Financial Advisors at Edward Jones Could See Major Shift in Capital Structure
Financial advisors at Edward Jones could soon see a major shift in the partnership’s capital structure and how associates hold equity stakes in the firm. In an 8-K filing with the SEC on Wednesday, Edward Jones said that it “plans to expand associate participation in its capital structure and recognize high-impact contributions across the organization.”
As part of that plan, Edward Jones will reclassify all limited partners within the company as “Class A” limited partners. The plan will also see the creation of “Class B” limited partners, interests in which will not be issued before 2027, according to the filing.
Such changes could have far-reaching effects for advisors at Edward Jones, which has thousands of employees as partners in the firm’s ownership structure.
New Class Structure as Attraction and Retention Tool
Shelby Nicholl, the founder of advisor consulting firm Muriel Consulting, said the new class structure is likely intended to be an attraction and retention tool for Edward Jones.
“As context, it’s important to remember that as of December 2024, there were nearly 33,000 limited partners and only 553 general partners,” Nicholl said. “The new share class seems to give the firm the optionality to reward high performers without expanding general partnership headcount.”
“General partnership traditionally yields very high economics and long-term benefits to the holder when the shares convert to subordinated limited partnership shares. It’s unclear what the benefit structure of the new Class B shares will be,” Nicholl added. “While details haven’t been disclosed, it would be reasonable to assume that the new class may offer more modest economics than general partnership, but potentially higher than current limited partnership terms. At the same time, the new share class may or may not offer stated benefits like the 7.5% guaranteed minimum return on the Class A shares.”
Multiyear Restructuring Plan in Progress
The company is currently in the process of rolling out a multiyear restructuring plan, which includes an effort to reduce staff at its home office and to streamline operations.
“Edward Jones takes the long view, and they strategically need more and more incentives to retain their talent, especially top financial advisors,” Nicholl said. “Offering a new share class could solve for the firm’s future investment needs and also create a new benefit to increase advisor and talent retention.”
Chubak’s Commitment to Associate Ownership
In an interview about the announcement, David Chubak, principal and head of wealth management and field management at Edward Jones, said that it is “an exciting day,” but declined to provide more specifics about the motivations or intent of the recently announced plan.
“The history of our firm has always been that we go with Ted Jones’ initial philosophy, which is that he wanted partners not to share the profits, but to share the work. … We live that legacy each day by trying to grow our firm, by expanding participation to those associates who are doing the work that ultimately serves our clients and communities each day,” Chubak said.
“Our intention going forward is to continue doing that in a way that preserves a principle of ensuring that Edward Jones continues to be entirely owned by its associates who do the work and serve their communities, and so this is a step in laying the foundation for us to continue doing that in the coming months and years ahead,” Chubak added.
Chubak declined to comment on the specifics of the new Class A and B limited partnerships announced in the filing, but said that the new structure is “designed in a way to deliver the intent we set, which is to expand our associate participation even more in our firm’s capital structure and recognize the impact that they are making across our organization, with our clients and our communities.”
Plans to recognize “high-impact” contributions will not follow a singular rubric, Chubak said, since roles can vary across the company’s limited partners, which include financial advisors, branch office administrators and home office associates.
More Changes on the Horizon for Edward Jones
Alongside changes to its capital structure, Edward Jones has continued to expand its banking strategy, earlier this week introducing co-branded Everyday Solutions checking and credit card products in partnership with U.S. Bank.
The firm is also moving forward with plans to establish its own Utah-chartered, FDIC-insured industrial loan company, which would further enhance its banking capabilities for clients.
Since submitting its application to the Utah Department of Financial Institutions in April, Edward Jones says it has appointed key leaders for the proposed bank, formed a board of directors and completed the field investigation phase with both Utah’s banking regulator and the FDIC’s Kansas City Regional Office.
