Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 asset management and financial planning company founded in 1937. It is a publicly traded company as of 1998, with its headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas

Overland Park, Kansas

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 149,080 people, 59,703 households, and 39,702 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,627.0 people per square mile . There were 62,586 housing units at an average density of 1,102.9 per square mile...

. It operates asset management and distribution subsidiaries, including Ivy Investment Management Company and Waddell & Reed Investment Management Company.

The company distributes products through three primary channels, the Advisors channel (a network of personal financial advisors around the country); the Wholesale channel (unaffilated broker/dealers, registered investment advisors and retirement platforms); and the Institutional channel (pension plans, defined benefit plans and endowments).

History

The company traces its history to September 3, 1937 when it was founded by Chauncey Waddell and Cameron Reed. The company was one of the first to sell funds following the Investment Company Act of 1940

Investment Company Act of 1940

The Investment Company Act of 1940 is an act of Congress. It was passed as a United States Public Law on August 22, 1940, and is codified at through . Along with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and extensive rules issued by the Securities and Exchange...

. Two of its funds -- United Income Fund and United Accumulative Fund -- were among the first mutual funds in the United States. Its first offices were in department stores. Continental Investment Corporation of Boston bought Waddell & Reed for $82.5 million in 1969. Liberty National Insurance Holding Company, later renamed Torchmark Corporation acquired it for $160 million in 1981. Torchmark spun it off in 1998 in a deal where for 10 Torchmark shares held, Torchmark shareholders 3 shares of Waddell & Reed.

Publicity related to "Flash Crash" on May 6, 2010

According to a Chicago Mercantile Exchange

Chicago Mercantile Exchange

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange is an American financial and commodity derivative exchange based in Chicago. The CME was founded in 1898 as the Chicago Butter and Egg Board. Originally, the exchange was a non-profit organization...

 document obtained by Reuters

Reuters

Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...

, exchange officials focused on futures transactions made by Waddell & Reed during the May 6, 2010 flash crash

May 6, 2010 flash crash

The May 6, 2010 Flash Crash also known as The Crash of 2:45, the 2010 Flash Crash or just simply, the Flash Crash, was a United States stock market crash on May 6, 2010 in which the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged about 1000 points—or about nine percent—only to recover those losses within...

 because it sold 75,000 E-mini S&P

E-mini S&P

E-Mini S&P, often abbreviated to "E-mini" and designated by the commodity ticker symbol ES, is a stock market index futures contract traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange's Globex electronic trading platform...

 on that day, the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped at least 7% in about 15 minutes. However, an exchange spokesman would not confirm the document. Gary Gensler, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates futures and option markets....

, in testimony before Congress said one sale was indeed large, but did not say who executed the trade. He said the CFTC had no evidence that the trader "did anything wrong." Waddell & Reed has denied being the cause of this stock market crash.