In the face of unpredictable market changes, financial institutions need to be able to adapt and amend their course quickly and effectively — which is not always easy, especially when your "ship" has 8 million clients, more than 19,500 financial advisors and $2.1 trillion assets under management like Edward Jones.
However, Penny Pennington, who has been managing partner at the brokerage firm for five years, has navigated through the pandemic, erratic market shifts, banking crises and, most recently, unprecedented inflation.
Lately, Pennington has been investing in client-facing technology, improving financial advisors' pay through an evolving "profits interest program," and moving to more flexible branch team structures and practices to better support Edward Jones' base. "We are investing in our future to become the most client-focused, knowledge-powered, relationship-first advice firm in the industry … to be the place where financial advisors want to spend their entire careers," Pennington said.
Currently, more than 2,500 branch teams have chosen to transition to the new practice models offered under Pennington's leadership, including offices containing multiple financial advisors and new roles for client support.
"Our investments in our people, new technology, digital initiatives, strategic relationships, teaming options and pilot programs are constant conversations," she said. "It's taken real teamwork and learning along the way to implement these changes — by everyone in the firm."
The transition has not been without challenges. For Edward Jones, this has included a 21% decrease during the second quarter in net new assets compared to the same period in 2023, and the dissolution of a deal with Citigroup late last year to offer Citi's checking and savings products to Edward Jones' customers.
However, in late August, the St. Louis-based brokerage firm announced a new partnership with U.S. Bancorp for Edward Jones advisors to offer the U. S. Bank's products to investors.
As part of Edward Jones' efforts to boost its advisor-client connections through better technology, the firm began using MoneyGuide and Salesforce tools in its branches last year. As of August 2024, more than one million investors have converted their accounts to the brokerage firm's more interactive and user-friendly MoneyGuide, and almost 6,000 branches are using Salesforce, with plans to have it available to all U.S.-based teams by year-end, according to Pennington.
Pennington and her executive team are "already starting to see incredible payoff in how our financial advisors and branch teams are deepening their conversations with their clients … [providing] a client experience where they can truly feel Edward Jones 'gets me, guides me and makes it easy,'" she said.
For women in the industry, Pennington said they need to "keep raising your hand. Raise it even when there isn't a clear and obvious opportunity in front of you."
"So much in our industry is changing, and needs to change, for the benefit of more clients," she said, stressing the benefit of becoming known as "someone who is eager to take on new challenges. … [Get] comfortable with being uncomfortable."
"I certainly had moments in my career when I wasn't as bold as I should have been," Pennington added, "and when I look back on those moments, I know it was a mistake. I tried to be who I thought I should be in my role, not who I really was."
Seeking out mentors and sponsors along their career is, she added, "incredibly important for opening doors and encouraging them to consider paths they might otherwise not have deeply pursued."
