Ben Edwards
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I have only been with AGE for 7 years so I was not privilidged to work under Ben for very long at all. But ever since he left a lot of the old hats have said something like "things are not the same since Ben left" or "damn i miss Ben."
This rhetoric has only become louder and stronger in the last 3 weeks or so, since the "deal" was announced.
And then this afternoon this was put in all of the brokers boxes by some unknown person and posted in our break room. It makes for interesting reading.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/yourmo ney/story/6F9D522A08A9B2A1862573010069E65C?OpenDocument
Pinn
Opps..that was only one story...
Here is the text of Ben's speech today to shareholders....sorry!
http://www.stltoday.com/blogs/business-business-ticker/2007/ 06/ben-edwards-plea-for-ag-edwards-future/
Pinn
God bless you Ben.
"Wachovia gives us a global platform as our clients migrate to China, Asia" and other countries, he (Bagby) said.
My clients are staying right here ... and I'll be servicing them in the grand AGE tradition as an RJ broker. Bye AGE.
Ben rocks!
Will be interesting to see how much of the culture survives without the support of the family and many other "oldtimers" who haven't or won't lend their support.
"Wachovia gives us a global platform as our clients migrate to China, Asia" and other countries, he (Bagby) said.
While wholesalers, broker/dealers and the rest of the financial world have been telling us (ad nauseam) about the huge opportunity as the baby boomers retire, they've been hiding the fact that they will all be moving to Asia. Have to give it to AG Edwards for being on the cutting edge of this trend.
[quote=FL Broker]
God bless you Ben.
"Wachovia gives us a global platform as our clients migrate to China, Asia" and other countries, he (Bagby) said.
My clients are staying right here ... and I'll be servicing them in the grand AGE tradition as an RJ broker. Bye AGE.
[/quote]
Either Bagby is lying through his teeth or he himself has been brainwashed into thinking this takeover is the best thing since sliced bread. The guy just doesn't make any sense. The only person who's making a bit of sense in this entire ordeal is Ben Edwards. It's like listening to a bunch of politicians campaigning, then Ben gets in the middle of them and tells the truth. It really brings to light how much BS they've been pumping everyone when a voice of reason speaks out.
Was at Happy Hour last night. Ran into the usual schmucks three weeks into their training class at Morgan Stanley... Hit on three girls (got one number from a cutie..).. Started chatting with two FA's at AGE. One about 2 years in, the other about 6 years in... Their local branch here has about 20 brokers... Both of them said they have been in contact with other firms here, and that the whispers are that about 2/3rds of the branch is planning to jump in the next couple months.
Dont know if that is any indication of whats going on nationally.....
Ben did good. What Wall Street could be. Just plain and simple - You really dont need 'platforms' when it all gets down to taking care of one another. Client first, broker second, shareholder next.
Worked for 120 years. Must have been too simple.
[quote=Omirp222]
Either Bagby is lying through his teeth
or he himself has been brainwashed into thinking this takeover is the
best thing since sliced bread.
Let’s explain.
How many shares of AGE does Bagby own? How much were they worth pre-takeover and how much post takeover.
Golden Handcuff’s/parachutes?
Is Bagby’s post takeover value equal to the number™. If yes, then
Siyonara suckers. Bagby’s got one life to live, and he doesn’t want to
live it with you.
What if Bagby did see value? What happened to this being a great opportunity for both AG and Wachovia? They didnt just slap their letterhead on AGE brokers desks and tell em to walk the line with their model. They’re taking time to build a new company. The best from both firms. And I’m thinking the best of both firms could be a great place to work and kick some of your whiney pessimistic asses. I’ll just wait and be hopeful. Oh yeah, and figure out how I’m going to spend that retention money for doing nothing more than having some patience.
BTW no goldenhandcuffs for Bagby but he obviously does own a good amount of stock as do most execs and employees of the firm, so he will make some $$ there
[quote=Bache&co]What if Bagby did see value? What happened to this being a great opportunity for both AG and Wachovia? They didnt just slap their letterhead on AGE brokers desks and tell em to walk the line with their model. They’re taking time to build a new company. The best from both firms. And I’m thinking the best of both firms could be a great place to work and kick some of your whiney pessimistic asses. I’ll just wait and be hopeful. Oh yeah, and figure out how I’m going to spend that retention money for doing nothing more than having some patience.[/quote]
This seems to directly contradict your post on the prior page.
Then again, if I worked for AGE and this thing hit me out of the blue, I’d be spending a lot of time trying to figure out what the whole thign really means to me.
Not really. Ben did good. His speach really spoke for the AGE culture. That being said - I think we have to give Bagby and Wachovia more time to see if they're going to screw that up. Its too soon to start spanking Bagby.
[quote=Bache&co]
Not really. Ben did good. His speach really spoke for the AGE culture. That being said - I think we have to give Bagby and Wachovia more time to see if they’re going to screw that up. Its too soon to start spanking Bagby.
[/quote]Interesting oint of view and screename...hmmm....bagby and ludemann both came from Bache originally ....dun dun dun
[quote=Bache&co]
Not really. Ben did good. His speach really spoke for the AGE culture. That being said - I think we have to give Bagby and Wachovia more time to see if they’re going to screw that up. Its too soon to start spanking Bagby.
[/quote]Fair enough. Clarification accepted.
Having said that, I fear that Bagby already did some MAJOR damage to the firm's culture by essentially LYING to the employees and shareholders. Mr. Edwards implied that pretty clearly if you read what he said. The trust between employees and management was a big part of what made the firm special.
I know a few home office employees-being that I'm in STL-and I have to say they're not terribly thrilled about or impressed with the deal.
[/quote]
I know a few home office employees-being that I'm in STL-and I have to say they're not terribly thrilled about or impressed with the deal.
[/quote]
Gee!! And they have jobs. Want to talk about not impressed, try Richmond. They have spent the last 7-8 years putting together the Third largest brokerage and are told "Thanks for the Memories".
We want number two so your not needed!!