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History of Smith, Moore & Company

Location: 7777 Bonhomme Avenue, Suite 2400 (Headquarters)
Clayton, MO 63105
Source: internet
Smith, Moore & Company was founded in 1913 by Jay Herndon Smith and Charles W. Moore. Both men had become "fed up" with business as usual on Wall Street and felt strongly that they could create a firm that put the interests of the clients first. They gathered a group of seasoned investment professionals selected for having the highest ethical standards in the industry. It was decided that the firm should have a very strong capital base and emphasize conservative investing principles. This philosophy served the customers of Smith, Moore & Co. well and enabled them to survive the Great Depression and war economies with their wealth intact.

In 1966, under the leadership of James Canavan and Philip Plack, Smith, Moore & Co. merged with Plack & Hanser and expanded operations by moving into the Historic Security Building at 400 Locust Street in St. Louis.

In the 1970s, Martin Crowe continued the expansion of the firm into Municipal Securities Underwriting and was succeeded by Harry Langenberg, Jr., who expanded Fixed Income Investment Services.

In the 1980s, led by James Veron and Fred Cotsworth, Smith, Moore & Co. expanded again with the addition of a talented group of brokers who later opened our branch office in Clayton at 222 South Central Avenue. In the 1990s, major upgrades to the information systems created an opportunity to further expand the operations of the firm.

In 2004, James Deutsch took the reigns and led Smith, Moore & Co. to move its headquarters into much more prestigious, spacious and more efficient offices in the Sevens Building in Clayton. Along with this upgrade to our facilities, the firm continued to upgrade its technology platforms with plans of embarking on a path of expansion and growth.

Today, as it approaches its 100 year anniversary the firm now has ten branch offices in throughout the Midwest and continues to add new professionals to the staff.

Since our inception in 1913, Smith, Moore & Co. has continually improved offices, systems and personnel, maintaining our mission of constant dedication to providing premium personal client service. This business model continues to attract investment professionals who are finding their way to the best working environment for wealth managers in our community.