plz halp, What is the industry consensus on Edward Jones

ER at Edward Jones is similar to what it would be at other institutional research firms except your primary readership is their FA network rather than other institutional investors (note: this is what I understand, they could have a institutional client base that I'm not aware of). Also, their coverage is mainly large-cap equities so you probably won't be doing much differentiated research or moving stock prices with your calls. It is mainly a "coverage" i.e., report what's going on, research role. Just be aware that EJ's primary business model is collecting FA fees and they are really good at it and unlikely to branch away into a broader institutional banking business. I believe all of the managing partners have come up from working as FAs in some capacity or another.

As far as Edward Jones goes, their research department is about as top-tier of a job as you can get there and you will be treated very well, especially if you perform. They have a mandatory CFA rule for the research team, and the culture is very old school / white shoe that you'll have to conform with. I've met analysts there who are very smart and they tend to value work life balance. I'd be surprised if this wasn't a pencils down, go home at 4/5pm type of job on most days.

Re: St. Louis, this is a great city. The Edward Jones HQ is in a nice part of the suburbs and you will be able to live like royalty. It is a very well trodden path to upper middle class / lower upper class in STL, especially once you make Partner (very achievable if you are a performer). Working at EJ corporate is well respected and recognized in STL...probably more so than doing RE IB / ER at Stifel or ER at WFS in the downtown area.

You will likely be able to make exits to those two firms in the STL area from EJ ER, but from what I've seen personally...I'm not sure if I'd want to if I could land on that EJ partner track.

Edit: I mentioned they have an old school culture and that extends into hiring. They are pretty set on GPA minimums (think 3.5+) and having a polished resume - both academic and work experience. The people that EJ hires are usually top GPA candidates from UG/MBA programs in the surrounding areas who typically aren't aware of Chicago / NYC Wall Street roles, or just not really set on it. It is a total mistake to think that this is a place you can walk into without any relevant experience / low GPA because it isn't as "well known" or something.