At a Glance
Three longtime Edward Jones advisors started from the same firm but arrived at three very different destinations. Their experiences demonstrate why choosing the right firm and business model starts with defining what an advisor wants to accomplish—whether that means greater autonomy, building enterprise value, or gaining the advantages of a collaborative team.
Choosing the right firm and business model starts with aligning an advisor’s transition options with their goals for autonomy, growth, succession, and enterprise value.
What happens when three successful advisors from the same firm decide it’s time to explore what’s next?
They may share a starting point, but that doesn’t mean they’re looking for the same destination.
There is no single reason a successful advisor begins exploring life beyond Edward Jones. And despite what many advisors may assume, there is no single path forward either.
Edward Jones advisors who decide to explore often gravitate toward the same two or three firms and models. It makes sense. They tend to be the names they know, the destinations where they have seen colleagues land, and the options that feel most familiar.
But the landscape is much broader than that.
Over the past several months, I have guided three longtime Edward Jones advisors through transitions to three different firms and business models. Each had spent more than a decade at Edward Jones and built a successful practice there. Yet each came to the table with a very different objective and ultimately arrived at a very different solution.
Their experiences reinforce an important point: The destination should be driven by what the advisor is trying to accomplish, not the other way around.
Blake Cason: Greater Autonomy Without Starting From Scratch
When Blake Cason first connected with me in 2021, he was already thinking about what greater ownership of his business might look like. After years at Edward Jones, he wanted more control over his practice, greater participation in the economics of the business, increased marketing flexibility, and the ability to pursue opportunities such as M&A.
Blake spent time exploring his options, but after going through due diligence, he concluded that Edward Jones was still the right fit.
And at the time, it was.
We stayed in touch, and several years later, the conversation changed. By late 2025, he had grown his practice to approximately $145mm in assets and more than $1.2mm in revenue. His desire for greater autonomy remained, but he had also become clearer about what he did not want to give up.
Blake valued the camaraderie and infrastructure that came with being part of a larger organization. He wanted greater control and the opportunity to participate in the value he was creating, but he did not want to build an independent enterprise entirely on his own.
When he revisited the landscape, he ultimately chose Steward Partners, which offered the combination of autonomy, infrastructure, culture, and equity opportunity he wanted for the next stage of his business.
Blake’s experience illustrates something important about due diligence: Exploring does not obligate an advisor to move. The right answer for Blake in 2022 was to stay at Edward Jones. Several years later, as his business and priorities evolved, so did the answer.
Dan Boehm: Building a Business Around His Own Vision
Dan Boehm was trying to solve for something different.
After 15 years at Edward Jones, Dan had built a practice of approximately $105mm in assets. But he was increasingly interested in what he could create with greater flexibility.
He wanted to establish his own brand, expand the services he could provide to clients, including offering tax preparation in-house, and eventually grow through recruiting and acquisitions. He also wanted to participate more directly in the enterprise value he hoped to create.
Dan spent significant time evaluating different independent broker dealer options. As he moved through the process, his priorities became increasingly clear: technology, economics, support, and the ability to build beyond his existing practice.
He ultimately chose LPL Financial because it offered the infrastructure and support he needed today while giving him the flexibility to build toward a larger vision for the business.
Dan’s experience is a good reminder of why it can be limiting to focus only on the firms an advisor already knows or the places where other Edward Jones advisors have gone. Effective due diligence means understanding the broader landscape and determining which model best supports the business an advisor actually wants to build.
Richelle Jordan: Building a Stronger Team Around Her Clients
Richelle Jordan came to the process with an entirely different objective.
After 15 years at Edward Jones, she had built a $119mm practice serving approximately 185 households. She was proud of the business she had created, but she also recognized the advantages of being part of a larger team—both for herself and for her clients.
Richelle ultimately chose Raymond James, where she joined five other advisors. The team structure gave her the ability to put their heads together, draw on different perspectives and areas of expertise, and bring more resources and solutions to the clients she had spent years serving.
That collaboration was particularly important to her. Rather than having clients rely primarily on one advisor, Richelle could surround them with a team—one that could work together to solve more complex needs, provide continuity when someone was unavailable, and offer a broader range of solutions as clients’ lives and financial needs evolved.
For Richelle, the move wasn’t about changing the relationships she had built with clients. It was about strengthening what stood behind those relationships.
Her experience demonstrates another reason an advisor may consider a different model: Sometimes the goal isn’t simply greater autonomy, better economics, or building a larger enterprise. It’s creating an environment where advisors can collaborate more effectively and ultimately do more for the clients they serve.
Start With What You’re Trying to Accomplish
What’s most interesting about these three stories isn’t that three Edward Jones advisors chose three different firms. It’s why they did.
Blake wanted greater autonomy without giving up infrastructure and community. Dan wanted the freedom to build something bigger around his own brand. Richelle wanted a team-based approach that brought greater depth, continuity, and a broader range of solutions to her clients.
Their objectives were different, so it makes sense that their solutions were different.
That’s why Edward Jones advisors may want to resist starting due diligence with, “Where are other advisors going?”
A better place to start may be, “What am I trying to accomplish?”
The answer can lead you somewhere you hadn’t considered. Or, as Blake’s first round of due diligence showed, it may confirm that staying where you are is still the right choice.
Either way, you’ve made that decision based on what your business, your clients, and your future actually require—not simply on what feels familiar.
3 Key Takeaways
- The most familiar destination isn’t necessarily the right one.
Advisors often begin by looking at firms and models they already know. A broader evaluation can uncover options that better align with their specific goals for the business. - Exploring your options doesn’t mean you have to leave.
Blake Cason initially explored alternatives and ultimately decided to remain at Edward Jones. Years later, as his business and priorities evolved, revisiting the landscape led him to a different answer. - Your goals should drive the model—not the other way around.
Greater autonomy and equity, the flexibility to build a larger enterprise, and greater control over succession each led these advisors toward different solutions.
Important Questions to Ask Yourself
- What am I ultimately trying to accomplish by considering a change?
- Which aspects of my current firm and business model do I most want to preserve?
- Where do I want greater autonomy, flexibility, or control?
- Do I want to build a larger enterprise through recruiting, acquisitions, or expanded services?
- How important are ownership and enterprise value to my long-term goals?
- What infrastructure, technology, support, and culture am I unwilling to give up?
- How does succession factor into my plans—and how much control do I want over who ultimately serves my clients?
- Am I evaluating the broader landscape, or primarily considering firms and models that already feel familiar?
- Could exploring my options ultimately reinforce that staying where I am is the right decision?
FAQs
Why do Edward Jones advisors consider changing firms?
There is no single reason. Advisors may be looking for greater autonomy, different economics, more marketing flexibility, ownership opportunities, expanded services, greater enterprise value, or more control over succession. The right solution depends on what the advisor wants to accomplish.
Where do Edward Jones advisors go when they leave?
There is no single destination or business model that works for every advisor. The three advisors profiled here chose Steward Partners, LPL Financial, and Raymond James based on very different business and personal objectives.
How should a financial advisor choose a new firm or business model?
Start by defining what you want the next chapter of your business to provide. Consider autonomy, economics, ownership, infrastructure, technology, culture, growth opportunities, client needs, and succession before narrowing the universe of firms and models.
Does exploring other firms mean an advisor should leave Edward Jones?
No. Exploring can confirm that an advisor’s current firm remains the right choice. Blake Cason initially evaluated alternatives and chose to stay at Edward Jones before revisiting the market several years later as his practice and priorities evolved.
What are the advantages of joining a financial advisor team?
For some advisors, joining a team can provide greater depth, continuity, and access to a broader range of expertise and solutions. For Richelle Jordan, joining five other advisors created the opportunity to collaborate on client needs, draw on different perspectives, and provide clients with the resources and support of a larger team.
How can changing firms affect an advisor’s enterprise value?
Depending on the model, a transition can create opportunities to participate more directly in the value of the business, pursue recruiting or acquisitions, or establish a succession strategy that allows the advisor to monetize the practice differently. Dan’s experience illustrate how enterprise value can factor into a transition decision.
