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The blind leading the successful Since its humble beginnings as the one-man investment firm J.C. Wheat & Co. in 1934, Wheat First Union has grown to a national full-service firm offering a range of financial services. The founder's son, James C. Wheat, Jr., blind from the age of 24, is credited with much of the firm's success. From the time he joined his father's firm in 1945, Wheat pushed for expansion into brokerage, investment banking, and asset management services. Wheat also fostered growth through mergers, including the 1971 merger with First Securities that created Wheat First Securities, Inc. Wheat's successors, John L. McElroy Jr. and Marshall B. Wishnack further expanded the firm through a 1988 merger with Butcher & Singer, a successful Philadelphia-based securities firm established in 1910; the firm was then called Wheat First Butcher Singer. In August 1997, the formerly privately-held Wheat First Butcher Singer agreed to be acquired for just under $500 million by the Charlotte, North Carolina-based First Union bank, one of the nation's largest commercial banks. The bank changed its name to Wheat First Union, creating an unprecedented event in the history of finance - a merger that actually improved a firm's name. Mergin' time Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, Wheat First Union offers investment banking products with a concentration on equities and M&A. Unlike other recent combinations of investment banks and commercial banks (such as Bankers Trust and Alex. Brown), First Union and Wheat First decided to initially keep their respective I-banking businesses largely separate. First Union's homegrown securities arm, called First Union Capital Markets, integrated Wheat's fixed-income division, but Wheat's equities and M&A practices remained housed in Richmond. The firm has experienced major growth in recent years, with annual revenues increasing more than 50 percent from 1990 to 1997. In 1998, the firm's brokerage army expanded into New England with offices in Boston and Worcester, Mass. The firm continued its expansion in 1999, opening eight new branches on the East Coast in the first quarter of the year, including offices in Florida, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Merger shakeup In April 1999, First Union announced that it would acquire Chicago-based investment bank and brokerage Everen Capital Corp. for $1.1 billion. In the wake of that announcement, Wheat First CEO Marshall B. Wishnack announced that he would resign as head of the firm at the end of the year. The acquisition of Everen will make First Union the U.S.'s sixth-largest brokerage.
Wheat First looks for team players who can work effectively with clients, and have prior investment banking experience. Recruiting at several top business schools, Wheat First conducts second- and third-round interviews in Richmond. The firm has two associate "Super Saturdays" - one in December and one in late January - during which prospective associates interview one-on-one with associates and senior bankers in half-hour sessions. Wheat First typically hires two to four associates and one to two summer associates each year. Send or fax resumes to human resources at Richmond headquarters. The ambitious should take note - the merger with First Union is expected to set off a hiring surge at Wheat First.
Let's get down to business Employees describe a "terrific" working environment at Wheat First Union, praising the "slower pace" of living and working at headquarters in Richmond. With "intelligent, ambitious, and enjoyable" co-workers, one banker notes, "the intellectual challenge is rewarding." Insiders say the firm is "very progressive" in its hiring practices, "looking for the best people it can find without regard to race or gender." The diverse crew at Wheat First works at offices that differ from each other culturally. The offices "that work on the revenue side of the business" are "formal dress and have a let's-get-down-to-business attitude,?" while branches with "operations, support and data services have more fun and dress business casual; they tend to be younger too." Regardless, the firm offers "frequent company get-togethers." Happy about merging One contact recounts an impressive history of advancement within the firm: "I started in the company in an entry-level clerical position in the benefits department, and I am now at the vice president level. Wheat First is very open to people with drive making their own way within the company." The recent merger with First Union "should be a good thing for Wheat First," say employees. "We do expect the creation of many jobs and many new opportunities available as a result of the merger."
Human Resources
Broker/Dealer Asset Management;Clearing Services
A.G. Edwards & Sons;Morgan Keegan;U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray;Raymond James Financial;Robinson-Humphrey More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
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