Edward Jones has cleared the decks of nine class action lawsuits broght after regulators accused the brokerage form of failing to inform investors of revenue sharing payments it collected from mutual fund firms in exchange for a higher profile on the shelves of its fund market. The suits were filed two and a half years ago.

The St. Louis-based brokerage firm agreed to pay $55 million cash to cover the plaintiffs' legal fees and compensation for former Edward Jones clients and $72.5 million non-cash vouchers that will be provided to clients over three year. The settlement will be presented in court in September and must still be approved by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri before taking effect. The class action settlement agreement includes purchasers and holders of any preferred fund family from Jan. 1, 1999, through Dec. 31, 2004.

"We believe the 2004 settlement agreement with regulators addressed all the relevant concerns regarding this issue," said James D. Weddle, managing partner of Edward Jones. "However, because we do not believe our clients, our associates or our firm would benefit from a prolonged legal battle we've decided to settle the class action suits."

Edward Jones settled the issues with regulators in 2004. Those agreements included deals with the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the New York Stock Exchange Group, Inc., and the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (NASD).

The brokerage firm does not offer any of its own mutual funds. 

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