Two years ago, Edward Jones chose 10 markets to expand into with 5,000 more advisors, said Steve Kuehl, a principal in the company’s branch development.

The company has a large, known presence for retail advisors. Headquartered in St. Louis, it provides investment services to more than 7 million clients through 13,000 offices and nearly 17,000 advisors in the U.S. and Canada. Searches for “financial advisors near me” on Google generate results with at least one Edward Jones advisor, no matter what city you choose.

Two years ago, the company launched its market opportunity strategy after determining which of its markets seemed fertile for expansion efforts. Its targets are Atlanta, Raleigh-Durham, Toronto, Chicago, Kansas City, Dallas, Houston, Denver, Seattle and the Southern California region (Los Angeles and San Diego). Edward Jones offices are in both rural and metropolitan areas, but more than half (70 percent) of its branches are based in the cities. It already has 2,600 advisors spread across those 10 markets and it plans to double that number.

“We believe that with the current clients and the potential clients, we can support about 5,000 more advisors in those markets,” said Kuehl. The growth objective hasn’t changed much from previous growth strategies; Kuehl said Edward Jones aims for 8 to 10 percent growth rates, yet factors in the size of the market. For example, Edward Jones expects a higher growth rate in Southern California than it does in Kansas City, Mo.

This year, Edward Jones has had substantial growth in most of the markets, said Kuehl. “All of them are growing greater than 5 percent; nine are growing about 10 percent,” and Toronto and Seattle are on pace to grow 17 percent.

Olathe, Kan., advisor Jack Hansen told the Kansas City Business Journal that Edward Jones grew the number of advisor teams in Kansas City, Mo., from 189 in 2015 to 230 in 2018, and it’s planning to increase that number to 320 teams within the next five years.

Kuehl attributes Edward Jones’s growth to its “two-prong approach.” He said the company is recruiting more of the right candidates and continues to work on support systems that assist its advisors’ effectiveness in their markets. Edward Jones recruits experienced advisors, those transitioning out of another profession, and provides mentorship programs for recent college graduates.

Hansen also mentioned to the journal that advisors used to compete against one another for new recruits. But since Edward Jones asked for a collaborative approach to recruitment, Hansen said advisors “don’t really care where recruits go” and it’s “been a huge difference-maker.”