SECURITIES BROKERAGE FIRMS.

Ranked by number of registered, licensed securities brokers in L.A. County

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

WITH the Dow Jones index closing lower for the first time in 10 years and Nasdaq dropping more than 39 percent, last year was a turbulent one on Wall Street. And that no doubt gave the more than 4,000 registered stockbrokers at L.A. County's 25 biggest securities brokerages more than a few days of stomach-churning uncertainty.

The continued interest from Main Street in investing on Wall Street seems to have contributed to the growth in the number of brokers in the majority of L.A. securities houses. Only two of the top 10 firms reduced their L.A. numbers in 2000. As in 1999, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Merrill Lynch & Co. and Salomon Smith Barney were the three biggest firms locally, while PaineWebber jumped from fifth to fourth place in the rankings, as its number of L.A.-area brokers rose by almost 200 to 487.

Securities brokers help clients transact stock trades for a fee, as well as supply institutional and individual clients with pertinent information to assist in decisions about buying stocks, bonds, commodities and options.

THE PACESETTER

MORGAN STANLEY DEAN WITTER

CONTINUING a tradition, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter tops the list of L.A.'s securities brokerages for the third year in a row. It has been No. 1 ever since the merger of the former Dean Witter with the former Morgan Stanley in 1997.

The New York-based firm had a record year in fiscal 2000, with $5.5 billion in net income on $26.4 billion in revenues. Assets under management rose by $30 billion to $502 billion, an increase of $30 billion from a year ago and the company launched 20 new funds that generated sales of $13.5 billion. Locally, the firm saw its number of brokers rise by 27 to 746, giving it 200 more than its closest competitor, while the number of offices in L.A. stayed the same at 21.

Despite the wild ride on Wall Street in 2000, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter's clients saw their net worth increase, says senior vice president Steven Townsend.

"Overall, we're still recommending the same types of investments as before," he said.

L.A.'s diverse economy makes it a good place to look for interesting investments, said Townsend, who came from running Southwestern operations to Los Angeles in September, replacing Michael Noble as the firm's top local executive.

"But really, the same type of motivational objectives are the same here as any place in the country," he said.

Rank Brokerage                              L.A. County Employment
     * name                                  * Securities brokers
     * address                               * investment bankers
                                              * total employees
   1 Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co.                746
     601 S. Figueroa St., Suite 4575                  0
     Los Angeles 90017                              1,021
   2 Merrill Lynch                                   545
     19200 Von Karman Ave., Suite 1000                10
     Irvine 92715                                    860
   3 Salomon Smith Barney Inc.                       528
     444 S. Flower St., Suite 2600                    20
     Los Angeles 90071                              1,195
   4 PaineWeber                                      480
     725 S. Figueroa St., Suite 4100                  10
     Los Angeles 90017                               800
   5 SunAmerican Financial Network                   384
     One Sun America Center                          N/A
     Los Angeles 90067                                NA
   6 Prudential Securities Inc.                      300
     777 S. Figueroa St., Suite 4700                  0
     Los Angeles 90017                               500
   7 Financial Network Investment Corp.              238
     2780 Skypark Drive, Suite 300                    0
     Torrance 90505                                  250
   8 First Union Securities                          182
     2 N. Lake Ave.,                                  0
     Pasadena 91101                                  218
   9 Crowell Weedon & Co.                            132
     One Wilshire Blvd.                               2
     Los Angeles 90017                               298
  10 Charles Schwab & Co. Inc.                       105
     23041 Avenida de la Carlota, Suite 110           0
     Laguna Hills 92653                              105
  11 Wells Fargo Private Client Services              94
     333 S. Grant Ave., Suite 845                     9
     Los Angeles 90071                               302
  12 JB Oxford & Company                              91
     9665 Wilshire Blvd., Third Floor                 0
     Beverly Hills 90212                             207
  13 T D Waterhouse Group Inc.                        89
     9470 Wilshire Blvd., Third Floor                 0
     Beverly Hills 90212                             120
  14 Sutro & Co.                                      72
     11150 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 1500             17
     Los Angeles 90025                               182
  15 A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc.                         70
     633 W. Fifth St., Suite 2200                     10
     Los Angeles 90071                                97
Rank             Services Offered                 Parent Company
                  (partial list)
   1 investment banking, financial planning,           same
      on line trading,  insurance services,
       equites and fixed income investments
   2    full-service investment products,              same
       financial planning, insurance, trust
     services, retirement and group employ ee
       benefit services, business financing
   3 global full-service investment bank and         Citigroup
               securities services
   4    full range of financial products;         PaineWebber/UBS
           stocks, bonds, mutual funds,
           insurance, asset management
   5               full service                   SunAmerica Inc.
   6   financial planning, money management    Prodential Insurance
   7       full-service brokerage firm;              ING Group
            financial planning, wealth
            preservation, asset-based
         management, financial education
   8      financial planning, investment               same
           advisory, asset management,
         securities transactions, lending
           and estate planning services
   9  investment advisory services, personal           same
          financial planning, fee-based
         investment programs, customized
              retirement strategies,
           common and preferred stocks
  10       corporate brokerage services             The Charles
             for purchase and sale of              Schwab Corp.
           stocks, bonds, mutual funds,
            options, futures and more;
               24-hour phone access
  11     full-services brokerage; stocks,           Wells Fargo
               bonds, mutual funds,
               retirement planning,
                corporate finance
  12     online trading, broker assisted      JB Oxford Holdings Inc.
             accounts, online banking
           and bill payment, free check
           writing, retirement accounts
  13    brokerage, banking, mutual funds,              same
        options, money markets, annuities
  14   investment banking, public finance,     Tucker Anthony Sutro
            institutional trading and
           sales, high-yield bonds and
            research, equity research
  15  public offerings, private placements,            same
             mergers and acquistions,
           financial advisory services
Rank         Profile          Top Local Executive
          * headquarters      * name
      * year established [1]  * title
     * offices (county/total) * phone
   1         New York         Steven Townsend
               1930           sr. vice president
              21/582          [phone]
   2         New York         Guy Williams
               1925           managing director
              17/700          [phone]
   3         New York         Jerrold Eberhardt
               1904           sr. executive president
              17/503          [phone]
   4         New York         Michael Davis
               1946           Western div. mgr., ex. vp.
              8/300           [phone]
   5       Los Angeles        Kevin Hart
               1989           chairman, ceo
            147/3,740         [phone]
   6         New York         Mark T. Zielinski
               1926           regional officer
              10/300          [phone]
   7         Torrance         Jack R. Handy Jr.
               1983           ceo, president
             31/1,373         [phone]
   8      Richmond, Va.       Terry Chase
               1931           regional director
             8/2,575          [phone]
   9       Los Angeles        Donald Crow
               1932           ceo, managing partner
               5/10           [phone]
  10      San Francisco       Robert Brown
               1976           area manager, So. Cal. Region
              12/377          [phone]
  11      San Francisco       Robert Roszkos
                NA            ex. v.p., regional mng. dir.
              4/150           [phone]
  12      Beverly Hills       James G. Lewis
               1992           ceo
               2/4            [phone]
  13         New York         David Lynch
               1984           distrct v.p.
              8/175           [phone]
  14      San Francisco       Thomas Weinberger
               1929           president
              12/34           [phone]
  15        St. Louis         Rod Essen
               1989           managing director
              7/692           [phone]
16 Bear Stearns & Co. Inc.              66
   1999 Avenue of the Stars, 33rd Floor 34
   Los Angeles 90067                    279
17 Jeffries & Co. Inc.                  61
   11100 Santa Monica Blvd.             26
   Los Angeles 90025                    184
18 M.L. Stern & Co. Inc.                44
   8350 Wilshire Blvd.                   0
   Beverly Hills 90211                  97
19 Zahorik Co. Inc.                     42
   2700 E. Foothill Blvd., Suite 201     0
   Pasadena 91107                       63
20 Credit Suisse                        40
   2121 Avenue of the Stars             100
   Los Angeles 90067                    250
21 Imperial Capital                     38
   150 S. Rodeo Drive, Suite 100        12
   Beverly Hills 90212                  70
22 Deutsche Banc Alex Brown             30
   300 S. Grand Ave., 41st Floor        45
   Los Angeles 90071                    200
23 Fidelity Investments                 30
   10100 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 100  NA
   Los Angeles 90067                    40
24 Dreyfus Brokerage Services Inc.      27
   6500 Wilshire Blvd.                  NA
   Los Angeles 90048                    173
25 Wedbush Morgan Securities            26
   1000 Wilshire Blvd., Ninth Floor     10
   Los Angeles 90017                    330
16  private client svs., public finance,            same
        corporate finance, commercial
           mortgage, muni-finance
17   equity, high-yield, convertible and            same
      international securities trading
     for institutional investors; public
     and private equity debt offerings;
     recapitalizations and restructuring
18     municipals, stocks, corporate,      Pacific Life Insurance
       mutual funds, closed-end funds,
        mortgage-backed and annuities
19  retirement planning, employee benefit          Aegon
    plans, tax qualified retirement plans
      (403(b), 401(k), and 457 plans),
   mutual funds, annuities, life insurance
20    investment banking, equity, debt,             same
     mergers and acquisitions, merchant
        banking, investment services
21    investment banking; bridge loans;    Imperial Capital Group
       sale and trading of high-yield,
          mortgage and asset backed
     securities, equities and bank debt
22      investment banking, corporate         Deutch Bank A.G.
     real estate finance, institutional
        trust and custody, brokerage,
               private banking
23         mutual funds, brokerage                  same
       services, retirement planning,
      college savings, estate planning
24 discount securities brokerage services     Mellon Bank N.A.
25    investment banking, sales, market       E*Capital Corp.
       makers, correspondent services
16   New York    David Pollock
       1968      senior managing director
       1/36      [phone]
17  Los Angeles  Frank Baxter
       1962      chairman
       1/21      [phone]
18 Beverly Hills Milford Stern
       1980      ceo, president
       1/21      [phone]
19   Pasadena    Randy Russell
       1953      ceo, president
        1/3      [phone]
20   New York    Anthony Chidoni
       1986      managing dir., private client svs.
       1/NA      [phone]
21 Beverly Hills Jason Reese
       1997      co-president
        1/3      [phone]
22   Frankfurt   Ronald Badie
       1974      managing director
     1/2, 300    [phone]
23    Boston     Darryl Prater
       1983      sr. v.p., western regional v.p.
       3/77      [phone]
24  Los Angeles  Jeffrey Nachman
       1976      ceo, president
        2/5      [phone]
25  Los Angeles  Edward Wedbush
       1955      president
       2/17      [phone]

NA - Not available

(1.)In L.A. County

Note: The information on this list was provided by representatives of the companies themselves. Brokerages are ranked by number of registered securities brokers working in L.A. County. The list was completed during the week of January 8, 2001.

To the best of our knowledge, this information is accurate as of press time. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and thoroughness of the list, omissions and typographical errors sometimes occur. Please send corrections or additions on company letterhead to the Research Department, Los Angeles Business Journal, 5700 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 170, Los Angeles 90036. [C]2001 Los Angeles Business Journal. This list may not be reprinted in whole or in part without prior written permission from the editor. Reprints are available from Wright's Reprints, [phone].