1819 – 1837 – 1857

Bank failures cause economic crises in the U.S.

1873 – 1896

In the U.S., 18,000 businesses, including hundreds of banks, go bankrupt; ten states also declare bankruptcy.

1882

Charles Dow and Edward Jones founded a financial publication to bring unbiased analysis to a broad audience and an index for measuring market strength and direction.

1940 – The Investment Company Act & The Investment Advisers Act

Establishes regulations for those charged with investing on behalf of clients – requiring them to protect investors from fraud or misrepresentation.

1975 - Deregulation of the stock brokerage industry

Deregulation of the stock brokerage industry by the U.S. Congress opened the door to discount brokers and substantially lower transaction costs.

1975 – The End of Fixed Stock Commissions

The SEC mandates the deregulation of the brokerage industry, eliminating high fixed fees and allowing market competition to dictate commissions.

1976 – First Index Mutual Fund

Individual investors gain access to the mutual funds market; by eliminating sales commissions, costs of mutual funds decrease.

1980s - Online trading for individual investors

Online trading for individual investors crept into being as early-users of personal computers looked for ways to leverage the new technology.

2007

In the midst of the financial crisis, HighTower, the nation’s first advisor -owned financial services firm, is founded; the company’s allegiance to the client/advisor fiduciary standard - and the legal obligations that underscore it – sets HighTower up for success.

2012

HighTower ranks #13 on the Inc. magazine 500|5000 list of the fastest growing private companies in America which honors the company for its 8,853% growth over 3 years.