Edward Jones is a registered broker-dealer and investment
adviser. As an investment adviser, Edward Jones offers several
advisory programs. This brochure (“Brochure”) provides clients
(“client,” “you” or “your”) with information about Edward Jones,
Edward Jones Guided Solutions® Flex Account (“Guided
Solutions Flex”), the fees charged for our services and our
business practices. You should read this Brochure carefully and
consult with your tax professional before you decide to invest in
Guided Solutions Flex.
Other advisory programs offered through Edward Jones
are not described in this Brochure. These programs
offer different services and investments and some have
different fees and minimum investment requirements.
Certain programs or offerings are only available through
select financial advisors. To learn more about other advisory
programs offered by us, please ask your financial advisor or
go to www.edwardjones.com/advisorybrochures to review the
brochures for the available advisory programs.
Because Guided Solutions Flex is an investment advisory service
offered by Edward Jones as an SEC-registered advisor, Edward
Jones has a fiduciary duty to act in your best interest and to
abide by the duties of care and loyalty under the Investment
Advisers Act of 1940 when providing Guided Solutions Flex to
you. Other services you obtain through Edward Jones, including
other investment advisory and brokerage services, are separate
and distinct from Guided Solutions Flex and each is governed by
separate arrangements that we may have with you. Brokerage
services are subject to different laws than investment advisory
services. The specific services provided to you, our relationship
with you and our legal duties to you in each arrangement are
described in our applicable agreements with you and the
disclosures we provide to you in connection with those services.
Edward Jones is the primary operating subsidiary of The Jones
Financial Companies, L.L.L.P. (“JFC”), a holding company
registered as a partnership with the State of Missouri. Edward
Jones registered with the SEC as a broker-dealer in 1941 and as
an investment adviser in 1993. Edward Jones became a member
of the National Association of Securities Dealers (“NASD”) (now
known as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”))
in 1939.
As of December 31, 2023, we managed $289,673,344,599 in
discretionary assets and $402,574,903,909 in non-discretionary
assets across all of our advisory programs.
The decision to invest in Guided Solutions Flex is yours. Before
making this decision, you and your financial advisor should
discuss whether other programs or investments may be more
appropriate for your investment goals or needs. If you decide to
invest in Guided Solutions Flex, we will not begin providing you
advisory services until (a) our acceptance and approval of a
written Client Services Agreement (“CSA”) between you and
Edward Jones, and (b) funding of the account at the initial
minimum investment as determined by Edward Jones.
Before investing in Guided Solutions Flex, you should decide if
you are comfortable assuming responsibility for the day-to-day
management of your account. Investors in Guided Solutions Flex
typically:
• Want to be involved in the investment process and approve
final trade decisions
• Value the receipt of ongoing advice from Edward Jones when
making investment decisions
• Desire a disciplined approach to long-term investing and are
willing to adhere to an asset allocation strategy aligned with
Edward Jones’ guidance
• Are comfortable paying monthly, asset-based (percentage)
fees for investments and advice rather than individual,
transaction-based commissions or sales charges
In evaluating fee-based advisory programs, you should consider
a number of factors. You may be able to obtain some or all of the
same or similar investments and/or services available through
this and other fee-based advisory programs separately through
Edward Jones or another broker-dealer or investment adviser.
You should consider that, depending on the circumstances, the
aggregate fees you will pay for investing in Guided Solutions may
be lower or higher than if you purchased the investments or
services separately at Edward Jones or through another broker-
dealer or investment adviser. Guided Solutions Flex accounts
and other advisory accounts offered through Edward Jones
provide ongoing investment advice for an asset-based fee, rather
than charging commissions for transactions in your account.
Brokerage accounts, on the other hand, can charge commissions
for transactions and typically provide investment advice that is
point-in-time and solely incidental to the brokerage services
provided. As a result, important factors to consider are the
amount of trading activity you have in your accounts and the
corresponding commissions that would be charged if you bought
and sold individual securities in a brokerage account, as well as
the type of advice you desire. You also may experience different
performance results or tax consequences from what you would
by purchasing the investments separately or through another
broker-dealer or investment adviser. For example, the Guided
Solutions Flex fees described below will reduce the return you
earn on investments held in your account. If the Guided Solutions
Flex fees exceed the overall return on your investments, you will
experience negative performance in your account. Additionally, it
typically will cost you more, and Edward Jones and its financial
advisors will receive more revenue, when you hold duration-
based investments to maturity or over time in a Guided Solutions
Flex account rather than in a commission-based brokerage
account at Edward Jones (e.g., Certificates of Deposit (“CDs”),
bonds and cash equivalents).
Guided Solutions Flex Overview
Guided Solutions Flex is a client-directed advisory program
sponsored by Edward Jones designed to provide the client with
ongoing investment advice, guidance and services for an asset-
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based fee. The Guided Solutions Flex experience is rooted in the
working relationship between you and your Edward Jones financial
advisor. In consultation with your Edward Jones financial advisor,
you will select an appropriate portfolio objective for your Guided
Solutions Flex account (your “Account Portfolio Objective”).
Selecting Your Account Portfolio Objective. In order to invest
in Guided Solutions Flex, you will complete a Client Profile that
contains important information about your account, which
generally includes either your goal or purpose for investing and
your investment time horizon, risk tolerance and other financial
information. Your time horizon will reflect the expected time frame
over which you plan to invest (and potentially withdraw) your
assets to achieve your investment goal or purpose. Time horizon
is expressed as either your life stage or the number of years you
plan on accumulating and/or distributing your assets.
If your account is not assigned to a goal established at Edward
Jones, then we will recommend an account portfolio objective for
your account based upon the level of investment risk you are
willing to take (your risk tolerance or comfort with risk) and the
expected time horizon for your investments. If your account is
assigned to a goal established at Edward Jones, then we will
recommend that you select an Account Portfolio Objective that is
appropriate for the portfolio objective you selected for your goal
(your “Goal Portfolio Objective”).
You may choose an alternative Account Portfolio Objective if you
are willing to take more or less risk than the recommended
Account Portfolio Objective. You ultimately decide whether you
want to select the recommended Account Portfolio Objective or
an alternative Account Portfolio Objective, if available.
Edward Jones will have no authority to change your Account
Portfolio Objective without your instruction. To change your
Account Portfolio Objective, you must meet with your financial
advisor to select a new Account Portfolio Objective.
Your Account Portfolio Objective determines the recommended
asset allocation and investment category ranges (“Target
Ranges”). In addition, Edward Jones’ applies certain guidelines
designed to monitor your Guided Solutions Flex account for
alignment with your Account Portfolio Objective (“Investment
Diagnostics”). The Investment Diagnostics pertain to certain
factors including, but not limited to, asset allocation, security and
equity sector concentration, bond diversification and fixed-income
laddering. One or more Investment Diagnostics assess holdings
in your other Edward Jones accounts, if any, assigned to the
same goal as your Guided Solutions Flex account. Please
contact your financial advisor to learn more about how
Investment Diagnostics help you achieve your financial goals.
The recommended Target Ranges, as well as Investment
Diagnostics, are determined solely by Edward Jones and can be
modified by Edward Jones without prior notice.
Account Portfolio Objectives in Guided Solutions Flex currently
include:
All-Equity Focus: This portfolio objective offers the highest
long-term growth and rising dividend potential. It focuses on
long-term capital appreciation and provides very little to no
current interest income. It also has the highest level of risk, as it
contains only equity investments.
Growth Focus: This portfolio objective emphasizes higher
long-term growth and rising dividend potential, while providing
modest current interest income. Over the long term, it should
have higher risk than portfolios with a more income-oriented
objective.
Balanced toward Growth: This portfolio objective emphasizes
higher long-term growth and rising dividend potential, with a
secondary goal of current interest income. Over the long term, it
should have moderate to higher risk.
Balanced Growth & Income: This portfolio objective has a
balanced emphasis between current interest income and
long-term growth with rising dividend potential. Over the long
term, it should have moderate risk.
Balanced toward Income: This portfolio objective emphasizes
current interest income while providing modest long-term growth
and rising dividend potential. Over the long term, it should have
lower to moderate risk.
Income Focus: This portfolio objective emphasizes current
interest income with little long-term growth and rising dividend
potential. Over the long term, it should have lower risk than
portfolios with a more growth-oriented objective.
Edward Jones constructs and periodically reviews the
recommended Target Ranges for each Account Portfolio
Objective in Guided Solutions Flex. Due to various influences
such as changing market conditions or a reclassification of an
Eligible Investment (defined below) to a different asset class, we
may change the Target Ranges of an Account Portfolio Objective.
If we change the Target Ranges for your Account Portfolio
Objective, we will notify you to restore the alignment of your
investments with your Target Ranges, if necessary. For more
information, see “Account Alignment” below.
After you have selected your Account Portfolio Objective, you
may choose from among the investment options available for
Guided Solutions Flex (“Eligible Investments”) to implement your
Account Portfolio Objective.
When analyzing investments and developing recommendations
that may be appropriate for your account, we rely on a variety of
different sources of information. Such sources may include
research developed by Edward Jones that covers a wide range
of Eligible Investments and investment research reports issued
by firms that are not affiliated with us.
In addition, we may use certain Edward Jones investment tools
as a preliminary basis for recommending certain Eligible
Investments that align with your Account Portfolio Objective. The
use of such investment tools does not guarantee the
performance of your account or any investments therein or
protect against potential investment losses.
You decide how much to invest in each Eligible Investment within
the Target Ranges. You are also responsible for directing the
buying and selling of Eligible Investments in your account as
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necessary to bring your account into alignment with the Target
Ranges for your Account Portfolio Objective.
You are responsible for all trading and investment decisions in
your account and should not rely solely on the recommendations
of Edward Jones or your financial advisor in choosing among
Eligible Investments. Neither Edward Jones nor your financial
advisor will have discretionary authority for any trading or
investment decisions in your account, except as otherwise
described in this Brochure.
Eligible Investments. Through Guided Solutions Flex, clients can
choose from an extensive list of Eligible Investments selected by
Edward Jones that primarily includes stocks, bonds, affiliated
mutual funds, unaffiliated mutual funds and exchange-traded funds
(“ETFs”) across a variety of asset classes, as well as bonds, CDs,
and cash equivalents. “Affiliated mutual funds” refers to mutual
funds managed by an affiliate of Edward Jones, which consist of
the Bridge Builder family of mutual funds (“Bridge Builder Funds”)
and the Edward Jones Money Market Fund (“Money Market
Fund”). Generally, you may purchase affiliated mutual funds in
Guided Solutions Flex. However, Edward Jones prevents the
purchase of certain affiliated mutual funds unless you already hold
shares of those mutual funds and transfer them into your Guided
Solutions account(s). However, Edward Jones, in its sole
discretion, may make exceptions based on the particular facts and
circumstances of your situation. Please note that Eligible
Investments for Guided Solutions Flex may not be offered in
Edward Jones Guided Solutions® Fund accounts or our other
advisory programs. Certain Eligible Investments are only available
in taxable accounts.
The Edward Jones Money Market Fund is affiliated with Edward
Jones but is not available to purchase as an Eligible Investment for
Guided Solutions Flex. However, cash balances awaiting
investment or reinvestment in your account will be automatically
swept into the Edward Jones Money Market Fund, where they will
be held until invested in another Eligible Investment. The portion of
your Guided Solutions Flex account that is invested in the Edward
Jones Money Market Fund will be included in the calculation of
your Guided Solutions Flex Fee (defined below). Please refer to
Appendix A for more information about the Edward Jones Money
Market Fund.
Please read this Brochure carefully to understand the differences
between affiliated mutual funds and unaffiliated mutual funds,
including additional conflicts of interest that Edward Jones is
subject to in connection with recommending affiliated mutual funds
and how such conflicts are addressed. Bridge Builder Funds and
the Money Market Fund are affiliated with Edward Jones.
Your asset allocation may include a cash allocation held in the
Money Market Fund through the cash sweep feature described
above and/or invested in a third-party money market fund. In
certain instances, such as instances of market volatility or
uncertainty, you may determine with your financial advisor to
increase the amount of cash you hold in your portfolio. The portion
of your Guided Solutions Flex account that is held in cash will be
included in the calculation of your Guided Solutions Flex Fee. CDs
are treated as fixed-income investments for purposes of your asset
allocation and not cash.
Some Eligible Investments are sustainable investments that are
categorized as environmental, social and governance (“ESG”)
investments or values-based investments. Sustainable
investments have subjective qualities and characteristics and may
or may not align with your beliefs, values, or desired investment
performance. Please contact your financial advisor if you are
interested in learning more about sustainable investments
available for Guided Solutions Flex and the associated risks.
There is no guarantee that an Eligible Investment will perform in
any particular manner. Past performance is not a guarantee of
future results. Details about the mutual funds and/or ETFs in your
account can be found in the prospectus, statement of additional
information (“SAI”) and shareholder reports for each mutual fund
and ETF (collectively, “fund prospectus and other fund
documents”). It is important that you read these documents before
investing.
Investment restrictions may prevent or limit the purchase or
continued purchase of certain Eligible Investments. Situations
include, but are not limited to, restrictions that prevent purchases
of an Eligible Investment and restrictions that only permit current
holders of the Eligible Investment to continue making purchases,
subject to parameters set forth by Edward Jones.
Ineligible Investments. You will not be able to hold any
investment in your account that Edward Jones has deemed
ineligible for Guided Solutions Flex (“Ineligible Investments”) or
that is unavailable for your Account. In the event that Edward
Jones re-categorizes an investment from an Eligible Investment
to an Ineligible Investment, Edward Jones will notify you, and you
must instruct Edward Jones to remove the investment from your
account within the time frame established for Guided Solutions
Flex, as determined by Edward Jones, in our sole discretion.
Until the Ineligible Investment is replaced, there is a possibility
that additional shares of the Ineligible Investment may be
purchased. Such purchase(s) may occur in certain instances
including, but not limited to, when dividend reinvestments occur.
The purchase of additional shares of an Ineligible Investment and
the eventual mandatory removal of such shares may result in a
taxable event.
If you do not provide instructions to remove an Ineligible
Investment within the time frame established by Edward Jones,
your account will be removed from Guided Solutions Flex. See
“Termination of Guided Solutions Flex Services” for more
information.
Account Alignment. Edward Jones will review your account
periodically and notify you when your account is out of alignment
with the Target Ranges or Investment Diagnostics for your
Account Portfolio Objective. If your account is out of alignment for
any reason, including, but not limited to, market volatility, an
investment becoming an Ineligible Investment for Guided
Solutions Flex and/or the purchase or sale of an investment, you
will be responsible for realigning your account within the time
frame established for Guided Solutions Flex as determined by
Edward Jones. To realign your account, you must provide
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instructions to Edward Jones to buy one or more investments in
your account, to sell one or more investments and reinvest the
proceeds in your account, to sell an investment and transfer the
proceeds to another account, to transfer an investment to another
account or to deposit additional assets in your account. Such
transactions may result in tax consequences as well as additional
fees and expenses.
Your Guided Solutions Flex account does not offer an automatic
rebalancing feature. In the event you do not provide instructions
to Edward Jones to realign your account within the required time
frame, your account will be removed from Guided Solutions Flex.
Your financial advisor is not responsible under the terms of
Guided Solutions Flex for monitoring your other Edward Jones
accounts, if you have them, on an ongoing basis. However, if you
have multiple Edward Jones accounts that are linked to a Goal
Portfolio Objective, your financial advisor may recommend that
you consider placing a trade in one or more of your other Edward
Jones accounts, rather than realigning your Guided Solutions
Flex account, in order to address certain Investment Diagnostics.
Additionally, at times, Investment Diagnostics limit or restrict
certain transactions in your account or require you to realign your
account with our guidance, including, but not limited to, Target
Ranges. If you are limited or restricted from purchasing a security
in your Guided Solutions Flex account, you may elect to
purchase, or based on your specific situation, your financial
advisor may recommend you purchase the same security in an
Edward Jones brokerage account.
When you place trades in a brokerage account that could be
placed in your Guided Solutions Flex account or another fee-
based investment advisory account at Edward Jones, a conflict of
interest exists as Edward Jones and your financial advisor will
earn compensation on the transactions, such as commissions
and/or mark-ups or mark-downs, that you would not bear if such
transactions were placed in your Guided Solutions Flex account
or another fee-based account at Edward Jones. Such transaction
fees would be in addition to the asset-based advisory fee that you
pay for assets held within your Guided Solutions Flex account or
other fee-based account at Edward Jones.
Brokerage Services. You are solely responsible for all trading
decisions in your account, and Edward Jones will execute trades
only at your direction, except as otherwise described in this
Brochure. When Edward Jones executes trades for your account,
we are not acting as an investment adviser, but solely as a
broker-dealer. Trading in your account will be subject to our trading
policies and practices. You will not be charged trade commissions
or mark-ups for Guided Solutions Flex trades. However, Guided
Solutions Flex may cost you more or less than purchasing advisory
services and brokerage services separately, depending on certain
factors such as the frequency of your trading. You cannot request
that your orders be executed through another broker-dealer. Not all
investment advisers require their clients to execute their trades
through a certain broker-dealer as we do.
Trade Allocation. Some Guided Solutions Flex trades may be
combined with trades for other client accounts and executed in
aggregated block trades. From time to time, the volume and/or
number of trades that are directed by clients to be executed for
Guided Solutions Flex accounts may exceed Edward Jones’
operational and technological capacities if these trades are
directed on a single day. For example, this may occur if Edward
Jones is re-categorizing an investment from an Eligible
Investment to an Ineligible Investment. In order to maintain the
orderly processing of trades and to minimize the incidence of
errors, Edward Jones may allocate trades based on the time of
order entry. In certain circumstances, this process may take
several days or weeks. Although designed to be fair and
equitable over time, this may result in clients receiving different
prices. In addition, if the volume or size of redemptions required
to be effected as a result of re-categorizing a mutual fund from an
Eligible Investment to an Ineligible Investment exceeds the limits
set forth in the mutual fund’s trading policies and procedures, the
mutual fund may exceed the standard settlement period to
process redemptions or may redeem positions in-kind. In such
circumstances, client assets may not be fully invested and may
be subject to market risk between the redemption date and the
reinvestment of the assets. Alternatively, Edward Jones may rely
on a random allocation process to effect the redemptions over
time in a manner consistent with the limits set forth in the mutual
fund’s trading policies and procedures.
Trade Errors. In certain circumstances, trade errors may occur in
your account. When a trade error occurs that is caused by the
actions of Edward Jones, we will work to promptly correct the
error while ensuring your account is not disadvantaged.
It is Edward Jones’ policy to use an Edward Jones error account
to correct trades. This may result in trades between your account
and an Edward Jones error account. If trade errors are caused by
your actions and the process of correcting the errors results in a
net loss in the error account, your account will be debited for the
amount of such loss. If the process of resolving trade errors
results in a net gain in the error account, as accrued and
calculated on a periodic basis, we will donate the amount of such
gain to charities chosen by Edward Jones.
Principal Trading. Edward Jones may execute trades for Guided
Solutions Flex accounts as principal by selling a security from our
inventory to you or purchasing a security from you for our
inventory. Principal transactions include certain transactions that
you have directed Edward Jones to execute in a principal
capacity, fractional share liquidations and corrections of trades
originally executed in an agency capacity.
Principal transactions cause a conflict between Edward Jones’
and your interests, including when Edward Jones generates
additional revenue due to market movement, resulting in gains on
our inventory positions. Edward Jones also has an incentive to
recommend the purchase of a security held in our inventory that
is difficult to sell, a conflict addressed by Edward Jones’ policies
and procedures. In certain principal transactions, Edward Jones
will provide required disclosures and obtain your verbal consent
prior to the trade.
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Margin Loans. Eligible non-retirement account clients may
obtain margin loans collateralized by marginable securities held
in their accounts. Margin loans for Guided Solutions Flex
accounts may be used for “Personal Line of Credit Loans” or
“Overdraft Coverage,” but may not be used for the purpose of
purchasing securities on credit. When Edward Jones extends a
margin loan to you, it is not acting as an investment adviser but
solely as a broker-dealer. In making the decision to take out a
margin loan, it is important you understand the risks associated
with using margin, the costs of margin loans, and how the
performance of your account may be negatively affected. Please
see the Edward Jones Margin Disclosure Statement and the
Statement of Credit Terms (the “Margin Disclosure”) for a
discussion of the risks as well as “Margin Risk” below before
taking out a margin loan. The Margin Disclosure also includes a
discussion of the costs of margin loans. As discussed below, you
will pay interest charges on your margin loans in addition to the
Guided Solutions Flex Fee (defined below). Before taking out a
margin loan in your Guided Solutions Flex account, first evaluate
the intended duration of the loan and your other options,
including alternative loan options or liquidating securities. It is our
view that margin loans are most appropriate when short in
duration. To the extent that a margin call is triggered in
connection with your account and we are forced to sell any
securities or other assets to satisfy the margin call, we will act
solely in our capacity as a broker-dealer and lender (and not as
an investment adviser). Moreover, if selling such securities in
order to satisfy a margin call, we will prioritize our interest over
your interests.
Custody. Assets in your account are held at Edward Jones as
broker-dealer. However, if you have entered into an IRA Custodial
Agreement with Edward Jones Trust Company (“EJTC”), assets
in your IRA will be held at EJTC. EJTC has delegated its duties
and responsibilities as a custodian to Edward Jones as sub-
custodian.
As custodians, Edward Jones and EJTC are responsible for:
• Safekeeping your funds and securities
• Collecting dividends, interest and proceeds from any sales
• Disbursing funds from your account
Edward Jones (as broker-dealer) will provide all accounts with
written trade confirmations of securities transactions and account
statements for each month there is activity in the account. If
EJTC is the custodian, the account statement will be sent by
Edward Jones on behalf of EJTC.
Class Action Claim Filing
Service. Effective June 1, 2024,
Edward Jones will partner with a third-party service provider to
assist with recovery services by filing claims on your behalf in
certain “Class Actions” related to securities and other financial
instruments held in your account. “Class Actions” includes all
U.S. state and federal class actions, Securities and Exchange
Commission disgorgements, or other regulatory cases, as well as
international class actions and/or collective actions involving
publicly traded securities and financial instruments. As part of
your CSA, you have provided limited power and authority to
Edward Jones and/or the third-party service provider Edward
Jones partners with to submit claims on your behalf, either
directly or indirectly through such third-party service provider,
including execution of necessary forms and documents. Pursuant
to your CSA, you will be bound by, and subject to, the terms of all
forms and releases that may be entered into for settlements in
which a claim is filed on your behalf. In so doing, you appoint
Edward Jones and/or the third-party service provider Edward
Jones partners with as your administrative agent to process and
administer your participation in such asset recovery cases as a
class member. This Class Action Service is a separate
administrative service, is not part of the advisory services offered
in the Guided Solutions Flex program or covered by the Guided
Solutions Flex Fee, and Edward Jones does not act in an
advisory capacity when making this service available to you.
Additionally, Edward Jones will not provide legal advice to you or
any other party related to your participation in such Class Actions.
Charges for the processing of class action claims shall be subject
to a contingency fee assessed by the third-party service provider
in the event a recovery is made. The contingency fee shall be a
percentage of the total reimbursement of Class Actions
settlements the third-party service provider collects. Additional
service charges may apply related to the distribution and
handling of payment if your account has been closed and a paper
check and/or location services/escheatment is required.
You will be automatically enrolled in the Class Action Claim Filing
Service. However, you are not obligated to continue to provide
Edward Jones with the authority to permit the third-party provider
to process any such claims. Rather, you may opt out of this
service and pursue such claims on your own by advising Edward
Jones, in writing, of your intention to opt out of this third-party
service.
Further terms and conditions applicable to this
Class Action Claim Filing Service can be found at
edwardjones.com/accountfeatures.
Please review your account statements carefully and notify
us immediately if you detect an error or a discrepancy.
Termination of Guided Solutions Flex Services. You or
Edward Jones may terminate your participation in Guided
Solutions Flex at any time without any advisory termination fee.
While oral instructions to terminate your participation in Guided
Solutions Flex are generally acceptable, Edward Jones, in our
sole discretion, may require written notice in order to terminate
Guided Solutions Flex advisory services for your account.
Upon notice of termination of your Guided Solutions Flex
services, Edward Jones will no longer act as an investment
adviser and will not be obligated to recommend any action with
regard to the assets in your account, but you may instruct us to
sell the securities or transfer the securities to another Edward
Jones account or a third-party account. In the event of a transfer
of mutual funds and/or fund share classes that cannot be held
outside of your Guided Solutions Flex account, Edward Jones will
(a) convert the mutual fund shares into a different share class
before the shares transfer; and/or, (b) liquidate the mutual fund
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shares and transfer cash. Edward Jones follows the instructions
of mutual fund companies to convert the shares to a different
share class or liquidate the shares when transferring mutual
funds. Conversions could result in higher or lower fees and/or
expenses than those paid under the previous share class and
liquidations may cause a taxable event.
Bridge Builder funds are only available to be purchased or held in
Edward Jones’ investment advisory programs and are not available
to be held or purchased in an Edward Jones Select brokerage
account or at another financial institution. Accordingly, any positions
in Bridge Builder funds will be liquidated if you move from an
Edward Jones advisory account to an Edward Jones Select
brokerage account or account at another financial institution. The
Edward Jones Money Market Fund is generally unavailable to be
purchased or held outside of Edward Jones’ advisory programs.
Accordingly, in many situations, any position in the Edward Jones
Money Market Fund will be liquidated if you move from an
Edward Jones advisory account to an Edward Jones Select
brokerage account or account at another financial institution.
Taxable gains, taxable losses, redemption fees or sales charges
may be assessed upon the liquidation or redemption of
securities. These fees and expenses may negatively impact your
investment performance.
If you sell the assets in your account, your proceeds will be
available upon settlement of the trades generated to complete
the liquidation. Because bond markets may be less liquid, these
investments may be more difficult to liquidate, especially during
periods of extreme market volatility. Therefore, you may
experience delays or adverse price fluctuations when liquidating
these securities. If you instruct Edward Jones to liquidate equity
securities in your account which include fractional shares, as an
accommodation Edward Jones will purchase such fractional
share(s) as principal into its own account at market value without
a mark-up or mark-down. Edward Jones may make a profit on its
inventory due to market movements.
Account liquidation may cause a taxable event as well as
additional fees and expenses.
Upon notice of termination, if you fail to instruct Edward Jones as
to the disposition of assets in your account, your account’s
services will be significantly limited (“limited services account”).
We will no longer act as a fiduciary to your account, and you can
no longer rely on us to provide advisory services to your account.
You will be able to receive distributions, liquidate securities, and
withdraw funds from your limited services account, but you will
not be able to purchase new securities or add to existing
positions (except for the money market fund). Any transactions
will be subject to fees, commissions and sales charges applicable
to Edward Jones brokerage accounts.
Fees
Every Guided Solutions Flex account pays asset-based fees
(referred to as your “Guided Solutions Flex Fee”). Your Guided
Solutions Flex Fee includes a Program Fee and a Platform Fee,
less any applicable fee reduction and/or fee offset (as discussed
more fully below). In addition to your Guided Solutions Flex Fee,
affiliated mutual funds and unaffiliated mutual funds and ETFs
that you purchase or that are held in your account have internal
fees and expenses that are described in the prospectus of each
fund. These internal fees and expenses vary depending on the
mutual fund or ETF.
The following section explains:
• The fees and expenses
• How the fees and expenses are calculated and paid
• Potential fee reductions and offsets you may receive from
Edward Jones
The Program Fee
Each Guided Solutions Flex account is charged a Program Fee
for certain investment advisory services, including initial and
ongoing analysis of your investment needs and objectives;
periodic consultations; ongoing evaluation and selection of
investments for this program; Edward Jones’ ongoing investment
policy guidance and services to keep your account aligned with
such guidance; periodic performance reporting; custody and
transaction execution services and other related services as
described in this Brochure.
Program Fee Schedule
Value of Assets in AccountAnnual Fee Rate
First $250,0001.35%
Next $250,0001.30%
Next$500,0001.25%
Next$1,500,0001.00%
Next$2,500,0000.80%
Next$5,000,0000.60%
Over$10,000,0000.50%
The Platform Fee
A Platform Fee is charged on accounts enrolled in Guided
Solutions Flex for the support and maintenance of accounts on
the Edward Jones investment advisory platform, such as trading
and risk tools, training and education, and ongoing platform
development. This fee is in addition to the Program Fee.
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Platform Fee Schedule
Value of Assets in AccountAnnual Fee Rate
First $250,0000.05%
Next $250,0000.05%
Next$500,0000.04%
Next$1,500,0000.03%
Next$2,500,0000.02%
Next$5,000,0000.01%
Over$10,000,0000.00%
How the Guided Solutions Flex Fee Is Calculated
The Guided Solutions Flex Fee, which includes the Program Fee
and the Platform Fee, is based on the market value of all assets
held in your account, including stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, fixed
income holdings, and cash equivalents, including shares of the
Money Market Fund and third-party money market funds. Margin
loan balances, if any, do not reduce the market value of your
account for the purposes of calculating the Guided Solutions Flex
Fee. However, for taxable accounts, the value of any fixed-
income syndicate offerings acquired and held in your account will
be excluded from the Guided Solutions Flex Fee calculation for a
period of time as determined by Edward Jones. The Guided
Solutions Flex Fee is assessed at an annual fee rate (shown
above), payable monthly in arrears. As the value of the assets in
your account increases or decreases, you are charged according
to the tiered fee schedule set forth above.
The fees assessed by Edward Jones will reduce your account’s
overall returns and performance.
The Guided Solutions Flex Fee is charged to your account each
month in arrears. If your Guided Solutions Flex account is open
for part of a month, then you will pay a fee based on the number
of days your account was open and invested in Guided Solutions
Flex. The amount you pay is determined by the average daily
market value of the assets held in your account for the previous
month.
All Guided Solutions Flex accounts are subject to a $10 minimum
monthly Guided Solutions Flex Fee. In the event that you are
charged a $10 minimum monthly fee, the effective fee rate based
on the existing value of assets held in your account may be
greater than the highest annual fee rates combined in each of the
schedules (shown above).
Pricing Groups
To determine your Program Fee rate and Platform Fee rate, your
account may be grouped with your other Edward Jones advisory
accounts or the Edward Jones advisory accounts of people
related to or close to you who meet the criteria below that are
held in the same Edward Jones branch in what we refer to as a
Pricing Group. Each account can only be in one Pricing Group,
and we will disclose to you the accounts making up your Pricing
Group upon request.
Other members of the Pricing Group will receive the same
disclosure upon request.
Your Pricing Group is based on the following criteria:
1. Your single, joint, custodial, owner-only 401(k) plan and IRA
accounts are grouped together if they are registered at the
same address and share one or more of the following: (a) the
same last name, (b) the same Social Security number, or (c)
the same Edward Jones Relationship Group. (If you have
worked with your financial advisor to group your account with
other accounts for the purpose of planning and establishing
financial goals, that is a Relationship Group. Your
Relationship Group may be the same as your Pricing Group.
Please contact your financial advisor if you have any
questions about your Relationship Group.)
2. Your revocable trust accounts are grouped with your single,
joint, custodial, owner-only 401(k) plan, IRA or other
revocable trust accounts if they are registered at the same
address and use the same tax ID number for tax reporting.
3. Your association, church, corporation, estate, irrevocable
trust, LLC, partnership and sole proprietorship accounts are
grouped with other accounts of the same type if they are
registered at the same address and use the same tax ID
number for tax reporting. These types of accounts will be
grouped with each other, but not with other account types.
Additionally, accounts that do not meet the above criteria with
your account, but that meet the above criteria with another
person’s account in your Pricing Group, will be added to your
Pricing Group. Please contact your financial advisor if you have
questions about your Pricing Group.
In addition, the Guided Solutions Flex Fee may be lower than the
above schedule in the following circumstances:
• Either Edward Jones or your financial advisor negotiates a
lower Program Fee;
• You are an active or eligible retired associate of Edward Jones; or
• You are a member of an active or eligible retired associate’s
Pricing Group.
Reducing the Guided Solutions Flex Fee is at the sole discretion
of Edward Jones.
Potential Fee Reductions or Offsets to the
Program Fee
Depending on certain factors, you may be eligible to receive fee
reductions or offsets to your Program Fee, as described below.
Fee Reductions
If your Guided Solutions Flex account is funded from an Edward
Jones account that incurred commissions or redemption fees
within a preceding period, as established by Edward Jones, the
Program Fee may be reduced for up to twenty-four (24) full
months in which the account is active in Guided Solutions Flex.
The amount of the fee reduction will depend on the type of
security held, timing of trade activity for the security, or other
characteristics of the account activity in the previous Edward
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Jones account. Ask your financial advisor for additional
information about potential fee reductions. Any fee reductions will
be applied in accordance with policies established by Edward
Jones, which may be amended from time to time. If you close
your account in Guided Solutions Flex before receiving the entire
fee reduction, you will not receive any of the remaining fee
reduction that may have been available for your account.
If you are selling securities to invest in Guided Solutions Flex but
did not purchase them through Edward Jones, you will not
receive a fee reduction.
Fee Offsets
Rule 12b-1 Fees: Some mutual fund companies or their affiliates
pay Edward Jones Rule 12b-1 fees for distribution and marketing
expenses. This creates a conflict of interest. In order to eliminate
this conflict of interest, if we receive Rule 12b-1 fees for the
shares in your account, we will credit the amount received to your
account.
Shareholder Accounting Revenue: Some mutual fund
companies pay Edward Jones for account recordkeeping and
administrative services provided by Edward Jones for the mutual
fund companies. This creates a conflict of interest. In order to
eliminate this conflict of interest, if we receive shareholder
accounting fees for the shares in your account, we will credit the
amount received to your account.
Affiliated Mutual Funds: If your account invests in affiliated
mutual funds, the investment adviser to the mutual funds will be
an affiliate of Edward Jones. Affiliated mutual funds, other than
the Edward Jones Money Market Fund, consist of Bridge Builder
Funds and will be sub-advised by multiple sub-advisers who are
unaffiliated with Edward Jones. Refer to Appendix A which
contains a detailed discussion of our affiliation with the affiliated
mutual funds.
Edward Jones Money Market Fund: JFC directly owns 100% of
Olive Street Investment Advisers, LLC (“Olive Street”), the
adviser of the Edward Jones Money Market Fund. Olive Street,
and its affiliate, Edward Jones, receive various revenues related
to assets in the Fund (collectively, “Money Market Revenue”).
Appendix A includes a detailed discussion of our Money Market
Revenue. For any account investing in the Edward Jones Money
Market Fund, Edward Jones or an affiliate will apply a fee offset
equal to the amount of the Money Market Revenue received by
Edward Jones or an affiliate, with respect to such account.
How the Guided Solutions Flex Fee is Paid
The Guided Solutions Flex Fee is deducted directly from your
Guided Solutions Flex account and paid using the cash portion of
your account, which may include cash or assets invested in the
Edward Jones Money Market Fund. If there is not sufficient cash or
assets invested in the Edward Jones Money Market Fund, we are
authorized to sell a sufficient amount of assets held in your
account to pay the Guided Solutions Flex Fee. Edward Jones will
first sell a sufficient amount of shares of mutual funds held in your
account to pay the Guided Solutions Flex Fee. If there are not
sufficient assets in the mutual funds held in your account, Edward
Jones will sell a sufficient amount of shares of ETFs or equity
securities, and then a sufficient amount of fixed-income securities
necessary to pay the Guided Solutions Flex Fee. If Edward Jones
sells mutual funds, ETFs, equity securities or fixed-income
securities, this may result in your account being out of alignment
with the Target Ranges for your Account Portfolio Objective or with
the Investment Diagnostics for your account. Such transactions will
be effected without regard to tax consequences. You may have to
pay redemption fees to a fund company if those shares were held
only for a short time. (See below for more information on
redemption fees.) Trades as a result of a liquidation of a mutual
fund or ETF in a taxable account may result in a taxable event.
Securities transactions effected to pay the Guided Solutions Flex
Fee may necessitate odd-lot sales. Odd-lot sales may result in less
favorable pricing conditions. At the sole discretion of Edward
Jones, you may be allowed to pay your Guided Solutions Flex Fee
from an alternate Edward Jones account.
Internal Fees and Expenses of Mutual Funds and
ETFs, Including Redemption Fees
Mutual funds (including affiliated and unaffiliated mutual funds)
and ETFs have internal management fees and ongoing expenses
for operating the funds (“internal fees and expenses”) that are
deducted from the fund’s assets, which has the effect of reducing
the fund’s net asset value (“NAV”). Many mutual funds that are
Eligible Investments in Guided Solutions Flex have different
share classes with different fees and expenses for each share
class. The fund prospectus and other fund documents will
describe the internal fees and expenses.
Please refer to Item 6 below for more information regarding the
selection of mutual funds and ETFs as Eligible Investments for
Guided Solutions Flex.
Internal fees and expenses are in addition to the Guided
Solutions Flex Fee described above and vary depending on the
particular mutual fund or ETF. You will not see a separate entry
on your account statement showing these fees and expenses.
Certain mutual funds may also impose redemption fees if shares
of the mutual fund are held for only a short time (typically
anywhere from less than thirty (30) days to twelve (12) months).
The fund prospectus and other fund documents describe whether
the mutual fund has a redemption fee and whether there are
instances when the redemption fees will be waived.
Any internal fees and expenses charged by a mutual fund or ETF
will reduce your account’s overall returns and investment
performance.
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Other Fees and Expenses Not Included in the
Guided Solutions Flex Fee
In addition to the Guided Solutions Flex Fee described above,
clients will pay Edward Jones interest on margin loans, if
applicable, as set forth in the Margin Disclosure. A client may pay
for other services including, but not limited to, debit and check-
writing fees, estate service fees and fees to distribute an account
pursuant to a transfer on death agreement.
Also, the Guided Solutions Flex Fee does not cover the following
(if applicable to your account): transfer taxes; electronic fund,
wire and other account transfer fees; internal fees and expenses
incurred by mutual funds or ETFs purchased for your account;
mutual fund redemption fees and contingent deferred sales
charges; and any other charges imposed by law or otherwise
agreed to by Edward Jones and you with regard to your account.
Deposits, including interest and dividends, received into your
account but not yet invested in Eligible Investments or swept into
the Money Market Fund may earn interest that will be retained by
Edward Jones. Edward Jones may also earn and retain interest
on distributions requested from your account until the time the
check is cashed or another payment method is completed. The
average overnight interest rate on these deposits may fluctuate
daily and is tied to changes in widely referenced interbank
lending rates, such as Fed Funds Effective Rate, Fed Funds
Target Rate and Secured Overnight Financing Rate. Under these
arrangements, banks may pay interest based on a spread to one
of these rates or may pay a fixed interest rate.
Financial Advisor Compensation
Most financial advisors receive a portion of the Program Fee,
though some financial advisors receive a salary in addition to, or
in lieu of, the Program Fee. Financial advisors who receive a
portion of the Program Fee have a financial incentive not to
negotiate the Program Fee. The portion of the Program Fee paid
to your financial advisor is at the discretion of Edward Jones. The
fee rate paid to your financial advisor will be the same regardless
of the Account Portfolio Objective or Goal Portfolio Objective (if
applicable) you select. As a result, your financial advisor does not
have a financial incentive to recommend one Account or Goal
Portfolio Objective over another. Your financial advisor does not
receive a portion of the Platform Fee.
Similarly, the Program Fee rate paid to your financial advisor will
be the same regardless of the investment advisory program in
which you invest. However, your financial advisor also may
receive compensation in connection with margin loans in Guided
Solutions Flex as described below. As a result, and if you would
be eligible for margin lending but ineligible for the Edward Jones
securities-based lending offering called the Edward Jones
Reserve Line of Credit (“Reserve Line”), available in some other
Edward Jones investment advisory services, your financial
advisor will have a financial incentive to recommend Guided
Solutions Flex over another investment advisory program.
If you use margin in your account, Edward Jones will receive
revenue as a result of charging interest on your margin loan. As a
result, there is a material conflict of interest between you and us
in connection with margin loans, which we address through
disclosure in this Brochure. For example, if you take out or
maintain a margin loan rather than withdraw money from your
Guided Solutions Flex account, we retain the Guided Solutions
Flex Fee that such assets are otherwise generating and charge
you interest on any outstanding margin loan balances.
Depending on your specific circumstances, including the intended
duration of the margin loan and the return on your account, over
the long term it may cost you more to take out the margin loan
than if you had pursued an alternative loan option or liquidated
securities and withdrawn the sale proceeds from your account.
Although Edward Jones receives more revenue from a margin
loan than a loan through the Reserve Line available in the other
advisory programs, your financial advisor is compensated the
same on both types of loans. You are encouraged to carefully
consider the total cost of taking out any margin loan, and any
additional compensation to us or your financial advisor, when
determining to take out and/or maintain a margin loan.
The amount of your financial advisor’s compensation may be
more or less than what he or she would receive if you had a
brokerage account instead of a Guided Solutions Flex account. If
you purchased investments through Edward Jones as a broker-
dealer, you would pay sales charges or commissions, a portion of
which would be paid to your financial advisor. A financial advisor
will typically earn more in upfront fees and commissions when
you use brokerage services. In the alternative, a financial advisor
will typically earn more over time if you invest in Guided Solutions
Flex. This creates a financial incentive for your financial advisor
to recommend Guided Solutions Flex instead of brokerage
services.
The Program Fee, as well as assets under care and client margin
loan balances, will impact most financial advisors’ eligibility for a
bonus and bonus amount. The Program Fee, as well as assets
under care and client margin loan balances may also impact a
financial advisors’ eligibility for the receipt of certain limited
partnership profits interest in The Jones Financial Companies,
L.L.L.P. (the “Profits Interest”). This eligibility to receive bonus,
bonus amounts, and/or certain Profits Interest creates a conflict
of interest in that your financial advisor has an incentive to
recommend you invest in an investment advisory account(s).
Most financial advisors are eligible to participate in the Edward
Jones Travel Award Program (“Travel Award Program”), which
includes domestic and international travel, or a cash award in lieu
of a trip. Eligibility for the Travel Award Program is based upon
the amount of new and existing assets under care of a financial
advisor which creates an additional conflict of interest.
These financial incentives create a conflict between Edward
Jones’ interest, your financial advisor’s interest, and your own.
We address these conflicts of interest through disclosures you
will receive at or before the time of your financial advisor’s
recommendations to you. Additionally, financial advisors are
subject to training, supervision, regulatory requirements, and
internal policies and controls that are reasonably designed so
that clients are recommended only those products and services
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that are appropriate in light of their financial circumstances.
For further information on compensation and conflicts of interest,
please see the “Understanding how we are compensated for
financial services” document found at
edwardjones.com/compensation.
Comparing Costs, Expenses and Services
The Program Fee is a fee for investment advisory services as
described above under “The Program Fee” and the Platform Fee
is a fee for platform support services as described above under
“Platform Fee.” Guided Solutions Flex may cost you more or less
than purchasing these services separately, depending on the
costs of the services if provided separately, the size of your
account, the amount of cash in your account, and the trading
activity in your account and the corresponding brokerage
commissions that would be charged if you bought and sold
individual securities in a brokerage account.
You can choose to forgo the services of Guided Solutions Flex
and buy and sell securities through Edward Jones as a broker-
dealer or through other brokers or agents not affiliated with
Edward Jones (although you would not receive the benefits of the
program described in this Brochure).
We have provided you with materials that explain our brokerage
and investment advisory services, including our Client
Relationship Summary (“CRS”) and “Making Good Choices”
brochure.
Additional copies are available from your financial
advisor upon request or our CRS is available at
www.edwardjones.com/regbidisclosures.