The Early Years...
The Weeden family's involvement in the securities industry spans generations. The firm traces its roots in the business back to 1913, when Frank Weeden, the son of a sea captain, signed on as the first salesman for a San Francisco brokerage firm newly formed by Charles Blyth and Dean Witter. That particular pairing didn't last long—the partnership was split in the early 1920's into the retail firm of Dean Witter and the investment banking firm of Blyth & Co. But it did serve to launch not only its partners but a determined Frank Weeden along their separate paths to legendary status in Wall Street.

In 1922, Frank Weeden, along with his younger brother, Norman, struck out on their own to found Weeden & Co. in the City by the Bay. Their specialty: handling transactions for a short list of institutional clients, mostly in conservative municipal bonds. The firm's starting capital: $25,000.

The firm expanded cautiously during the Roaring ‘Twenties, becoming a Federal Reserve registered dealer in U.S. government securities and a major participant in corporate and municipal bond underwritings. In 1928, it underwrote the first public offering of convertible preferred stock. But the Weeden brothers steered clear of direct involvement in the era's booming equities market.

Their conservative bent enabled Weeden & Co. not only to survive the Crash of ’29, but to actually prosper during the Great Depression. In a stroke of great timing, Weeden began trading equities in 1932, near the bottom of the bear market.

After WWII, in 1949, Weeden started making net markets in the common stock of industrial corporations-and began building a reputation for providing these “best executions” for its institutional clients. By 1963 this business had been dubbed “The Third Market” by the SEC and Weeden had emerged as the dominant market maker in these off-exchange large block trades for institutional clients. Efforts spearheaded by Frank Weeden's son, Don, ultimately led to the removal of fixed commission rates and resulted in significantly lower costs for all investors.

By the late ’Sixties, under Don Weeden's influence, the firm had also established itself as a leading proponent and backer of systems that married the increasing power of computer technology to trading. The younger Weeden, who back in 1959 had contributed founding capital to National Semiconductor, involved the firm as an early investor in AutEx, Quotron and Instinet. Those experiences led, in 1974, to the establishment of the Weeden Holdings Automated Market System, the first exchange-based electronic trading system, on the Cincinnati Stock Exchange. Weeden also helped to organize the NASD and was an early advocate of the public dissemination of market quotes.

In 1967, Frank Weeden—long since recognized as one of the most powerful men in Wall Street –retired at age 75. He turned over the reins at Weeden & Co to the three of his four sons who had followed him into the business: Alan, Jack and Don. It was a natural decision. All of the brothers were already highly accomplished—and were subsequently to distinguish themselves even more in a variety of chosen pursuits. But none shared their father's single-minded devotion to the securities business.