Edward Jones is in the business of caring for the financial well-being of its clients. To get the job done, the company also strives to do right by its associates – believing that employees who feel cared for will go the extra mile to care for the firm’s customers.
“Our focus is on the individual client, and we do all that is within our power to make sure the customer is taken care of,” said Charles Paolino, an Edward Jones general partner and investment representative in South Kingstown. “You can talk to people at Edward Jones offices around the nation and you’ll find the same zeal. It’s just a consistently fun place to work.”
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Edward Jones is in the business of caring for the financial well-being of its clients. To get the job done, the company also strives to do right by its associates – believing that employees who feel cared for will go the extra mile to care for the firm’s customers.
That culture of caring has resulted in Edward Jones being named this year to Providence Business News’ list of the Best Places to Work in Rhode Island.
The largest financial services firm in the nation in terms of offices, Edward Jones is a privately owned company that promotes a conservative, long-term investment philosophy. There are Edward Jones offices in Barrington, Providence, Cranston, South Kingstown and Westerly, collectively employing 19 investment representatives and branch office administrators in the state.
The corporate culture that makes each Edward Jones subsidiary a great place to work starts at the company’s headquarters in St. Louis, where the associate relations department works with an unlimited budget to resolve personnel situations.
Edward Jones puts its money where its mouth is, caring for the financial success of its associates through a host of initiatives. All associates, both full and part time, are offered limited partnership in the company. Edward Jones also offers its associates a variety of investment vehicles, including certificates of deposit, taxable and non-taxable bonds, stocks and mutual funds.
All Edward Jones associates can purchase selected mutual funds at net asset value for themselves and family members, and the company allows associates to purchase and sell stocks without paying commissions several days each year.
The company also makes profit-sharing and 401(k) contributions at net asset value. All employees are immediately vested in all plans, and the firm pays the administration costs of their employee plans.
In addition to providing financial counseling for its associates, Edward Jones also offers them advice from licensed professionals on such matters as retirement and bereavement financial counseling.
As part of the company’s compensation package, any associate who achieves certain business goals can qualify for a bonus vacation to locations all over the world.
Edward Jones also promotes a flexible work environment, and routinely bends rules to fit the needs of its associates. Michael Paolino, an investment representative in South Kingstown and the son of Charles Paolino, said he looks forward to tailoring his work schedule to allow for family activities when he and his wife eventually have children.
“I look forward to being a soccer or Little League coach without any kinds of problems at all,” Michael Paolino said.
That both Paolinos, father and son, work together is not unusual in an Edward Jones office. Edward Jones is literally a family company, with family members often working together. In addition to the Paolinos, the Edward Jones office in Westerly employs a father-daughter team, and a husband and wife work together in the Providence office, Charles Paolino said.
“The best part of this job is being able to make a difference in peoples’ lives,” Paolino said. “I really, truly have the opportunity to change the world for people, one day at a time.”
