PaineWebber - a historical sketch

The origins of PaineWebber were modest and even precarious. William A. Paine and Wallace G. Webber set up shop in 1880 in the same street as the already established partnership of Charles C. Jackson and Laurence Curtis. The two firms were destined to merge six decades later.

Hardly was the business established than the firms were confronted with the financial panic of 1883. New shocks ensued in 1893 and 1907. Both partnerships survived, thanks to financial prudence and what today would be called excellent client relations.

As William A. Paine later observed about the 1893 crisis, which caused his partner Webber to retire from the firm, "we had spent thirteen years gaining people's confidence and developing resources for just such a struggle; and when it came victory was not so difficult for us as it was for many richer concerns."

During the first half of the twentieth century, Paine, Webber & Co. was controlled by the Paine family. Reputed to be one of the richest men in New England, William Paine died in September 1929, one month short of the disastrous Black Friday. His son, F. Ward Paine took over the reins not only of Paine, Webber but also of Copper Range Consolidated in Michigan, founded by his father and then the second largest copper mining company in the world.

On 3 September 1929 the New York stock market climbed to a level of 381, a level it would not reach again for more than a quarter of a century. It was not immediately apparent, though, that Wall Street was poised for the crash that followed in late October. (The Dow plumbed its ultimate trough of 41 in July 1932.).

A comment in a booklet that commemorated Jackson & Curtis's fiftieth anniversary in late 1929 provides a whiff of the irrational optimism that pervaded this first stage of the downturn: "The financial condition of America is so strong, that the slump has not been marked by the dramatic events of 1893 and 1907. It has been little more than a sharp thunderstorm in the middle of a sunny day."


	William Paine, founder

Both Jackson & Curtis and Paine, Webber survived the crash, but the continuing effects of the Depression probably provided an impetus towards their merger discussions in 1939. The merger that created Paine, Webber, Jackson & Curtis was eventually sealed on 29 June 1942. The Paine clan remained influential in the new firm until the death in 1955 of Morris F. LaCroix, William Paine's son-in-law, and chairman of the new firm's management committee.

Amidst the growing affluence of post-war America, PWJ&C's activities expanded rapidly. From 23 branch offices at the time of the merger, the firm grew to 30 offices in 1955 and to 45 offices ten years later. In 1963 PWJ&C's head office moved from Boston to New York. Subsequent changes, mergers and acquisitions furnished the firm with a presence in fixed-income instruments (F.S. Smithers & Co, 1973), a closed-end investment company (Abacus Fund, 1972), and an investment research and advisory function (Mitchell Hutchins, 1977).

With the Abacus acquisition, the firm went public and two years later decided to form Paine Webber Inc as a holding company with PWJ&C as the core subsidiary. By 1980 PWJ&C's spread extended to 161 branch offices in 42 US states with six offices in Europe and Asia. PW had established a presence throughout America and its popular advertising slogan "Thank You, Paine Webber" made it well known beyond its substantial client base.

A visible symbol of PW's expansionary course followed in 1985 with the move from 140 Broadway to 1285 Avenue of the Americas. PW's course of expansion was to continue into the year that it eventually merged with UBS. Only months before UBS made its offer in July 2000, PW acquired J.C. Bradford & Co., a smaller brokerage firm. In 1879, PW had started with two partners and two employees. Today, over 19,000 employees, including 8,600 financial advisers, at Wealth Management USA look after the interests of UBS clients.