 Cincinnati alumnus receives award
Ed Wedbush cin50 has been awarded the 2004 Life Achievement for Entrepreneurial
Achievement from the University of Cincinnati.
This is an annual award that goes to an individual of exceptional ideals and
achievement and whose success has contributed to the benefit of both the
university and, very importantly, the community at large. The Entrepreneurial
Affairs Advisory Committee that made the selection considered originally, depth,
breadth and impact of the entire body of the nominee’s entrepreneurial pursuits
and impact. We solicited nominations from across all colleges of the university.
The Advisory Committee is comprised of faculty from 8 different colleges,
representatives from 3 university administrative units and representatives from
5 organizations outside the university.
Ed Wedbush founded Wedbush & Company in 1955 with savings earned at part-time
jobs as a supermarket checker and student engineer at Wagner Electric in St.
Louis. The company would not grow for some time as Ed pursued an MBA and PhD in
engineering at UCLA and worked for Hughes.
It wasn’t until 1957 Ed opened his first office in the Crenshaw district of Los
Angeles. The company flourished in southern California and for more than a
decade, Wedbush & Co. focused on retail securities sales. In 1969 the company
expanded into the wholesale business and by 1971 the company had a net worth in
excess of $1 million.
Through acquisitions and strategic thinking of Ed Wedbush the company continued
to grow. By 1985 it had 20 sales offices, an institutional sales group, OTC
market makers, four Pacific Stock Exchange specialist posts, and an Investment
Banking group. In 1988 the name was changed to Wedbush Morgan Securities with
another acquisition which brought expanded trading and research capabilities as
well as four retail brokerage offices.
The founding and growth of Wedbush Morgan Securities is an American
entrepreneurial success story. From modest beginnings, the firm’s employees have
worked hard to grow a small operation with first-year revenues of $659 into an
international operation that exceeds $200 million in revenues.
In addition to providing leadership for Wedbush Morgan, Ed currently serves as a
Director of the Triangle Education Foundation and chair of its investment
committee. He resides in Rancho Santa Fe with his wife Jean. |
