William Blair & Company, L.L.C. is a Chicago-based investment firm offering investment banking, asset management, equity research, institutional and private brokerage, and private capital to individual, institutional, and issuing clients. Since 1935, we have been committed to helping clients achieve their financial objectives. As an independent, employee-owned firm, our philosophy is to serve our clients' interests first and foremost. We place a high value on the enduring nature of our client relationships, the quality of our products and services, and the continuity and integrity of our people. William Blair & Company's offices include Chicago, Boston, London, New York, San Francisco, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Zurich. For more information, please visit www.williamblair.com.

Overview

What is William Blair & Company all about? Traditional values that put the client first. Integrity and honesty in all dealings. Quality products and services. Values and business practices that build long-term client relationships. Because we believe that if the client does well, the firm will do well.

That's why William Blair & Company is one of a handful of investment firms in the United States that has endured as an independent employee-owned organization for over seven decades. From the beginning, William Blair & Company based its operations in one main Chicago office—a practice continued to this day.

More than 95 percent of the firm's employees work in one location, allowing a high degree of internal communication among all areas of the firm and assuring in-depth product knowledge and rapid response to customer needs.

William McCormick Blair was driven by intense pride in Chicago and the Midwest. Equally important was his plan to help finance the expansion of local companies. To transform the plan into reality, he founded Blair Bonner & Company in 1935 with the financial backing of a number of midwestern families.

The firm was renamed William Blair & Company in 1941 when Francis A. Bonner, who had been doing work in Washington, did not return to Chicago or to the financial industry. The firm quickly became a leader in financing local businesses and providing investment advice to many of the first families of Chicago.

The firm's history is intertwined with the economic and civic life of Chicago. Its growth and success are in a large part due to the growth and profitability achieved by many of its corporate clients. Providing capital to these growing corporations allowed the firm to make a significant contribution to the expansion of the Midwest's economy.

Today, as a leading investment firm, William Blair & Company has an international reputation as one of the leading underwriters of and research providers on high-quality growth companies. The firm's evolution owes much to the vision, hard work and philosophy of its founder. Over the decades, a long line of William Blair & Company financial professionals has continued to successfully identify and finance emerging growth companies.

Memberships

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) www.finra.org, Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) www.sipc.org.

Back to top