While St. Louis is widely known for its abundant share of national corporate headquarters, what perhaps is not as well known is the fact that, next to Wall Street, more investment brokers call St. Louis home than any other area besides New York. To highlight this important sector, this month's St. Louis Commerce Magazine takes an in-depth look at St. Louis in its continuing role as the "Wall Street of the Heartland."
With the move of Wachovia Securities from Richmond, Va. to downtown St. Louis in conjunction with its recent $6.8 billion merger with A.G. Edwards, Wachovia Securities now ranks as the 2nd largest brokerage firm in the country, behind only Merrill Lynch, with 15,000 financial advisors and $1.1 trillion in client assets.
To welcome Wachovia Securities to town, the RCGA recently held a welcome session for brokerage CEO Danny Ludeman and 15 of the firm's top executives, along with RCGA leaders.
This month's cover story explores what Ludeman and his team have in store for Wachovia Securities and its role in
St. Louis. The brokerage expects to have a total of 500 to 1,000 more employees located in St. Louis once the merger is complete.
Edward Jones, the largest privately held brokerage in the country, is also growing. Managing Partner Jim Weddle and his colleagues have surpassed 10,000 offices throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The brokerage plans to grow to 17,500 financial advisors by 2012. This month's issue takes a closer look at a $260 million campus expansions underway at Edward Jones' Des Peres headquarters and its Maryland Heights complex.
Meanwhile, Stifel Nicolaus is making national news with its acquisitions. It acquired the legendary Legg Mason Capital Markets in Baltimore. It has continued strategic acquisitions with the private client group of Minneapolis-based Miller Johnson Steichen Kinnard, the First Service Bank now named Stifel Bank & Trust, and further planned expansions to the east and southeast with the acquisition of Ryan Beck.
Another key player in the "Wall Street of the Heartland" is Scottrade, the dynamic and growing discount, stock-brokerage firm. With the naming rights for the NHL St. Louis Blues' home, now the Scottrade Center, it continues to get national attention.
Talking about a spotlight on
St. Louis, the St. Louis region was singled out recently by the National Civic League for the prestigious All-America City Award. St. Louis was the only major metro region in the nation so honored, among more than 100 nominees. This was the first All-America City Award for St. Louis since 1956.
Among the reasons why St. Louis was acknowledged is its continuing strong quality of life. The feature story "Gateway to Giving" highlights how generous individuals and companies are in St. Louis. This article is published at the start of the 2008 United Way of Greater St. Louis giving campaign. The campaign this year is co-chaired by Andy Taylor, chairman and CEO of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and Doug Albrecht, Bodley Group chairman and former chairman and CEO of Centric Group.
Another quality of life dimension in
St. Louis is the Arts and Education Council, which supports arts and cultural organizations, large and small, in town. A&E's annual campaign is also underway. The A&E board recently announced the recruitment of Cynthia Prost to succeed Jim Weidman as president of this important civic institution.
In the context of corporate philanthropy, Douglas Graham covers some inspiring examples in our region by HOK, Pfizer, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and Monsanto.
This month's "Day in the Work Life" features the person behind one of our region's most recent corporate headquarter moves to St. Louis, namely, David Hoffman, CEO of DHR International, the 5th largest executive search firm in the United States.
Finally, in this month's "Spotlight" Rob Reeg, the new president of global technology and operations for MasterCard Worldwide in O'Fallon, Mo. Rob is a valued long-time leader of MasterCard. Among his accomplishments, he helped develop the company's processing platform and seamless global network.
Enjoy reading this issue of St. Louis Commerce Magazine.
RICHARD C.D. FLEMING
Publisher
St. Louis Commerce Magazine
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