Edward Jones Ranked No. 2 By FORTUNE Magazine In Best Companies To Work For List

The financial-services firm Edward Jones ranked No. 2 on FORTUNE magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For 2009" list in its 10th year on the prestigious list, according to Edward Burnside, a financial advisor in Sebring. Edward Jones also ranked No. 1 for large-sized companies.

To pick the "100 Best Companies to Work For," FORTUNE works with Robert Levering and Milton Moskowitz of the Great Place to Work Institute, a global research and consulting firm with offices in 30 countries to conduct the most extensive employee survey in corporate America.

The FORTUNE ranking is one of several important honors based on associate input that Edward Jones has received in recent weeks. In early December, the firm was ranked No. 1 in Registered Rep. magazine's annual brokerage report card for the 16th consecutive year. Last month, Edward Jones ranked No. 4 among the "50 Best Employers in Canada" in the Globe and Mail's annual listing in Report on Business Magazine.

Edward Jones' 10 FORTUNE rankings include top 10 finishes for seven years and consecutive No. 1 rankings in 2002 and 2003.

"We are delighted by this honor and feel especially proud because it is based largely upon associate feedback during these particularly challenging times," said Burnside. "It indicates we are succeeding in our goal to make Edward Jones a career destination."

"A driving factor for the list this year is that these companies excel in creating jobs," FORTUNE said. "The 100 companies on the 2008 list added 67,000 employees to their payrolls in the past year and employ a total of nearly 1.6 million employees; up 16 percent from the number employed by companies comprising last year's list."

More than 81,000 employees from 353 companies responded to the 57-question survey created by the Institute. Two-thirds of a company's score is based on the survey, which is sent to a minimum of 400 randomly selected employees. The remaining third is based on a company's responses to the Culture Audit questionnaire, which asks detailed questions about demographics, pay and benefits, and open-ended questions on philosophy, communication and more.

Edward Jones spokesman John Boul said the company is always looking for talented people.