of branches at around 10,000 locations. It currently has the largest number of branch offices among brokerage firms in United States. Edward D. Jones was the first Managing Partner of this firm and was followed by four others. Jim Weddle is the present Managing Partner of Edward Jones Investments

Each branch is headed by a Branch-Office Administrator and staffed primarily by an Investment Representative. Based on the requirements the number of staff people may vary..

Investment Philosophy

There is a set of rules formulated by a former managing partner of Edward Jones Investments, which serves a basis for their investment philosophy.

The rules are as follows:

• Have a plan

• Diversify

• Buy to keep

• Stick with quality

• Address mistakes quickly

• Time in the market, not timing the market.

• Know yourself

• Review your plan annually

• Dont be blinded by tax considerations

Following these rules strictly has helped Edward Jones to gain a strong place in the brokerage and investment industry. Their main focus in maintaining quality in the job they perform and build good relationships with their customers and employees. They aim is providing maximum help to its clients in achieving their goals related to educations, retirement or financial security.

There is an expression, which they always use at Edward Jones. It says, The trouble with the future is that it keeps getting closer and closer . This statement means that we should start planning for our future today so as to be prepared for what comes our way.

Awards and Rankings:

• In the year 2005, Edward Jones was ranked 83 in Forbes List of United States 500 largest privately held companies.

• J.D. Power and Associates rated it the highest in investor satisfaction in the last two years.

• For the 13th consecutive year, it has been ranked no.1 in the nations top 7 brokerage firms.

• Named the Best Full-Service Brokerage in 2005 by SmartMoney Magazine.

• Ranked one of the Best Companies to Work for in America by Fortune magazine in its annual issue for the 7th time.

• Ranked No.1 brokerage firm n the annual survey conducted by Investment Executive in the year 2006.

• According to a national research study conducted by Forrester Research on U.S. financial services firms, it was stated one of the best advocates for its customers. This repeated consecutively for 3 years, from 2004 to 2006.

• Awarded 5-star honors for stock picking, customer satisfaction, trust and easy to understand customer statements.by SmartMoney Magazine in the year 2005.

• According to Barrons Magazine, the Edward Jones Stock Portfolios long-term track record has been beating the performance of 14 other brokerage firms for more than past seven years.

Investment options offered by Edward Jones Investments:

Edward Jones provides services related to education, retirement, investments, banking services etc. One of the major services provided by them is investment service.

Types of Investment Options:

1) Stocks

2) Fixed Income Investments

3) Mutual Funds

4) Annuities

1) Stocks: Stocks are securities that represent your ownership in an organization. The reasons why investors might be interested in investing their money in long term, quality stock are:

a. History shows that over a long period of time stocks have provided the highest returns on investments.

b. There are various types of stocks, which will help the investor to decrease the uncertainties that might take place in the long term.

c. Stocks also help in increasing the income of the investors by providing dividends.

2) Fixed Income Investments: Fixed income investments pays fixed amount of interest at specified times. Corporations, municipality, government or government organizations issue these. They provide a stable and regular income to the investor. Various types of Fixed Income Investments are:

a. Corporate bonds

b. U.S. Corporate bonds

c. Government bonds

d. Provincial bonds

e. Retirement Savings bonds

f. Guaranteed Investment Certificates

g. Structured bonds

h. Yankee bonds

i. Zero Coupon bonds

3) Mutual Funds: A Mutual Fund is a company that makes investments on behalf of individuals and corporations whose goals are similar to theirs. Several individuals invest in mutual funds and mutual fund companies invest this money in various resources and the returns are again distributed among the investors. There are several benefits of mutual funds. They are:

a. Low amount investments can be made.

b. They can be bought or sold on any of the business days.

c. Automatic reinvestments of the dividends and the capital gains on the money invested.

d. Allows free exchanges of funds within the fund family that means all those who have invested in a particular mutual fund.

Edward Jones preferred Mutual Fund companies are:

• AIM Funds Management, Inc.

• AGF Funds Management, Ltd.

• Putnam Investments, Inc.

• Hartford Investments Canada.

• Mackenzie Financial Corporation.

There is a program called as Dollar Cost Averaging which helps us to make potential investments in mutual funds. According to this program if you invest same amount in the same fund each month, you buy fewer shares when the price is high and more shares when the price is low, which will help you even out the ups and downs.

4) Annuities: Annuities are a popular way to save for retirement. Annuities are contracts between investor and insurance companies. They are a good source for income. There are different types of annuities, which offer different interest rates. They are:

a. Fixed annuities: They offer a fixed rate of interest, which is guaranteed.

b. Variable annuities: They are similar to mutual funds with a variable rate of interest.

c. Life annuities: They provide guaranteed income to the investors and their spouses for their lifetime irrespective of how long they live.

d. Term certain annuities: As the name suggests, these annuities provide the investors with a specified income for a specified period of time that is called as the Term of the annuity.

Above descriptions give us a fair ideas pertaining to the various sources of investments available. Edward Jones has knowledgeable representatives who are always there for answering any questions for their customers. Anyone who wants to make an investment and wants to know more about the above investments options can always approach them.