OBITUARIES / PASSINGS / Benjamin Edwards III
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Benjamin Edwards III, 77, who presided over A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. as it grew from a regional brokerage firm based in St. Louis to one of the largest in the nation, died of prostate cancer Monday at his home in Naples, Fla.
The great-grandson of the company’s founder, Albert Gallatin Edwards, he joined the firm in 1956, became managing partner a decade later and president in 1967.
Under his leadership, A.G. Edwards grew from 44 offices with 300 financial consultants in 1965 to nearly 700 offices and 7,000 financial consultants by the time he retired in 2001.
Wachovia Corp. acquired A.G. Edwards for $6.8 billion in 2007. The combined brokerage unit, Wachovia Securities, became the second-largest American retail brokerage by number of brokers.
Edwards, who had firm roots in his primary home of St. Louis, expressed shock at the deal to sell Edwards to Wachovia.
Wells Fargo acquired Wachovia Corp. late last year.
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