ST. LOUIS, Aug. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- St. Louis-based financial services firm Edward Jones today announced the addition of 12 model portfolios to its mutual fund and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) advisory program, Edward Jones Advisory Solutions®. These new models combine active and passive investment styles in the same model portfolio.

Advisory Solutions is an asset allocation program that allows investors to select from research or custom models with an initial minimum investment of $50,000. Research models permit clients to delegate asset allocation, investment selection and portfolio rebalancing to Edward Jones. Using the firm's asset allocation guidelines, the Edward Jones Investment Advisory Research Committee and Mutual Fund Research Team select the mutual funds and ETFs in the program and create research models. The program now offers 38 research models, in addition to custom models, allowing investors to choose an investment strategy to match their needs. With the program's custom models, clients retain discretion over the investment selection from the list of funds available in the program.

The program has proved popular with Edward Jones clients. The program has grown to more than $40 billion in assets under management since its introduction in August 2008. Advisory Solutions now ranks as the country's 7th largest mutual fund advisory program, according to Cerulli Associates.

"We believe the additional research models will make Advisory Solutions attractive to those investors who want to combine the best attributes of active and passive investing styles to help pursue their investment objectives," said Bill Broderick, Principal, Investment Advisory for Edward Jones. "We use the same due diligence process that we are known for in selecting actively managed mutual finds and are applying it to the selection of appropriate ETFs. Then we combine the two types of investments in an actively managed model portfolio."

The manager of an actively managed fund will seek to outperform an index, either by pursuing a higher return, taking lower risk or combining these two features. The manager of a passive fund will seek to achieve the return of a particular index before expenses.

Advisory Solutions has client centric features that differentiate it from many advisory products currently available, according to Broderick. First, the Edward Jones Mutual Funds Research Team considered all types of mutual funds -- both load and no-load families -- and ETFs. Thousands were carefully analyzed. In the event that a selected mutual fund chosen for the program includes 12(b)-1 fees, those payments to Edward Jones will be passed on to the client. Additionally, accounts in the Advisory Solutions automatically rebalance on a threshold basis that includes both performance and risk metrics in the rebalancing logic.

Advisory Solutions clients receive monthly statements and quarterly performance reports. More frequent updates are available through Edward Jones' AccountLink online service. Additionally, investors have the ability to automatically add or withdraw a fixed dollar amount from the account on a periodic, recurring date.

Broderick said the ability to step back from making day-to-day investment decisions while getting the benefits of multiple fund family ownership is one of the biggest advantages of Advisory Solutions. In addition, he said, investors benefit from the additional layers of expertise in the form of asset allocation modeling and investment selection by the Mutual Funds Research Team.

Edward Jones Advisory Solutions® is the firm's second advisory platform joining the Managed Account Program which offers clients access to 41 different account strategies.

About Edward Jones

Edward Jones provides financial services for individual investors in the United States and, through its affiliate, in Canada. Every aspect of the firm's business, from the types of investment options offered to the location of branch offices, is designed to cater to individual investors in the communities in which they live and work. The firm's 12,000-plus financial advisors work directly with nearly 7 million clients to understand their personal goals -- from college savings to retirement -- and create long-term investment solutions that emphasize a well-balanced portfolio and a buy-and-hold strategy. Edward Jones embraces the importance of building long-term, face-to-face relationships with clients, helping them to understand and make sense of the investment options available today.

Edward Jones, which ranked No. 2 on FORTUNE magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For 2010," is headquartered in St. Louis. The Edward Jones Web site is located at www.edwardjones.com, and it's recruiting Web site is www.careers.edwardjones.com. Member SIPC.

Edward Jones is a dually registered broker-dealer and investment adviser. Edward Jones Advisory Solutions® is a mutual fund and exchange-traded fund (ETF) advisory program that provides models and customized portfolios. Please review the Edward Jones Advisory Solution® Disclosure Document for more information.

The investments in Advisory Solutions are offered by prospectus. You should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses carefully before investing. The prospectus contains this and other information. Your Edward Jones financial advisor can provide a prospectus, which you should read carefully before investing.

SOURCE Edward Jones