Why I use Edward Jones

Most financial bloggers that I read use a discount brokerage for their accounts. While I've toyed with this idea, I continue to use my local Edward Jones office for my investments (except for my 403(b)).

I do this for several reasons. First, I live in a small town (in fact it's a Micropolitan Area according to the Census Bureau) and am a big proponent of local businesses. Using local businesses helps to maintain the quality of life for our town. This includes everything from the first-rate fire and police departments to local theatre and the arts.

But, you may say, Edward Jones isn't really a local business. True and false. True in that the corporate offices are in St. Louis, and false in that the local office acts like a local business. The local branch supports local arts and is a downtown booster. In fact, from what I've seen, the local Edward Jones branch (actually there are two of them) do more to support the arts in town than the Bank of America branch does. He's a member of the Chamber of Commerce (as am I) and manages the money of the local community foundation. All that means a lot to me as a local booster.

Second, although trades cost more, I find that that is useful in keeping me from being a trader rather that an investor. I made a total of 3 stock trades last year but might have made more if the cost of the trades were very low. That might seem crazy, but it works for me.

Third, the rep works with me. I like being able to get face time with someone to "talk shop" about investments. I know that places like TD Waterhouse advertise that you can talk to someone there, but call me old-fashion, but I like to see who I'm talking to. He's also be quite willing to educate me on investing. He got me hooked on Morningstar.com among other sites and has provided me with reading suggestions for learning more. He got me excited, not to buy more stuff, but to learn about investing.

Lastly, my rep is very hands-off. He doesn't try to sell me stuff. In fact, many times after we've talked I've made no changes to my investments. We talk about goals and look at how my investments are doing, and we decide to stay the course. If he was a high-pressure sales type of guy, I doubt I'd still be with Jones.

I've still made bad investments, but made it through the tech stock bubble mostly intact due to the cautions issued by my rep.