More on $75 million Edward Jones settlement.
December 28, 2004
Associated Press
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Edward D. Jones & Co.
LP's top executive
is stepping down at the end of next year,
agreeing to pay
about $3 million of a $75 million settlement
with the
Justice Department over claims tied to the
company's mutual
fund sales practices.
Douglas Hill's planned exodus as managing
general partner
-- a title he has held for a year -- was revealed
Monday in
a filing by the suburban St. Louis-based brokerage firm
with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
The announcement came nearly a week after
Edward Jones
agreed to pay $75 million to settle allegations
of improper
disclosure of revenue-sharing payments. In
Monday's filing,
the company called Hill's roughly $3 million
payout ``a
disproportionate share.''
The company, which did not specify possible
payouts by any
other executives, said it would take a $50
million charge
against its fourth-quarter earnings. The other
$25 million
will come from existing legal reserves.
In a letter Monday to Edward Jones employees,
60-year-old
Hill said he will remain a partner with the
company after
vacating his management position "and
contribute as
effectively as I can to the success of the
firm.''
Hill said he agreed to "voluntarily
retire,'' though the
settlement agreement calls for a "reconstituted''
Edward
Jones executive committee. Monday's SEC filing
also noted
that two general partners of The Jones Financial
Cos. LLP,
Darryl Pope and Michael Holmes, will retire
Friday. Both
were members of the executive committee.
"As you can imagine, when I was named
to this position I
expected to hold it until reaching the firm's
mandatory
retirement age of 65,'' Hill wrote in Monday's
letter. In
retiring, "I agreed to this condition
to clear the way for
a settlement of these issues so all of us
can put the
dispute behind us and focus on helping our
clients meet
their long-term financial needs.''