Investment Companies

          In the investment world today, there is certainly no shortage of financial institutions competing for your money. At some point in your investment career, you may want to control your own investment portfolio, have an advisor control it for you, or merely receive sound investment advice. Regardless of your motives, these financial institutions will serve as an intermediary between you and the markets. Whether the specialty of the financial institution is asset management, brokerage services, or hedging, each firm claims to be the best at what it does. Therefore, it is wise for you to research and analyze a variety of financial companies before you make a final decision regarding where you should entrust your money. Below are a list of some of the most prominent financial institutions in existence today.

Asset Management Firms: Firms that generally provide a variety of collective investment funds.

  • Allianz Global Investors
  • Barclays Global Investors
  • Capital Group Companies
  • Deutsche Bank Asset Management
  • Edward Jones
  • Fidelity Investments
  • The Hartford Group
  • JP Morgan Asset Management
  • Mellon Financial Corporation
  • Northern Trust Global Investments
  • State Street Global Advisors
  • T. Rowe Price
  • The Vanguard Group

Discount Brokerage Firms: Primarily internet-based firms that serve as a financial intermediary between individual investors and the markets.

  • Charles Schwab
  • Edward Jones
  • E-Trade
  • Fidelity Investments
  • Gorilla Trades
  • Scottrade
  • TD Ameritrade
  • Tradeking
  • FolioFN
  • Sharebuilder
  • Zecco

Full Service Brokerage Firms: Firms devoted to assisting clients with larger amounts of investment capital including wealthy individuals, large-cap companies, and investment management funds.

  • Deutsche Bank
  • Goldman Sachs
  • Morgan Stanley
  • Smith Barney
  • UBS

Hedge Fund Management Firms: Private investment funds open to a limited number of wealthy investors or institutions where fund managers are permitted to implement strategies with greater risk than the prudent investor standard will typically allow.

  • BlackRock Inc.
  • Bridgewater Associates
  • Caxton Associates
  • Citadel Investment Group
  • Deutsche Bank
  • Renaissance Technologies
  • SAC Capital Partners
  • Soros Fund Management
  • Man Investments