Staff report

For the 12th consecutive year, Edward Jones ranked No. 1 in Registered Representative magazine’s annual survey of the nation’s seven largest financial services firms. The magazine randomly selects brokers nationwide and asks them to rank their firms in various categories.

&uot;The firm received verbal praise for its unwavering business focus and for its attention to the needs of its reps, including its longstanding policy of providing full-time assistant paid for by the firm,&uot; according to the magazine’s December 2004 issue. The firm’s ranking on &uot;support&uot; topped all other firms, the magazine reported.

Edward Jones investment representatives gave the firm its highest scores in 14 of the 20 categories in which it was rated. Some of those categories include: ongoing training, client account statements, quality of the products offered, management and the firm’s strategic focus.

&uot;The firm’s steady, conservative approach was consistently lauded by reps,&uot; the magazine reported. While it’s always an honor to be recognized by a national publication, this particularly ranking is significant for a variety of reasons.

&uot;This ranking is formed by the opinions of our investment representatives-the people who meet with clients every day,&uot; said Joe Garlitz, a Suffolk Edward Jones investment representative. &uot;That makes it a good measure of how well we are serving our clients, which gives this ranking even greater significance.&uot;

Garlitz said that he is particularly proud of the No. 1 ranking because of the number of years Edward Jones has achieved this honor.

&uot;Twelve years is no coincidence,&uot; Garlitz said. &uot;We are doing things differently at Edward Jones, and we are proud of that distinction.&uot;

Edward Jones, the only major financial services firm advising individual investors exclusively, traces its roots to 1871 and currently serves more than six million clients. The firm offers its clients a variety of investments, including certificates of deposit, tabable and non-taxable bonds, stocks and mutual funds.

The largest firm in the nation in terms of branch offices, Edward Jones currently has more than 9,000 offices n the U.S. and through its affiliates, in Canada and the United Kingdom.

The Edward Jones interactive Web site is located at www.edwardjones.com.