Waddell & Reed

Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. was an American asset management and financial planning company founded in 1937 in Kansas City, Missouri. It was a publicly traded company from 1998 to 2021, and briefly had its headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas, and was planning a move back to Downtown Kansas City before the company was sold. It operated asset management and distribution subsidiaries, including Ivy Investment Management Company and Waddell & Reed Investment Management Company.

The company distributed products through three primary channels:

• Advisors channel (a network of personal financial advisors around the country);
• Wholesale channel (unaffiliated broker/dealers, registered investment advisors and retirement platforms); and the
• Institutional channel (pension plans, defined benefit plans and endowments).