Smith Barney
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Smith Barney | |
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| Type | Subsidiary of Citigroup |
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| Founded | 1873 |
| Headquarters | New York, USA |
| Products | Investments |
| Website | www.smithbarney.com |
Smith Barney is a division of Citigroup Global Capital Markets Inc., a global, full-service financial firm, that provides brokerage, investment banking and asset management services to corporations, governments and individuals around the world. In 634 offices, Financial Advisors service 8.9 million domestic client accounts representing $1.227 trillion in client assets worldwide. Clients range from individual investors to small- and mid-sized businesses, as well as large corporations, non-profit organizations and family foundations.
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[edit] History
The Smith Barney story dates back to 19th century Philadelphia, where a young broker, Charles Barney, founded his firm in 1873 and a young investment banker, Edward B. Smith, started his in 1892. In 1932, Charles D. Barney & Co. and Edward B. Smith & Co. merged, forming Smith Barney & Co.
Recent timetable
1976 In 1976, Smith, Barney & Co. merged with Harris, Upham & Co. to form Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co.
1987 Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co. Inc. is acquired by Primerica, a publicly held financial services corporation.
1993 (July): Primerica acquires the retail brokerage and asset management operations of Shearson Lehman Brothers, and briefly combines them with Smith Barney. The short lived name of the new corporation was Smith Barney Shearson.
1993 (December): Smith Barney becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Travelers Group (formed by the acquisition of Travelers by Primerica).
1997 Smith Barney Holdings Inc., the brokerage arm of Travelers Group, is combined with Salomon Inc. to form investment bank Salomon Smith Barney Holdings Inc.
1998 October 8: All Citicorp and Travelers Group divisions merge to become Citigroup Inc.
[edit] Return of the Smith Barney name
In 2002, Citigroup rebranded its investment banking operations as "Citigroup Investment Bank", dropping the Salomon name. Parts of the brokerage and asset management business was named Smith Barney. The firm's brand name remains in the mind of American consumers through television commercials in which actor John Houseman proclaimed "Smith Barney makes money the old-fashioned way — we earn it."
