What's in a name? A.G. Edwards' scion about to find out

Benjamin "Tad" Edwards IV - the great-great-grandson of Albert Gallatin "A.G." Edwards - didn't get a lot of attention when he quietly hung out a shingle last year and launched his own brokerage firm in St. Louis, the family business's backyard. Now, however, Mr. Edwards is poised to start making some noise. Mr. Edwards, who is the son of Benjamin F. Edwards III, the former chairman and chief executive of A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc., plans to finally begin building out his own business in the next several weeks. His firm, named Benjamin F. Edwards & Co. in his late father's memory, plans to open its first branch before the end of the summer and add to its 24-person staff - all former A.G. Edwards employees. The firm has aggressive plans to have a total of six branches up and running by the end of the year, although officials for the firm could not offer specific details on possible locations. The firm has already contracted with Pershing LLC of Jersey City, N.J., to provide trading and settlement services, and operational support. And when it comes to client service, Mr. Edwards plans to follow a model established by his father, he said in an e-mail to InvestmentNews. "At A.G. Edwards, there was a 120-year legacy with a value system that put clients first and treated people the way we would want to be treated," wrote Mr. Edwards, who was on the board at A.G. Edwards at the time it was sold to Wachovia Corp. of Charlotte, N.C., in 2007. "We've incorporated a lot of the old Edwards model and mirrored policies that center around putting our clients' interests first," he wrote. "We love and treasure these ideals and maintain a commitment to being private and independent with a family feel."