In a move symbolic of AG Edwards’ end, Benjamin “Tad” Edwards IV is stepping away from Wachovia Securities to start his own new brokerage firm, as we read in a recent InvestmentNews article. Edwards, who is the son of former CEO Benjamin Edwards III, plans to launch Benjamin F. Edwards & Co.

According to the article, Edwards’ resignation took many brokers by surprise. We, however, didn’t think this is too shocking. The merger of AG Edwards and Wachovia certainly hasn’t been the smoothest. We have read about AG Edwards advisors leaving for other firms, numerous job cuts, and the recent ouster of Wachovia CEO Ken Thompson - although not directly related to the merger - did not help. There was clearly tension in the air, and bigshots were bound to find that the corporate cultures clash.

InvestmentNews quotes Edwards as stating that “When you’ve got a 120-year family history, you don’t want to see that go away. This is the right thing to do.” It is hard to argue with that. As the heir apparent to any company, it is hard to sit and watch your family/company name and values replaced by someone else’s. Although Edwards didn’t provide specific reasons why he chose to leave Wachovia, some within the company believe he wasn’t pleased with changes that were being made. In order to keep the name and company values, Edwards thought it best to resign and start a new company, and there’s no reason to believe it won’t work. He did what he thought was right - letting go and starting something new to carry on the legacy. This is understandable and we look forward to learning more about the new firm as details are made public.