Movers & Shakers May 25, 2010

Edward Jones named top broker

SmartMoney Magazine named Edward Jones its No. 1 full-service broker, giving the company high marks for client satisfaction, client statement and stock-picking.

"Across-the-board strength vaults Edward Jones into first place," according to the magazine. "The St. Louis-based firm ranks first in three survey categories this year: stock picking, brokerage statement and customer satisfaction."

The magazine lauded Edward Jones for growing the number of financial advisers - up more than 500 since last year - to meet investor needs.

The firm has consistently been ranked highly in the SmartMoney survey as No. 2 in 2009 and 2008 and No. 1 in 2007 and 2005.

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 advisers 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.

Investors are more optimistic about their investment portfolios recovering sooner rather than later, according to a recent Edward Jones survey. But despite double-digit increases in the stock market, two-thirds (67 percent) of Americans say they haven't recovered losses suffered from market lows a year ago.

On the positive side, the survey found a significant decrease in the number of Americans who think it will take six years or more to recover investment losses, 24 percent in 2009 versus 15 percent in 2010, said Buddy J. Honshell of the Post Falls Edward Jones office. And more Americans are saving for retirement today than a year ago (78 percent verus 69 percent respectively). In fact, respondents aged 55 to 64 showed the greatest overall increase, with 83 percent currently saving for retirement versus 69 percent in 2009.

The study of 1,000 respondents, conducted by Opinion Research Corporation on behalf of financial services firm Edward Jones, found that 12 percent of Americans say the value of their portfolios has already recovered. In the same survey one year ago, only 4 percent expected savings to be fully restored by 2010.

"In general, investors are more optimistic about their financial futures," said Buddy Honshell. "The market is clearly showing signs of improvement and investors are feeling better about the amount of time it will take for their portfolios to recover."

Idaho first quarter exports show increase

Export sales by Idaho companies experience growth of more than 8.5 percent in the first quarter of 2010, totaling $1.22 billion for January-March. Nationally, exports for the same period were nearly flat, at less than 1 percent growth. Compared to the same period of 2009, the most current quarters' results for Idaho are up more than 54 percent.

The top Idaho export category continues to be semiconductors, but exports of aircraft, office machinery, vegetables and seeds, precious metals, and paper products remained strong.

"Idaho's export results for the first quarter of 2010 show positive signs the economy in improving," said Damien Bard, administrator of the International Business Division of the Idaho Department of Commerce. "Exports in Idaho and across the United States still are a key piece to helping drive the U.S. economy."

The top export destinations for Idaho goods during the first quarter of 2010 were: Canada, Singapore, Taiwan, China and Korea. Idaho companies export products to more than 115 countries.

Products ranging from integrated circuits to agricultural machinery to wood and forest products are exported from Idaho. Idaho maintains trade offices in Taiwan, Mexico and China.