| A.G. Edwards, Inc. | |
|---|---|
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| Type | Public |
| Founded | 1887 |
| Headquarters | St. Louis, MO, U.S. |
| Key people | Robert Bagby: Chairman and CEO |
| Industry | Finance and Insurance |
| Revenue | $2.74 billion USD 2006 |
| Employees | 15,480 |
| Website | www.agedwards.com |
A.G. Edwards, Inc. is a financial services holding company; its principal wholly owned subsidiary is A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc., which operates as a full-service securities broker-dealer in the United States and Europe. The firm provides securities and commodities brokerage, investment banking, trust services, asset management, financial and retirement planning, private client services, investment management, and other related financial services to individual, governmental, and institutional clients. A.G. Edwards is a member of the New York Stock Exchange and all other major stock and commodities exchanges. The firm's global headquarters are located in St. Louis, Missouri. As of February 28, 2006, it had 738 locations in 50 states, the District of Columbia, London, and Geneva. The company serves its clients through its branch-office networks staffed with approximately 7,000 financial consultants.
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History
The Company was founded in 1887 when General Albert Gallatin Edwards and his son opened for business in St. Louis. Among the first brokerage firms to go public in the 1970s, A.G. Edwards has since grown from its regional roots into one of the more recognizable brands in financial services. Today, American television viewers will recognize the A.G. Edwards 'nest egg' as part of the firm's national branding strategy which includes monthly calculation of the National Nest Egg Score, a relative measure of US saving and investment habits. The company's current tagline is Fully Invested In Our Clients.
Merger
On May 31, 2007, the company announced plans to be acquired by Wachovia Corp. in a $6.8 billion deal. [1] On September 28, 2007, the company's shareholders voted in favor of the merger with Wachovia. Wachovia has stated that it will move the headquarters of Wachovia Securities from Richmond, VA to St. Louis, MO. On October 1, 2007, the deal was finalized and A.G. Edwards became a wholly owned subsidiary of Wachovia Corporation.[2]
Controversy
In December 2001, Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin launched a civil complaint against A.G. Edwards in response to a string of fraud allegations against a former broker of the company, William "Buck" McHugh, by retirees of the former Boston Edison. The complaint cites A.G. Edwards for its failure to properly supervise McHugh as he steered over $1 million of the retirees' severance money into failed investments between 1996 and 2001.
