Bucking industry trends and their own longstanding philosophy, Edward Jones will soon start selling a proprietary product on their $90 billion RIA platform. The fund, Bridge Builder Bond, will be managed by a Jones subsidiary using sub-advisors from JP Morgan, Prudential and Baird.
Jones claims to have created the fund to meet client needs as well as to gain greater tax flexibility when a fund is chronically underperforming — rather than having to sell their position, Jones can simply switch out managers.
In recent years, major brokerage firms have eschewed proprietary funds, with Merrill Lynch selling their retail fund complex to BlackRock and Morgan Stanley (then Smith Barney) trading their funds for Legg Mason’s brokers. But other firms like UBS and Wells own asset managers. Still, given Edward Jones’ history (as well as specific statements on their website to the contrary), the move is interesting. Many are wondering whether there is more to come — a possibility that a Jones rep would not deny.
