Corporation | |
Industry | Investment services |
Fate | Acquired |
Successor | Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown (later Alex. Brown, a Division of Raymond James) |
Founded | 1800 |
Founder | Alexander Brown |
Defunct | 1997 |
Headquarters | Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
Products |
Financial Services Investment Banking |
Alex. Brown & Sons was the first investment bank in the United States, founded by Alexander Brown in 1800 and based in Baltimore, Maryland. The firm was acquired by Bankers Trust in 1997 to form BT Alex. Brown, and then integrated into Deutsche Bank in 1999 following Deutsche's acquisition of BT. In 2016, Raymond James acquired Deutsche's U.S. private client services unit, operating under the Alex. Brown brand.
Alexander Brown (1764 — 1834), an Irish linen merchant, emigrated in 1800 from Ballymena in Ulster to the United States, settling in Baltimore, Maryland, where he established the first investment banking firm in the U.S. In 1808, the company organized the first initial public offering in the U.S., that of the Baltimore Water Company.
In 1810, Alexander Brown was joined in business by his sons, William, George, John, and James, and the firm was named Alex. Brown and Sons, Inc. By the 1820s, Alexander Brown had expanded his business interests into sterling exchange and international trade, including tobacco and cotton.
Brown's sons eventually started related businesses in various locations, beginning with William. William founded William Brown and Company in Liverpool, England, which later became Brown, Shipley & Co. In 1818, John and James started Brown Bros. & Co. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. James subsequently opened a branch in New York City in 1825, a predecessor to Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.