Dominick & Dickerman
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services |
| Predecessor | Dominick and Dominick |
| Founded | June 15, 1870 |
| Founder | William Gayer Dominick, Watson Bradley Dickerman |
| Fate | Name reverted from Dominick and Dominick in 2015 after divestiture of wealth management division |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Area served | United States, Europe, Asia |
Key people | Michael J. Campbell (President and CEO as of early 2000s) |
| Products | Private Wealth Management, Investment Banking, Institutional Sales |
| Website | www |
Dominick and Dickerman LLC is a merchant banking and investment firm based in New York City, with an additional office located in Basel, Switzerland. From 1899 until 2015, the company operated under the name Dominick and Dominick before reverting to its original title following the divestiture of its wealth management division.
Established in 1870, it ranks among the longest-standing financial services companies continuously active in the United States. Dominick & Dickerman caters to both individual and corporate clients through three main sectors: Private Wealth Management, Investment Banking, and Institutional Sales.
The Private Wealth Management division offers services including portfolio management, asset allocation, estate and wealth planning, insurance solutions, and access to alternative investments. Investment Banking assists public and private enterprises with capital raising endeavors, strategic mergers and acquisitions, as well as providing counsel to senior executives on governance, operational matters, and growth strategies. Institutional Sales delivers execution of trading strategies for institutional investors on both domestic and international platforms. The firm holds memberships in the Securities Investor Protection Corporation and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Founding
Dominick & Dickerman was established on June 15, 1870, by William Gayer Dominick alongside Watson Bradley Dickerman. Dominick, originally from Chicago, became a member of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 1869 at age 25. He joined forces with Dickerman, who hailed from Connecticut, to launch their brokerage enterprise. William’s brothers, George and Bayard, also became partners in the firm.
In 1889, the company inaugurated its first branch office in Cincinnati, where it was one of only two exchange members present. Dickerman departed in 1890 to serve as NYSE president until 1892 before returning to the firm. William Dominick passed away from typhoid fever in 1895 at age 50; Dickerman retired in 1909 and died in 1923.
The firm adopted the name Dominick & Dominick in 1899 with new partners joining, including Milnor B. Dominick among others. It was an early pioneer in closed-end funds by launching The Dominick Fund, Inc. in 1920 through raising $10 million via 200,000 shares. Despite the impact of the 1929 market crash, this fund persisted, becoming listed on the NYSE in 1959 before merging with Putnam Fund in 1973.
Expansion
In 1936, Dominick & Dominick grew through a merger with A. Iselin & Co., one of Wall Street’s most venerable firms. This occurred shortly after the death of Adrian Iselin, the firm’s patriarch, at age 89. At that time, Dominick & Dominick comprised 13 partners led by senior partner Gayer G. Dominick. The merger incorporated several new partners and expanded its footprint with Iselin Securities Corporation’s Paris office and Iselin Corporation of Canada’s Montreal office joining the network. Since Dominick & Dominick already operated a London office, Iselin’s London branch was subsequently closed. The firm quickly established itself across all principal European financial hubs.
World War II
During World War II, numerous employees and partners—including Gayer Dominick—served in the military while the firm continued its operations uninterrupted. Gayer Dominick had joined the company in 1909 after graduating from Yale University and was elected a governor of the New York Stock Exchange in 1935. He played a key role in appointing the Exchange’s first salaried president under SEC oversight. In 1938, he left the firm to join President Roosevelt’s Office of Price Administration.
Post-War Growth
After World War II and a short economic downturn, Dominick & Dominick leveraged the expanding economy to its advantage. Significant postwar deals involved collaborations with Alexander Smith Carpet Company and Great Plains Oil in Canada. During the late 1950s, the firm took part in a banking syndicate overseeing the initial public offering of Arvida Corporation, which later came under SEC investigation due to premature disclosure of stock sales.
In 1964, the company transitioned from a partnership into a corporate entity. The 1960s marked a period of nationwide growth, highlighted by the acquisition of Buffalo’s Schoellkopf, Hutton & Pomeroy and the establishment of a Chicago office in 1962. The 1966 purchase of Townsend, Dabney, Tyson substantially expanded its New England footprint by adding a Boston office along with 15 regional branches. By the end of the decade, approximately 30 more branch offices were operational across the United States.
In 1970, Dominick & Dominick explored merging with Clark, Dodge & Co., but ultimately abandoned this plan in favor of opening new locations and acquiring smaller companies. This strategy was halted as the stock market entered a deep downturn and the firm became financially overstretched.
Challenging Times
Confronted with liquidity issues, Dominick & Dominick sold four out of its five seats on the New York Stock Exchange and one of two on the American Stock Exchange. The firm also divested a substantial equity stake for $7.25 million to an investment consortium led by Pierce National Life Insurance Company, controlled by Joe L. Allbritton, founder of Allbritton Communications Company. Despite this capital injection, the company divested its domestic retail brokerage operations along with most branch offices.
Chairman and CEO Peter M. Kennedy announced a strategic realignment away from a national retail model toward concentrating on institutional clientele, asset management, corporate finance, municipal bond markets, and international ventures. In 1973, Putnam Investments acquired The Dominick Fund, which held assets near $55 million.
Over the following twenty years, Dominick & Dominick streamlined its workforce and shuttered offices to focus on lucrative sectors such as research and fixed income instruments including corporate bonds, municipal bonds, Eurobonds, and Treasury Notes. The firm introduced managed futures programs targeting global currency trading and provided clearing services to over 100 NASD member firms. Its division Dominick & Dominick Advisors delivered investment advisory and portfolio management services to affluent clients in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
Modern Era
By the early 2000s, Dominick & Dominick was experiencing decline and required new capital from partners. In October 2003, Michael J. Campbell—an industry expert with three decades of experience including 25 years at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ) and tenure at Credit Suisse First Boston—was named president and CEO. Campbell brought senior executives from DLJ and Credit Suisse First Boston and moved the firm's headquarters from lower Manhattan to Midtown Manhattan on 52nd Street. He also attracted new advisors from leading financial institutions.
Under Campbell’s direction, the company inaugurated a Miami office in late 2004 and established a regional presence in Atlanta by 2006. In 2007, Dominick & Dominick introduced a risk arbitrage division to broaden its service portfolio.
Stanford Financial Group receivership
On November 13, 2009, the United States District Court mandated the reassignment of brokerage accounts from Stanford Financial Group to Dominick & Dominick LLC. Both the Stanford Group, under the leadership of Allen Stanford, and Dominick & Dominick LLC utilize Pershing LLC as their clearing agent. This account transfer was implemented on January 20, 2010.
References
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Allan, John H. "Two Wall Street Firms Undergo Changes." The New York Times 22 Feb. 1973: n.p. Print.
- New York Times. "Anniversary Celebrated: Dominick & Dominick, Brokers, Observe Fiftieth Year in Business." The New York Times 15 June 1920: n.p. Print
- Staff. "Dominick Branches Sold to Other Firms." The New York Times 8 Aug. 1973: n.p. Print.
- Staff. "Iselin Firm to End, Joining Dominicks." The New York Times 17 June 1973: n.p. Print.
- Vartan, Vartanig G. "Dominick to Quit Retail Brokerage." The New York Times 31 July 1973: n.p. Print
- Dominick & Dominick LLC Homepage. "About US." Dominick & Dominick LLC. n.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. <http://www.dominickanddominick.com/>.