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DES PERES — Edward Jones is looking to catch up with its competitors by investing in new technology, essentially replacing workers at its headquarters here, analysts say.

Investment experts said that Edward Jones has been behind the curve for years, but this week’s news of a multi-year initiative that will reduce the size of its home office here, signals that the firm is working to catch up and modernize.

, executive vice president at Diamond Consultants, a New Jersey-based financial advising recruiting firm, said it is not uncommon for such firms to cut non-financial advisor roles. He pointed to Swiss banking giant , which laid off hundreds of workers in the past year. Still, potentially large layoffs at Edward Jones doesn’t mean the brokerage industry is struggling.

“This is not a side effect of the current backdrop of investing,� Diamond said. “Edward Jones is a unique animal.�

This week, Edward Jones told its local workforce that it plans to “reimagine� operations in St. Louis. The initiative will include layoffs, though the company, which has 5,476 local workers, would not detail how many employees will be affected, their job categories or a timeline of when to expect cuts. Because Edward Jones is a privately held company, decisions and plans made by ownership are not required by law to be publicly disclosed.

Diamond said these cuts could hurt Edward Jones in the long run as fewer support roles leaves financial advisors with fewer resources.

“ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ will no longer offer the same breadth of services, which will upset financial advisors,â€� Diamond said. “This type of move frustrates financial advisors because it signals that Edward Jones is penny-pinching and they’re more concerned about the bottom line.â€�

He called the St. Louis-based firm more susceptible to cuts as Edward Jones finds itself been one step behind its competitors, failing to invest in new technology and its people.

Edward Jones used to be a place where people were proud to work and was known for its culture, Diamond said, with a branch on every corner. Now, they’re “just like any other Wall Street� shop worried about money. And such shortfalls could lead to financial advisors taking their books to work at other investment firms.

“Firms signal to financial advisors how they value them,� Diamond said. “You got to spend money to make money.�

On Thursday, Edward Jones managing partner told trade publication ThinkAdvisor the firm doesn’t have a specific goal in mind for how many employees will be cut. She emphasized Edward Jones will not get rid of the St. Louis home office as things change.

“Internally, this is a time when folks with a growth mindset can step up and say, ‘I’ve seen where we’ve built up a little bit too much bureaucracy, where decision making has been a little too slow,’� Pennington said. “Folks with that mindset are stepping up and sharing their ideas about how we can all improve the organization.�

Pennington said initiative aims to reduce bureaucracy and invest in technology — including AI — to make advisor support services more efficient.

Juli Niemann, a longtime financial analyst who retired from Smith Moore & Co. in Clayton this year, said she wasn’t surprised to hear Edward Jones is making cuts as the industry embraces AI.

Over the years, Edward Jones has fallen behind competitors when it comes to things like technology for work management and back-office tasks, she said.

“AI is replacing everyone,� Niemann said. “It’s an industry thing. ‘We have to get leaner.’�

All brokerage firms are getting into AI, Niemann said, but Edward Jones is making waves with its layoff news as the company has historically been a very paternal and face-to-face operation. But when it comes down to it, Edward Jones wants to save money.

“With a lot of support staff, costs go way up,� Niemann explained. “At some point you got to look at what the cost is. You want the best bang for your buck.�