An Albert Lea man has opened up a new Edward Jones office after mentoring under his brother and another financial adviser.

Now, instead of just one Edward Jones financial adviser in town with the last name of Irvine, there are two: Troy and Andrew Irvine.

Troy, 38, is based out of the former State Farm building, 1506 E. Main St., while Andrew, 27, is based out of an office at the Northbridge Mall, on the north side of the mall near Shopko. Troy’s office used to be at the mall location.

“It’s fun to share in the business with him and have him be a part of it,” Troy said. “If you can pick your competition, it’s kind of nice to do that.”

Troy said he started working for Edward Jones 12 years ago in Mankato.

Another financial adviser gave him some clients as part of the Edward Jones’ Goodknight Plan. The plan was named after Jim Goodknight of Joplin, Mo.

Troy said Goodknight’s business had grown so much he decided he wanted to share in his business. He gave a portion of his clients out to new advisers.

He said Goodknight did this probably about 10 times, and each time his business grew.

“It’s kind of like tithing,” he said. “You give at church, and then you receive so much more in return.”

Troy said he did something similar with his brother, Andrew, and gave him a “sizable” number of accounts to start off with.

“A lot of it is to help him, but a lot of it is to help the clients,” he said, noting this will allow him and his brother more time to spend with each client. “As your business grows, you want to do the best you can for them.”

Troy moved from his former location in Northbridge Mall to the address on Main Street in November, and Andrew took over the mall office.

The Edward Jones firm encourages advisers to have their own individual offices to give a more personal feel with clients, rather than combine several advisers into one location.

“It’s been fun getting acquainted with a lot of new clients,” Andrew said. “I look forward to growing my business in town here and serving individuals.”

Andrew said Troy and Alex Johnston, another Edward Jones financial adviser in Albert Lea, have been recruiting him for Edward Jones since junior high.

He attended college at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul and got hired by Edward Jones right out of college two years ago, first completing a program out of St. Louis.

He said he got the opportunity to move to Albert Lea and work with Johnston for a while, and then in November, he started his own office.

“It’s nice to be in our hometown and to be working with people we’ve known for a long time and grown up with,” Troy said. “It’s a nice place to live and a nice place to raise a family.”

Edward Jones serves nearly 7 million investors and has more offices than any other investment firm in America.

Its mission is to help clients achieve long-term financial goals, though anything from investments and retirement life insurance to long-term care.