Edward D. Jones & Co. LP has agreed to pay a $100,000 fine and roughly $73,000 in restitution to settle claims by Connecticut’s banking regulator that it overcharged retail brokerage clients with unreasonable commissions, marking a key piece in a wider multistate crackdown on excessive trading fees.
The consent order, finalized Wednesday, follows an investigation led by the Connecticut Department of Banking, which found that Edward Jones’ commission practices violated fairness standards under state and federal securities law.
According to the order, the wealth management firm charged more than $11.2 million in excessive commissions nationwide between May 2020 and April 2025, covering approximately 781,240 equity transactions.
“Unreasonable” Fees on Small Trades
Investigators determined that 5,278 equity trades executed in Connecticut carried fees exceeding 5% of the principal amount, totaling $72,702.37 in inflated costs to customers.
“Numerous transactions included a commission well above the 5% guideline,” the consent order stated, citing FINRA Rule 2121.01, which uses the 5% figure as a benchmark for evaluating fair commissions.
The rule allows for flexibility based on context, but regulators said Edward Jones’ pattern of applying a $50 minimum commission disproportionately burdened small-dollar investors, making the fees “unreasonable.”
