Gruntal & Co. was a boutique
investment banking
Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated wit ...
and brokerage firm based in New York City. Prior to its acquisition in 2002, the firm was among the oldest independent investment banking houses in the U.S.
The firm was founded as Sternberger & Fuld in 1880 by Maurice Sternberger, who partnered with Ludwig Fuld. Sternberger bought a seat on the New York Stock Exchange in 1881 for $20,000. They were joined in 1884 by a third partner, Samuel Sinn, and the firm became Sternberger, Fuld & Sinn, with an office at 52 Broadway in lower Manhattan.
Gruntal's brokerage business included more than 620 account executives across more than 30 locations throughout the U.S. The firm managed in excess of $19 billion of assets on behalf of its clients through its private client
wealth management
Wealth management (WM) or wealth management advisory (WMA) is an investment advisory service that provides financial management and wealth advisory services to a wide array of clients ranging from affluent to high-net-worth (HNW) and ultra-high- ...
business. Additionally, the firm had a well-regarded
investment banking
Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated wit ...
,
equity research
Securities research is a discipline within the financial services industry. Securities research professionals are known most generally as "analysts", "research analysts", or "securities analysts"; all the foregoing terms are synonymous. Researc ...
as well as
sales and trading operations.
Gruntal, which was headquartered in New York City was a member of the
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...
and the
National Association of Securities Dealers.
In 2002,
Ryan Beck, a New Jersey-based investment banking firm, announced the acquisition of the bulk of the operations Gruntal.
[Ryan, Beck To Acquire Bulk of Gruntal]
New York Times, April 23, 2002 Following the acquisition, the Gruntal name which had been used since the early 1900s was retired. The firm, which had already been struggling to compete with the
bulge bracket investment banks suffered the temporary loss of its headquarters after the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
. The firm was located at
1 Liberty Plaza, across the street from the
World Trade Center
World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association.
World Trade Center may refer to:
Buildings
* List of World Trade Centers
* World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...
. Gruntal had already been eliminating certain businesses, including its corporate bond trading department in July 2001. In 2007,
Ryan Beck & Co. was sold to
Stifel Financial
Stifel Financial Corp. is an American multinational independent investment bank and financial services company created under its present name in July 1983 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange on November 24, 1986. Its predecessor company wa ...
.
Corporate affairs
Prominent former employees
*
Steven A. Cohen
Steven A. Cohen (born June 11, 1956) is an American hedge fund manager and owner of the New York Mets of Major League Baseball since September 14, 2020, owning roughly 97.2% of the team. He is the founder of hedge fund Point72 Asset Manageme ...
founder of hedge funds
S.A.C. Capital Advisors
SAC Capital Advisors was a group of hedge funds founded by Steven A. Cohen in 1992. The firm employed approximately 800 people and
Point72 Asset Management
*
Stephen A. Feinberg Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer,
Cerberus Capital Management
References
Further reading
Gruntal & Co. Company History Funding Universe
New York Times, September 10, 1985
New York Times, June 25, 1987
New York Times, June 26, 1987
New York Times, November 10, 1987
New York Times, July 10, 1994
*
ttps://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/10/business/gruntal-agrees-to-fraud-fine-as-us-indicts-former-official.html Gruntal Agrees To Fraud Fine As U.S. Indicts Former Official New York Times, April 10, 1996
Gruntal Executives to Lead Leveraged Buyout of Firm New York Times, February 26, 1997
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Former investment banks of the United States
Financial services companies established in 1880
Financial services companies disestablished in 2002
Companies based in New York City
Defunct financial services companies of the United States
Banks established in 1880
Banks disestablished in 2002
1880 establishments in New York (state)
2002 mergers and acquisitions