Oppenheimer 60th Anniversary - 11

<< PROFILE

The entrepreneurial, innovative spirit in place since the
early days of Oppenheimer & Co. remains the lifeblood
of OppenheimerFunds today.
low. Margin requirements on stock market loans also
rose in the late 1940s, driven up by the Fed. This
meant that margin buyers and short sellers were
almost nonexistent; all deals were cash only.
The overall mood of the country reflected
memories of the Depression and a lingering mistrust
of Wall Street. The lack of interest, knowledge, and
trust combined to keep investors away from stocks
throughout the 1940s. This trend continued into the
1950s, with only 5% of Americans owning stocks. It
was a time, wrote early partner Leon Levy in his
memoir The Mind of Wall Street, "when people were
more afraid of risks than eager for profits."
In spite of these challenges, or perhaps because of
them, Max Oppenheimer saw opportunity. While he
was a broker at Hirsch & Co., he realized that the best
way to use his talents - and serve his customers -

1951
Oppenheimer & Co. occupies its first office space
at 25 Broad Street.

was to start his own firm. Oppenheimer & Co.
opened its doors in 1951.
The entrepreneurial, innovative spirit in place since
the early days of Oppenheimer & Co. remains the
lifeblood of OppenheimerFunds today. The Firm
pioneered many ideas that are now taken for granted
but were ignored or overlooked at the time, and
thought much more broadly than its peers about
investments. It sought opportunities beyond blue-chip
stocks, including mining, real estate, and oil and gas. It
also provided capital for innovative businesses like the
DeLorean Motor Company - remembered for its
gull-winged sports car - and was one of the first
firms to recognize the potential of leveraged buyouts.

LEGACY OF LEADERSHIP
From the beginning, the atmosphere at Oppenheimer
& Co., with its culture of informality and teamwork,
distinguished it from other Wall Street firms. Two
men who joined the Firm shortly after it was founded
helped set this tone, and each profoundly influenced
its future growth and direction.
Leon Levy invested $12,500 of his own money and
joined Oppenheimer & Co. in 1951 as a partner and
director of research. As a one-man department, Levy
ran the research operation on a shoestring budget.
On one occasion, he wanted to see a report Goldman
Sachs had published. When Goldman's research
department agreed to make a copy available to him,
Levy donned a raincoat and picked up the report in
the role of Mr. Levy's messenger.
Levy led the Firm into the mutual fund business
and was instrumental in creating not just the
Oppenheimer Fund, but OppenheimerFunds as an
entity. In the 1950s, managed mutual funds were
largely run by Boston-based companies like Putnam
and Fidelity. "Dealmakers and investment bankers
scorned mutual funds," wrote Levy, "but I saw
wonderful opportunities." He advocated the idea of

Max Oppenheimer
1899-1964 Max

Oppenheimer grew up in
Germany, where he became a
cigar importer and later sold
paint. After escaping the Nazi
regime, he settled in New York
in 1936, maintaining strong
contacts with the Jewish refugee
community. He joined the investment firm of Hirsch & Co. and
became one of its top brokers.
A compelling reason for starting
his own company was his desire
to help other Jewish refugees
invest their World War II reparations money. In 1951 he started
Oppenheimer & Co. with a borrowed seat on the New York
Stock Exchange, $100,000 in borrowed capital, and office space
in a glass-walled boardroom at
Hirsch & Co. Max Oppenheimer's
Firm was a success from the start.
He identified strong talent and
assembled a team that drove
remarkable growth and capitalized on the opportunities in the
mutual fund business. n

"Shot Heard 'Round the World": The New York Giants' Bobby
Thomson hits a game-winning home run in the bottom of the
9th inning off Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca.

1951

EARLY YEARS

Vision and Foundation * 11
Oppenheimer 60th Anniversary

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