Marie Taylor, Financial Advisor
West Hempstead, NY

Marie Taylor was tired of the commute. Each day before her job at a big bank, she spent two hours commuting from the suburbs, stopping to drop off her kids in Brooklyn before finally heading into the city – and the reverse each afternoon. Balancing long hours with caring for her young children and elderly mother felt impossible.

“I came home one day and found my mom had been laying on the kitchen floor for hours. She’d fallen, spilled a pot and couldn’t call for help. That was the day I decided I couldn’t commute anymore,” said Taylor.

Taylor found an opportunity that offered greater autonomy and a location closer to home as an Edward Jones financial advisor. Since making the jump 23 years ago, Taylor has run a thriving practice in West Hempstead, NY. Edward Jones financial advisors, like Taylor, have the freedom and flexibility to build unique practices aligned to their professional goals and personal purpose.

“The flexibility is what’s kept me here so long,” said Taylor. “I don’t have to ask permission to leave. I’m responsible for my schedule. When my kids were young, this meant I could meet with a teacher or go check on my mother.”

Edward Jones combines the strength of a Fortune 500®* firm with a community-first model—branch offices woven into neighborhoods across North America. This gives financial advisors the ability to work closer to home while building meaningful relationships with clients and creating impact in their communities.

For Taylor, that cut a 2-hour commute to 10 minutes. She also believes community-based branch office benefits her clients and ultimately drives the success of her practice.

“My community location is a positive, because people feel comfortable,” said Taylor “They can come in, have coffee. It feels like home to them. We’re part of the community.”

Serving clients and communities is at the core of Edward Jones’ history and lives on today in the firm’s purpose: to partner for positive impact to improve the lives of our clients and colleagues, and together, better communities and society.

That purpose creates a culture where financial advisors have the flexibility and choice to define success on their own terms. It’s an opportunity Taylor is passionate about sharing with other female financial advisors too.

*Fortune 500 published June 2025, data as of December 2024. Compensation paid for using, not obtaining, the rating.