Jones Financial Companies (the parent of Edward Jones) filed Q4 2025 with $164 billion. The top holding: Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG) at 11.91%. Followed by iShares Core Aggregate Bond (AGG) and iShares Core S&P 500 (IVV).
Edward Jones is America's largest retail brokerage by advisor count (~19,000 advisors). Their 13F is a window into what Main Street America is investing in.
The filing
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 13F AUM | $164.02B |
| #1 holding | VUG (Vanguard Growth) at 11.91% |
| #2 holding | AGG (Aggregate Bond) |
| #3 holding | IVV (S&P 500) |
| Top-5 concentration | 40.43% |
| Filer type | Retail brokerage (Edward Jones) |
What Edward Jones is
Edward Jones is NOT a hedge fund or institutional asset manager. It's:
- 19,000+ financial advisors serving individual investors across the U.S.
- Focus: Long-term, buy-and-hold investing for retirement
- Client base: Middle-class Americans, often in smaller cities and towns
- Philosophy: Conservative, diversified, advisor-led
The 13F represents what 19,000 advisors recommend to millions of individual American investors.
The portfolio as a mirror of retail America
VUG at 12%: growth is the core
Vanguard Growth ETF as the #1 holding means Edward Jones advisors are recommending growth-oriented equity exposure as the portfolio foundation. VUG holds ~230 large-cap growth stocks (AAPL, MSFT, NVDA, AMZN, etc.).
AGG: bonds still matter
iShares Core Aggregate Bond ETF in the top holdings shows Edward Jones maintains meaningful bond allocation. In a world where many filers are 100% equity, the presence of AGG reflects:
- Conservative client base
- Retirement-focused allocation
- Income generation needs
- Risk management through diversification
IVV: broad market exposure
iShares S&P 500 alongside VUG means clients get both growth tilt (VUG) AND broad market (IVV). The combination:
Growth equity: VUG (11.91%) — tilted toward growth stocks
Broad equity: IVV — full S&P 500 exposure
Fixed income: AGG — bond ballast
= Classic 60/40-ish portfolio at scale
Top-5 at 40.43%: the model portfolio effect
40.43% in the top 5 is relatively high, explained by:
- ETFs are large building blocks (each represents hundreds of underlying stocks)
- A 3-4 ETF model portfolio naturally concentrates at the ETF level
- The UNDERLYING diversification is excellent (VUG + IVV + AGG = thousands of securities)
Edward Jones vs. other retail-facing filers
| Firm | AUM | Top holding | Client focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edward Jones | $164B | VUG (12%) | Main Street retail |
| Merrill Lynch/BofA | $1.37T | VTV/VUG | HNW + mass affluent |
| Creative Planning | $140B | IVV (12%) | Independent RIA clients |
| Ameriprise | $443B | NVDA/MSFT | Financial planning |
| Envestnet | $337B | IVV (6.17%) | RIA platform |
Edward Jones is the most purely retail-focused among these filers. Their 13F is the closest proxy for "what America's financial advisors are recommending to everyday investors."
What Edward Jones' filing tells you about retail America
- Growth over value: VUG (growth) at #1, not VTV (value). American retail investors remain growth-biased.
- Bonds still have a role: AGG in top holdings. The 60/40 portfolio isn't dead at the retail level.
- ETFs dominate: Top holdings are all ETFs, not individual stocks. The ETF revolution is complete at the retail advisor level.
- Vanguard + iShares duopoly: Edward Jones uses both Vanguard and BlackRock products — the two largest ETF providers control the building blocks.
Originally published at 13F Insight
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