Businessmodel of Edward Jones

Customer Segments

Edward Jones, through its principal operating subsidiary Edward Jones, provides a range of investment services, including investment brokerage and financial advisory services, as well as other financial services, to a total customer base of around 7 million clients. The Company primarily serves serious, long-term individual investors. Its services are targeted at general consumers, rather than high-net worth individuals, including individuals who are participating in retirement transition plans. The Company does not serve large commercial or institutional clients.

Edward Jones’s largest market is the US, where its serves customers through more than 11,000 local branches serving customers across all 50 states. The Company also serves clients across Canada, through a network of more than 500 branches. Edward Jones does not appear to be in the process of extending its services to clients in other foreign markets.

Value Propositions

Edward Jones provides value to its clients in the following ways:

• Its personalised services, with the Company providing tailored services to each individual client, and with every client working closely with a dedicated financial advisor or broker, who consults directly with the client and understands their unique circumstances;
• Its extensive network of local branches, with the Company operating a network of 11,904 branches across the all 50 US states, and 578 branches across Canada, providing all clients with easy access to the Company’s services;
• Its experienced and professional personnel, with the Company employing trained financial and investment advisors, as well as a team of experienced industry executives, through which it provides high-quality and reliable services; and
• Its reputation and industry standing, with the Company an established name in its industry, with a history dating back to the 1920s and a track record for providing reliable returns for its clients. ### Channels

Edward Jones operates a website at www.edwardjones.com, through which it provides information on its business model, services, and locations. Through its website, the Company also operates an online client portal, which allows customers to transfer funds, view accounts and statements, and pay bills. The Company also offers mobile apps for iOS and Android systems that provide much of the same functionality for clients on the go.

Edward Jones primarily serves its customers through its extensive network of local branches. The Company employs a novel business model, with the majority of its branches staffed by a single financial or investment manager and one branch office administrator, which allows customers to receive advice discuss plans with just one advisor over a long period of time. The Company operates an extensive branch network, including 11,904 branches in the US, and 578 branches in Canada.

Customer Relationships

Edward Jones allows its clients to access a range of tools and functionality on a self-service basis through its online client portal and its mobile apps. These channels enable clients to monitor their accounts, make payment and transfer funds, access resources and analysis, and track stocks without interacting directly with a broker or advisor.

Edward Jones seeks to establish long-term personal relationships with its clients, with individual customers receiving a tailored service that suits their individual needs and schedules. Each client works with their own personal advisor, who they are able to contact easily, receive regular updates from, and ask questions. In addition to being able to contact their local branch, customers can also access personalised customer service technical support through the Company’s dedicated support staff, who can be contacted over the phone or via an online contact form.

Additionally, Edward Jones provides a range of online resources to its clients, including account guides, client portal tours, tax information, and fraud awareness information. The Company also operates social media accounts with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube, through which it is able to interact directly with clients.

Key Activities

Edward Jones is a holding company. It operates primarily through its subsidiary Edward Jones, a registered broker-dealer that serves individual investors across the US and Canada through a network of more than 12,000 local branches. The Company clears and settles listed and over-the-counter equities, municipal bonds, corporate bonds, mutual funds, and annuity transactions.

It also offers investment advisory, trust, investment management, accounting, custodial, and other products and services, as well as individual retirement accounts. The Company also sells certain life insurance, long-term care insurance, disability insurance, fixed and variable annuities, and other insurance products from unaffiliated insurance companies through its team of financial advisors.

Key Partners

Edward Jones works in conjunction with a range of companies and organisations in order to provide efficient and reliable services to its customers. These partners include:

• Insurance Partners, comprising various third party insurance providers, whose products the Company sells to its clients through its team of financial advisors;
• Financial and Exchange Partners, comprising various brokers, dealers, agents, banks, exchanges, and clearing houses that assist in facilitating the Company’s investment and financial activities;
• Supplier and Vendor Partners, comprising various suppliers of services, consumables, and resources that are utilised across the Company’s operations and branch network in support of its core activities; and
• Technology Partners, comprising technology companies, software companies, and IT service providers that provide technology and maintenance services for the Company’s IT and communications infrastructure. Edward Jones has launched several partnerships in recent years, including a funding partnership with The Alzheimer’s Association, and a distribution deal with Transaamerica, the US subsidiary of Aegon.

Key Resources

Edward Jones’s key resources are its permits and licences, its international network of branches, its online customer portal, its IT and communications infrastructure, its partnerships – notably its network of trading and banking partners, and its personnel – in particular its specialist financial advisors.

Edward Jones owns and or leases a number of properties that are key to its ongoing operations. This includes its various corporate and administrative offices, as well as its network of 12,482 branch locations across the US and Canada, which are predominantly rented under cancelable leases.

Cost Structure

Edward Jones incurs costs in relation to the operation of its 12,482 local branches and development of its branch network, the development of its online client portal, the maintenance of its IT and communications infrastructure, the payment of professional and consulting fees, the implementation of advertising and marketing campaigns, the management of its partnerships, and the retention of its personnel.

In 2015 Edward Jones accrued total operating costs in the amount of $5.78 billion. The majority of these expense, around $4.64 billion, related to the payment of salaries and benefits to its workforce of 41,000 full and part-time employees. The Company also incurred occupancy and equipment costs totalling $382 million, communications and data processing costs in the amount of $286 million, professional and consulting fees of $87 million, and advertising costs in the amount of $69 million.

Revenue Streams

Edward Jones primarily generates revenue through the provision of retail brokerage and investment advisory services. This includes revenue derived from the distribution of mutual fund shares, collection of fees related to assets held by and account services provided to its clients – including investment advisory services – the purchase or sale of listed and unlisted securities and insurance products, and other principal transactions.

In 2015 Edward Jones generated total annual revenue of $6.69 billion, up slightly on the $6.33 billion recorded by the Company in 2014. The majority of this revenue was attributed to the collection of various asset-based and account fees, which totaled $4.09 billion for the year. Trade revenue, which totaled $2.43 billion, accounted for the majority of the Company’s remaining revenue.