Morgan Keegan & Company
Encyclopedia
Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc. is the investment banking
, securities brokerage
, trust, and asset management division of Regions Financial Corporation. The company was founded in 1969 in Memphis, Tennessee
and has over 450 offices in 20 states, over 4,000 employees, and over $890 million in equity capital. It is headquartered in the eponymous Morgan Keegan Tower
in downtown Memphis.
Since 2001 the company has been a subsidiary of Regions Financial Corporation. After Morgan Keegan was acquired by Regions, Regions' brokerage unit was incorporated into Morgan Keegan. After Regions merged with AmSouth Bancorporation
in 2006, AmSouth's brokerage business also became a part of Morgan Keegan. Since the merger, the Birmingham
office has become the company's second largest office and is the headquarters location for Regions Morgan Keegan Trust
.
Its primary footprint is the southeastern U.S., serving Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida. In fact, Allen Morgan has often been quoted as saying, "if they don't serve grits, we won't have an office there." However, it also has retail offices in St. Louis
, Indianapolis
, and Rockville, MD
, as well as institutional offices in Chicago
, Boston
, and New York City
.
, and James Keegan along with Robert Gooch, Jr., and accountant Joseph C. Weller. Morgan had been with Courts & Co., Keegan was previously an over-the-counter trader at Equitable Securities, and Gooch had been with Kohlmeyer & Co.
At the end of its first year, the company had 13 employees and $614,000 in capital. In 1970, MK secured a seat on the New York Stock Exchange
. Within three years, MK had set up a fixed income
division and opened its first branch office. By 1976, MK had established an investment banking
division.
. In 1985, the company stock was listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol "MOR" and corporate revenues exceeded $50 million for the first time. Keegan left the firm in 1985.
The growing firm needed more space. In April 1984, construction began on the new Morgan Keegan Tower in downtown Memphis, as the old Hotel King Cotton hotel at Jefferson and Front streets was dynamited. Construction was completed in 1985. At 21 stories and 403 feet tall (including the spire), it is the second highest building in Memphis. In a nod to the past, the four giant stone griffin
s — a mythological creature with the body of a lion and the wings and head of an eagle - that adorned the former Hotel King Cotton are displayed in the atrium of the MK Tower.
Also in 1985,William W. "Bill" Deupree, Jr., who joined MK in 1972, was named President; a position he would hold until 1996. Deupree also served as a Director of the Securities Industry Association from 1992 to 1995 and on the Regional Advisory Board of the New York Stock Exchange from 1991 to 1995.
In 1988, MK would make its first major acquisition, buying Jackson, Mississippi-based brokerage Geary & Patterson. A year later, MK would make three more acquisitions. It snapped up T.J. Raney & Sons, Arkansas' oldest investment banking firm, and George M. Wood & Company in Montgomery, Alabama, along with Louisiana investment firm of Scharff & Jones. It was also the same year that MK would rank first in nation in underwriting taxable housing bonds.
The mid-1990s were fast-paced at MK, as its footprint expanded tremendously. In 1992, it purchased Cumberland Securities of Knoxville
. In 1993, MK would make two more deals, buying Porter, White & Yardley of Birmingham
, Alabama
, and Capitol Securities Group of Texas
. The next year, MK would make yet another two deals, purchasing J. Lee Peeler & Co. of North Carolina
and Louisville
-based Commonwealth Securities Group. In 1995, MK bought Trust Company of Chattanooga
and renamed it Morgan Trust Company. It was the same year that MK acquired super agent Jimmy Sexton and Athletic Resource Management, a Memphis-based sports agency representing players in the National Basketball Association
, National Football League
and Major League Baseball
. In 1997, it swallowed two more outfits, Atlanta-based underwriting firm Knox, Wall & Co., and investment manager Weibel, Huffman, Keegan.
. As such, Morgan joined the Regions board of directors and eventually became vice chairman of Regions. He retired from the RF board at the end of 2007.
With the merger of Regions complete in 2001, MK folded the former Regions Investment Company into existing operations, bringing the total financial advisor
count to roughly 900. In 2002, MK added two more NYSE seats, bringing its total to five. The seats were estimated to be worth $10 million total at the time.
Following the Regions and Union Planters Bank merger in 2004, MK added more than 70 new satellite locations in Union Planters Banks. MK bought Albrecht & Associates in 2005, which helps sell oil and gas properties. That same year, MK also extended its lease at this namesake headquarters in downtown Memphis through 2015. In 2007, MK absorbed AmSouth Investment Services, as a result of the Regions and AmSouth Bank merger.
In recent years, Morgan Keegan has been bolstering to its investment banking operations. In June 2007, MK bought
Shattuck Hammond Partners. In December 2008, it bought Atlanta-based merger advisory firm Burke Capital and boutique firm Revolution Partners, which specializes in middle-market technology companies. In June 2009, it added strategic acquisition specialists with Spectrum Capital Partners.
Joe Weller was the Treasurer
and chief financial officer
since its founding in 1969. He added the title of Corporate Secretary
when MK went public in 1983. Upon Weller's retirement in 2006, Charles D. Maxwell was named CFO, secretary and treasurer.
Bill Deupree was president
from 1985 until 1996. In 2000, Stephen P. Laffey became president
and chief operating officer
and G. Douglas "Doug" Edwards as vice chairman. Both retained prior titles, Laffey as president of Equity Capital Markets and Edwards as president of Fixed Income Capital Markets. However, Laffey would leave abruptly roughly eight months later. As a result, Edwards would assume the president title and the COO position was dropped. In 2003, Morgan passed the CEO title to Edwards, who served in that capacity until his retirement in 2008.
On February 27, 2008, John C. Carson, Jr., was named as the third CEO of Morgan Keegan. Carson had been the head of fixed income for the firm since he joined in 1994. Additionally, R. Patrick Kruczek, was named as president
and chief operating officer
. Kruczek, who joined in 1993, had been the chief administrative officer
since 2006.
In November 2009, James A. Parrish announced that he was stepping down as the president of the Private Client Group, which is essentially the retail sales force. Eastern Regional President Richard S. "Dick" Ferguson will succeed Parrish on January 1, 2010.
Investment banking
An investment bank is a financial institution that assists individuals, corporations and governments in raising capital by underwriting and/or acting as the client's agent in the issuance of securities...
, securities brokerage
Stock broker
A stock broker or stockbroker is a regulated professional broker who buys and sells shares and other securities through market makers or Agency Only Firms on behalf of investors...
, trust, and asset management division of Regions Financial Corporation. The company was founded in 1969 in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
and has over 450 offices in 20 states, over 4,000 employees, and over $890 million in equity capital. It is headquartered in the eponymous Morgan Keegan Tower
Morgan Keegan Tower
Morgan Keegan Tower is a 21-story skyscraper and is the second tallest building in Memphis, Tennessee. The building is located at the corner of North Front Street and Jefferson Avenue and South Main Street...
in downtown Memphis.
Since 2001 the company has been a subsidiary of Regions Financial Corporation. After Morgan Keegan was acquired by Regions, Regions' brokerage unit was incorporated into Morgan Keegan. After Regions merged with AmSouth Bancorporation
AmSouth Bancorporation
AmSouth Bancorporation was a banking company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, and operated for its final year in existence as a bank holding company of Regions Financial Corporation after a merger between the two banks. AmSouth was previously known as First National Bank of Birmingham, which...
in 2006, AmSouth's brokerage business also became a part of Morgan Keegan. Since the merger, the Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
office has become the company's second largest office and is the headquarters location for Regions Morgan Keegan Trust
Regions Morgan Keegan Trust
Regions Morgan Keegan Trust, is the trust division of Regions Financial Corporation and its subsidiary Morgan Keegan & Company. The company, headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama and was created in 2002 when Regions Trust was combined with Morgan Keegan Trust to create Regions Morgan Keegan Trust...
.
Its primary footprint is the southeastern U.S., serving Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida. In fact, Allen Morgan has often been quoted as saying, "if they don't serve grits, we won't have an office there." However, it also has retail offices in St. Louis
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...
, Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, and Rockville, MD
Rockville, Maryland
Rockville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a major incorporated city in the central part of Montgomery County and forms part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. The 2010 U.S...
, as well as institutional offices in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
The Founding
The firm was founded in Memphis in 1969 by Allen B. Morgan, Jr.Allen B. Morgan, Jr.
Allen Benners Morgan, Jr. is an American business man who was among the founders and served as chairman and CEO of regional brokerage firm Morgan Keegan & Company, based in Memphis, Tennessee.-Early life:...
, and James Keegan along with Robert Gooch, Jr., and accountant Joseph C. Weller. Morgan had been with Courts & Co., Keegan was previously an over-the-counter trader at Equitable Securities, and Gooch had been with Kohlmeyer & Co.
At the end of its first year, the company had 13 employees and $614,000 in capital. In 1970, MK secured a seat on 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...
. Within three years, MK had set up a fixed income
Fixed income
Fixed income refers to any type of investment that is not equity, which obligates the borrower/issuer to make payments on a fixed schedule, even if the number of the payments may be variable....
division and opened its first branch office. By 1976, MK had established an investment banking
Investment banking
An investment bank is a financial institution that assists individuals, corporations and governments in raising capital by underwriting and/or acting as the client's agent in the issuance of securities...
division.
The 1980s
In 1983, the company sold shares to the public through an initial public offeringInitial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
. In 1985, the company stock was listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol "MOR" and corporate revenues exceeded $50 million for the first time. Keegan left the firm in 1985.
The growing firm needed more space. In April 1984, construction began on the new Morgan Keegan Tower in downtown Memphis, as the old Hotel King Cotton hotel at Jefferson and Front streets was dynamited. Construction was completed in 1985. At 21 stories and 403 feet tall (including the spire), it is the second highest building in Memphis. In a nod to the past, the four giant stone griffin
Griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle...
s — a mythological creature with the body of a lion and the wings and head of an eagle - that adorned the former Hotel King Cotton are displayed in the atrium of the MK Tower.
Also in 1985,William W. "Bill" Deupree, Jr., who joined MK in 1972, was named President; a position he would hold until 1996. Deupree also served as a Director of the Securities Industry Association from 1992 to 1995 and on the Regional Advisory Board of the New York Stock Exchange from 1991 to 1995.
In 1988, MK would make its first major acquisition, buying Jackson, Mississippi-based brokerage Geary & Patterson. A year later, MK would make three more acquisitions. It snapped up T.J. Raney & Sons, Arkansas' oldest investment banking firm, and George M. Wood & Company in Montgomery, Alabama, along with Louisiana investment firm of Scharff & Jones. It was also the same year that MK would rank first in nation in underwriting taxable housing bonds.
The 1990s
By 1991, revenues reached the $100 million mark and stockholders equity was roughly $50 million. In just two more years, revenues doubled to $200 million.The mid-1990s were fast-paced at MK, as its footprint expanded tremendously. In 1992, it purchased Cumberland Securities of Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
. In 1993, MK would make two more deals, buying Porter, White & Yardley of Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, and Capitol Securities Group of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. The next year, MK would make yet another two deals, purchasing J. Lee Peeler & Co. of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
and Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
-based Commonwealth Securities Group. In 1995, MK bought Trust Company of Chattanooga
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
and renamed it Morgan Trust Company. It was the same year that MK acquired super agent Jimmy Sexton and Athletic Resource Management, a Memphis-based sports agency representing players in the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
, National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
and Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
. In 1997, it swallowed two more outfits, Atlanta-based underwriting firm Knox, Wall & Co., and investment manager Weibel, Huffman, Keegan.
The 2000s
During the merger frenzy within regional brokerage of the late 1990s and early 2000s, the firm was sold to Regions Financial Corporation for $789 million. Due to his concentration in Morgan Keegan stock at that time of the merger, Morgan remains the largest non-institutional shareholders of Regions, according to BloombergBloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg L.P. is an American privately held financial software, media, and data company. Bloomberg makes up one third of the $16 billion global financial data market with estimated revenue of $6.9 billion. Bloomberg L.P...
. As such, Morgan joined the Regions board of directors and eventually became vice chairman of Regions. He retired from the RF board at the end of 2007.
With the merger of Regions complete in 2001, MK folded the former Regions Investment Company into existing operations, bringing the total financial advisor
Financial adviser
A financial adviser, is a professional who renders financial services to individuals, businesses and governments. This can involve investment advice, which may include pension planning, and/or advice on life insurance and other insurances such as income protection insurance, critical illness...
count to roughly 900. In 2002, MK added two more NYSE seats, bringing its total to five. The seats were estimated to be worth $10 million total at the time.
Following the Regions and Union Planters Bank merger in 2004, MK added more than 70 new satellite locations in Union Planters Banks. MK bought Albrecht & Associates in 2005, which helps sell oil and gas properties. That same year, MK also extended its lease at this namesake headquarters in downtown Memphis through 2015. In 2007, MK absorbed AmSouth Investment Services, as a result of the Regions and AmSouth Bank merger.
In recent years, Morgan Keegan has been bolstering to its investment banking operations. In June 2007, MK bought
Shattuck Hammond Partners. In December 2008, it bought Atlanta-based merger advisory firm Burke Capital and boutique firm Revolution Partners, which specializes in middle-market technology companies. In June 2009, it added strategic acquisition specialists with Spectrum Capital Partners.
Management
The firm's day-to-day operations were run by Allen Morgan, as chairman and CEO, from 1969 until 2003. Yet, Morgan retained the chairman's title until his retirement on December 31, 2007. Today, he is the firm's chairman emeritus.Joe Weller was the Treasurer
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
and chief financial officer
Chief financial officer
The chief financial officer or Chief financial and operating officer is a corporate officer primarily responsible for managing the financial risks of the corporation. This officer is also responsible for financial planning and record-keeping, as well as financial reporting to higher management...
since its founding in 1969. He added the title of Corporate Secretary
Company secretary
A company secretary is a senior position in a private company or public organisation, normally in the form of a managerial position or above. In the United States it is known as a corporate secretary....
when MK went public in 1983. Upon Weller's retirement in 2006, Charles D. Maxwell was named CFO, secretary and treasurer.
Bill Deupree was president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
from 1985 until 1996. In 2000, Stephen P. Laffey became president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
and chief operating officer
Chief operating officer
A Chief Operating Officer or Director of Operations can be one of the highest-ranking executives in an organization and comprises part of the "C-Suite"...
and G. Douglas "Doug" Edwards as vice chairman. Both retained prior titles, Laffey as president of Equity Capital Markets and Edwards as president of Fixed Income Capital Markets. However, Laffey would leave abruptly roughly eight months later. As a result, Edwards would assume the president title and the COO position was dropped. In 2003, Morgan passed the CEO title to Edwards, who served in that capacity until his retirement in 2008.
On February 27, 2008, John C. Carson, Jr., was named as the third CEO of Morgan Keegan. Carson had been the head of fixed income for the firm since he joined in 1994. Additionally, R. Patrick Kruczek, was named as president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
and chief operating officer
Chief operating officer
A Chief Operating Officer or Director of Operations can be one of the highest-ranking executives in an organization and comprises part of the "C-Suite"...
. Kruczek, who joined in 1993, had been the chief administrative officer
Chief administrative officer
A chief administrative officer is responsible for administrative management of private, public or governmental corporations. The CAO is one of the highest ranking members of an organization, managing daily operations and usually reporting directly to the chief executive officer. In some companies,...
since 2006.
In November 2009, James A. Parrish announced that he was stepping down as the president of the Private Client Group, which is essentially the retail sales force. Eastern Regional President Richard S. "Dick" Ferguson will succeed Parrish on January 1, 2010.