A.G. Edwards
Encyclopedia
A.G. Edwards, Inc. was an American financial services holding company; its principal wholly owned subsidiary was A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc., which operated as a full-service securities broker-dealer
in the United States and Europe. The firm was acquired by Wachovia Securities, which later was acquired by Wells Fargo Advisors. The firm provided 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 was a member of the New York Stock Exchange
and other major stock and commodities exchanges. The firm's global headquarters were located in the Downtown West
area of St. Louis, Missouri
. The company traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol
AGE.
and his son opened for business in St. Louis. It was the first St. Louis brokerage to handle transactions on the New York Stock Exchange, buying a seat on the NYSE in 1898.
Because of increased capital needs for its branch system, A.G. Edwards was among the first brokerage firms to go public. On November 1971, 445,000 shares of stock were offered to the public at $12 per share.
As of March 29, 2007, the company had over 740 locations in 50 states, the District of Columbia, London, and Geneva. The company served its clients through its branch-office networks staffed with 6,618 financial consultants, managing $374 billion in total client assets, and $44 billion in fee-based accounts. During its fiscal year 2007, ending February 28th, A.G. Edwards had net revenues of $3,110,500,000 and net earnings of $331,400,000.
On May 31, 2007, the company announced that it would be acquired by Wachovia Corporation in a $6.8 billion deal. On September 28, 2007, the company's shareholders voted in favor of the acquisition by Wachovia. The acquisition closed on October 1, 2007, and A.G. Edwards became a wholly owned subsidiary of Wachovia Corporation.
Following the acquisition, Wachovia moved the world headquarters of combined retail brokerage, Wachovia Securities
, from Richmond, Virginia
to A.G. Edwards' previous headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri
. Later, Wachovia eliminated the A.G. Edwards brand in favor of Wachovia Securities.
On December 31, 2008, Wachovia Corporation was purchased by Wells Fargo
& Co after the bank was nearly taken over by the FDIC. Wachovia had purchased Golden West Financial and its subsidiary World Savings in mid-2007. The failure of the sub-prime market, which made up most of World Saving's nearly $200 billion mortgage portfolio, put significant strain on Wachovia and eventually caused its collapse. On July 1, 2009, Wachovia Securities was renamed Wells Fargo Advisors and Wells Fargo Investments, which included the former A.G. Edwards business lines.
Broker-dealer
A broker-dealer is a term used in United States financial services regulations. It is a natural person, a company or other organization that trades securities for its own account or on behalf of its customers....
in the United States and Europe. The firm was acquired by Wachovia Securities, which later was acquired by Wells Fargo Advisors. The firm provided 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 was a member of the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
and other major stock and commodities exchanges. The firm's global headquarters were located in the Downtown West
Downtown West, St. Louis
Downtown West is a neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. It is, as the name suggests, a section of downtown that is further inland, west from the banks of the Mississippi river. St. Louis City Hall, the Peabody Opera House, the Scottrade Center arena, and St. Louis Union Station are all located in...
area of St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. The company traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol
Ticker symbol
A stock symbol or ticker symbol is a short abbreviation used to uniquely identify publicly traded shares of a particular stock on a particular stock market. A stock symbol may consist of letters, numbers or a combination of both. "Ticker symbol" refers to the symbols that were printed on the ticker...
AGE.
History
The company was founded in 1887 when Albert Gallatin EdwardsAlbert Gallatin Edwards
Albert Gallatin Edwards was an Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury under President of the United States Abraham Lincoln and founder of brokerage firm A. G. Edwards....
and his son opened for business in St. Louis. It was the first St. Louis brokerage to handle transactions on the New York Stock Exchange, buying a seat on the NYSE in 1898.
Because of increased capital needs for its branch system, A.G. Edwards was among the first brokerage firms to go public. On November 1971, 445,000 shares of stock were offered to the public at $12 per share.
As of March 29, 2007, the company had over 740 locations in 50 states, the District of Columbia, London, and Geneva. The company served its clients through its branch-office networks staffed with 6,618 financial consultants, managing $374 billion in total client assets, and $44 billion in fee-based accounts. During its fiscal year 2007, ending February 28th, A.G. Edwards had net revenues of $3,110,500,000 and net earnings of $331,400,000.
On May 31, 2007, the company announced that it would be acquired by Wachovia Corporation in a $6.8 billion deal. On September 28, 2007, the company's shareholders voted in favor of the acquisition by Wachovia. The acquisition closed on October 1, 2007, and A.G. Edwards became a wholly owned subsidiary of Wachovia Corporation.
Following the acquisition, Wachovia moved the world headquarters of combined retail brokerage, Wachovia Securities
Wachovia Securities
Wells Fargo Advisors, is a subsidiary of Wells Fargo, located in St. Louis, Missouri. It is the second largest brokerage firm in the United States as of October 1, 2007 with $1.17 trillion retail client assets under management....
, from Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
to A.G. Edwards' previous headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. Later, Wachovia eliminated the A.G. Edwards brand in favor of Wachovia Securities.
On December 31, 2008, Wachovia Corporation was purchased by Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational diversified financial services company with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization. Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home...
& Co after the bank was nearly taken over by the FDIC. Wachovia had purchased Golden West Financial and its subsidiary World Savings in mid-2007. The failure of the sub-prime market, which made up most of World Saving's nearly $200 billion mortgage portfolio, put significant strain on Wachovia and eventually caused its collapse. On July 1, 2009, Wachovia Securities was renamed Wells Fargo Advisors and Wells Fargo Investments, which included the former A.G. Edwards business lines.
Benjamin Edwards III
Former CEO, Benjamin Edwards III, who presided over A.G. Edwards as it grew from a St. Louis regional brokerage firm into one of the largest in the nation, died April 20, 2009 at the age of 77.External links
- A. G. Edwards (Archive