History and Heritage
The History of Pershing
For more than 65 years, Pershing has been recognized as a Wall Street innovator. The firm was founded on January 1, 1939 as Pershing & Company and boasted $200,000 in capital. The firm's original senior partners were Van Burger, Sr., Ed Cohan, Lou Froehlich, Dave Foster, and its namesake—Warren "Jack" Pershing, the only son of celebrated WWI General of the Armies, "Black Jack" Pershing.

Innovative From The Start
Initially, Pershing's vision centered on providing trade execution and clearance services to financial services firms located outside of the New York metropolitan area. Another early decision that set the firm apart was to establish a presence in strategic zones on the floor of the NYSE, a move designed to ensure that the firm provided customers with fast, efficient trade execution.

During Pershing & Company's early years, the firm grew slowly due in large part to the start of WWII. From 1941-45, three of the firm's senior partners were called into military service, leaving Ed Cohan and Dave Foster to oversee the firm's continued operation. Following the war's end, Pershing continued to build a reputation for providing regional financial services firms with unparalleled access to the NYSE and the AMEX, the world's leading exchanges.

Since our beginnings in 1939 as an execution provider for regional financial organizations, Pershing has grown to become a global financial business solutions provider with offices around the world. We are a company built by our customers—we have responded to their needs and evolved to help them succeed. To view more of Pershing's milestones, view our timetable below.