The headlines recently have been dominated by the Occupy Wall Street protests against the evils and perils of capitalism. I will be curious to see if any of the shenanigans have spread to the financial center in the Midwest. Say what you will about these protestors--they feel frustrated at the lack of social mobility and economic opportunity in America. I don't have a strong opinion either way, although I'd love to hear the rationale behind the protests. The United States is one of the world's best places for innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic growth. Today, I wanted to profile the companies we will be visiting.
Chicago Board of Trade
The CBOT is the world's oldest futures and options exchange. Established in 1848, the Chicago Board of Trade originally traded only agricultural commodities such as wheat, corn, and soybeans. Since then, the trading has expanded to include financial contracts and electronic trading. Specifically, bonds, derivatives, futures, and options are bought and sold. In October 2005, CBOT went public as it shifted from a non-profit to a for-profit organization. Perhaps the most distinctive features are the pits-- octagonal structures where the outrageous yelling and outcry take place. Traders use their hands to indicate an intention to buy or sell, and then yell the price and desired quantity of contracts.
Baird
Known as one of the premier investment banks off Wall Street, Baird offers wealth management, capital markets, asset management, and private equity services to clients worldwide. Along with $90 billion in assets, Baird has provided advising services on 735 mergers and acquisitions with a total value of $135 billion. Among Baird's target industries are technology, industrial, consumer goods, healthcare, real estate, and manufacturing. In 2010, Baird ranked #11 on CNN Money's 100 Best Companies To Work For list.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Bank of America Merrill Lynch is the investment banking and wealth management division of Bank of America. Prior to 2009, Merrill Lynch existed as its own separate company. In November 2007, Merrill Lynch announced it would write-down $8.4 billion in losses associated with the subprime mortgage crisis. To compensate for the losses, the firm sold its commercial finance arm to General Electric and sold off its shares of stock in Temasek Holdings in an effort to raise capital. The two deals raised over $6 billion. In September 2008, Bloomberg reported that Merrill Lynch had lost $51.8 billion in mortgage-backed securities as result of the national housing crisis. These losses, coupled with significant drops in value of its collateralized debt obligations caused Bank of America to purchase Merrill Lynch for $50 billion, and became the investment and corporate banking arm of Bank of America. BofA Merrill Lynch currently provides services in M&A, equity and debt capital markets, lending, trading, risk management, and stock research.
MB Financial
Serving primarily the Chicago area, MB Financial oversees nearly $10 billion in assets. MB provides services within commercial banking, wealth management, business banking, and real estate financing. The company also provides deposit and treasury management products and Internet products for businesses.
Morningstar
Morningstar is an investment research company headquartered in Chicago. Perhaps the most valuable service Morningstar provides is data on approximately 350,000 stocks and mutual funds. The Morningstar Style Box has become popularized and regularly used among investors to evaluate both the size (small, medium, or large) and type (value, blend, or growth) of investment. The Investment Information segment of the business offers data, software, and research products and services to individual investors and institutional clients. The Investment Management division offers monitoring of mutual funds.
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