Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. was an American asset management and financial planning company founded in 1937 in Kansas City, Missouri. It was a publicly traded company from 1998 to 2021, and briefly had its headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas, and was planning a move back to Downtown Kansas City before the company was sold. It operated asset management and distribution subsidiaries, including Ivy Investment Management Company and Waddell & Reed Investment Management Company.[2]
The company distributed products through three primary channels:
- Advisors channel (a network of personal financial advisors around the country);
- Wholesale channel (unaffiliated 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