able to add 246,000 net new client households in 2024, a figure up 21% year over year. The firm had roughly 9 million clients in the U.S. and Canada by the end of the year.

Edward Jones' annual revenue rose by 16% to just over $16 billion in 2024. Of that, nearly $13.2 billion came from fees, a figure up 17% year over year.

Its operating expenses rose by 15% to just over $14 billion. That left it with just under $2 billion in net income, a figure up 23% year over year.

Technology investment, profit sharing

Edward Jones had been making various technology investments in its wealth management business in recent years. It, for instance, has given all of its branches access to the fintech firm Envestnet's MoneyGuide product. The system provides an easy way to visualize how changes in things like spending and saving are likely to affect various outcomes, such as their ability to retire by a certain age. It has brought a new customer relationship management system, or CRM, provided by the industry giant Salesforce to thousands of its branches.

"We remain focused on providing financial advisors with the integrated technology they need to serve clients with an expanded set of products and solutions to meet their financial needs," an Edward Jones spokesperson said Wednesday.

In a separate filing last week, Edward Jones reported an increase in the number of its financial advisors who are receiving what it calls profit interests — essentially securities providing equity stakes in the firm's future profits. Edward Jones provided profit interests to 2,596 advisors and associates in 2024, up from 2,275 in 2023.

A spokesperson for the firm said profit interests go to advisors who meet "performance, tenure, and other eligibility criteria and to certain of the firm's former financial advisors who recently transitioned into a home office role." The firm began offering the interests in 2023. 

"Edward Jones is making strategic investments to recognize and retain its highly successful current financial advisors while attracting experienced financial advisors to the firm," the spokesperson said.