Headquarters Shawnee Mission | Founded 1937 | |
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Traded as NYSE: WDR
S&P 400 Component Stock price WDR (NYSE) US$ 16.44 +0.23 (+1.42%)6 Apr, 1:24 PM GMT-4 - Disclaimer CEO Henry John Herrmann (25 May 2005–) Subsidiaries IVY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT CO Profiles | ||
Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. (NYSE: WDR) is an American asset management and financial planning company founded in 1937. It has been a publicly traded company since 1998, and has its headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas. It operates asset management and distribution subsidiaries, including Ivy Investment Management Company and Waddell & Reed Investment Management Company.
The company distributes products through three primary channels, the Advisors channel (a network of personal financial advisors around the country); the Wholesale channel (unaffilated broker/dealers, registered investment advisors and retirement platforms); and the Institutional channel (pension plans, defined benefit plans and endowments).
History
The company traces its history to September 3, 1937 when it was founded by Chauncey Waddell and Cameron Reed. The company was one of the first to sell funds following the Investment Company Act of 1940. Two of its funds—United Income Fund and United Accumulative Fund—were among the first mutual funds in the United States. Its first offices were in department stores. Continental Investment Corporation of Boston bought Waddell & Reed for $82.5 million in 1969. Liberty National Insurance Holding Company, later renamed Torchmark Corporation acquired it for $160 million in 1981. Torchmark spun it off in 1998 in a deal where for 10 Torchmark shares held, Torchmark shareholders received 3 shares of Waddell & Reed.