For the fourth year out of the past five, the financial-services firm Edward Jones ranks highest in investor satisfaction with full service brokerage firms.

That is according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Full Service Investor Satisfaction Study, the three local Edward Jones financial advisers in Moore County -- Craig Stokes, Greg Grimshaw and Eric Megert -- recently announced.

The study measures overall investor satisfaction with full service investment firms based on six factors: account offerings, convenience, commissions and fees, financial adviser, investment performance and account statements. The J.D. Power and Associates study found that Edward Jones performed particularly well in convenience and account statements, a news release said.

Edward Jones prides itself on giving their investors a personal, one-on-one relationship personified by their Web site communication of "A bad day is when I don't meet any clients face-to-face," the news release said.

Edward Jones ranked highest in investor satisfaction by J.D. Power and Associates in 2005, 2006 and 2007, and highest in 2002 in a tie, when the study began. Edward Jones in Canada also twice ranked highest in the J.D. Power and Associates Canadian Full Service Investor Satisfaction Study.

Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services company operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, performance improvement, training and customer satisfaction. The firm's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually.

The 2009 Full Service Investor Satisfaction Study is based on responses from more than 4,400 investors who primarily invest with one of the 21 firms included in the study. The study was fielded in the spring 2009.

Edward Jones provides financial services for individual investors in the United States and, through its affiliates, in Canada and the United Kingdom. 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 company said in the news release.

The firm's 12,000-plus financial advisers work directly with more than 8 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, which ranked No. 2 on Fortune magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For 2009," is headquartered in St. Louis.

The Edward Jones interactive Web site is located at www.edwardjones.com, and its recruiting Web site is www. careers.edwardjones.com.