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Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

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Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
TypePartnership
IndustryInvestment banking
Commercial banking
Private equity
Wealth management
Merger and acquisitions
FoundedJanuary 1, 1931; 95 years ago (1931-01-01), in New York City, US
(merger of Brown Bros. & Co. (1818), Harriman Brothers & Company (1927) and W. A. Harriman & Co. (1922))
Headquarters140 Broadway
New York City
Revenue$1.3 billion
Total assetsIncrease US$ 55 billion (2020) [1]
Number of employees
5,701 (2020)[2]
Websitewww.bbh.com

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (BBH) is an American financial services firm and one of the oldest and one of the largest private investment banks in the United States.[3][4] In 1931, the merger of Brown Brothers & Co. (founded in 1818) and Harriman Brothers & Co. formed the current BBH.

Brown Brothers Harriman is also notable for the number of influential American politicians, government appointees, and Cabinet members who have worked at the company, such as W. Averell Harriman, Prescott Bush, Robert A. Lovett, Richard W. Fisher, Robert Roosa, Alan Greenspan,[5] and Scott Bessent. Books on the firm have noted these alumni and the firm's role in shaping American capitalism and policy through a consistent presence on Wall Street for over 200 years.

As of 2026, the firm maintains 18 offices worldwide, including in New York City, Beijing, Boston, Chicago, Dublin, Grand Cayman, Hong Kong, Kraków, London, Luxembourg, Tokyo, and Zürich.[6]

Overview

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Brown Brothers Harriman provides financial services through two main business lines.[7]

Investor Services

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Investor services include global custody, foreign exchange, and other fund services for asset managers and financial institutions. BBH has a data-connection system called Infomediary that integrates the different systems needed to trade, price and report data, similar to BlackRock's Aladdin.[8]

In 2023, the firm managed nearly 25% of all new ETF launches in the US. As of 2024, the group's primary client services include support for ETF launches, alternative asset servicing and data management.[9]

Capital Partners

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BBH Capital Partners manages private equity, investment management, commercial banking, for high-net-worth individuals and institutions trust and estate planning, and liquidity management.[10]

The group operates as a private partnership, with BBH partners investing their own capital alongside client assets. The firm manages wealth for high-net-worth clients and has been recognized in industry rankings, including Barron's Top 40 wealth management firms.[11][12]

In 2015, BBH Capital Partners started "Women & Wealth" to publish financial topics conducted for women, including entrepreneurship and financial planning.[13]

History

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W. Averell Harriman, founding partner of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

Founding, 1800's

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After immigrating to Baltimore in 1800 and building a successful linen trading business, Alexander Brown and his four sons co-founded Alex. Brown & Sons.[14][15] In 1818, one son, John Alexander Brown, traveled to Philadelphia to establish John A. Brown and Co.[16] In 1825, another son, James Brown, established Brown Bros. & Co.[17] on Pine Street in Lower Manhattan and relocated to Wall Street in 1833.[3] This firm eventually acquired all other Brown branches in the U.S.[17]

Following the panic of 1837, Brown Brothers withdrew from most of its lending business. Two of the brothers, John and George, sold their shares in the company to the other two brothers, William and James. During the recovery from this economic turmoil, they chose to focus solely on currency exchange and international trade.

Another son, William Brown, had established William Brown & Co. in England in 1810, which was renamed Brown, Shipley & Co. in 1839 and became a separate entity in 1918.[18][14][17]

Merger, 1900's

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Prescott Bush, an initial minority owner after the merger between Brown Brothers and Harriman Brothers

On January 2, 1931, Brown Brothers & Co. merged with two other business entities, Harriman Brothers & Company, a private bank[19] started with railway money, and W. A. Harriman & Co. to form Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Founding partners included: Prescott Bush, E. Roland Harriman, W. Averell Harriman, Robert A. Lovett, and Knight Woodley.[20][21]

Time's December 22, 1930, issue announced that the three-way merger featured 12 Yale graduates among 17 founding partners, of which eight had been Yale Skull and Bones members.[22]

After the passage of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1932, the partners decided to focus on commercial banking, become a private bank, and spin its securities marketing and underwriting off into Harriman, Ripley and Company, which eventually evolved into Drexel Burnham Lambert via mergers.[23]

W. Averell Harriman, the founding partner in the firm, left the leadership to his younger brother, E. Roland Harriman, and became a diplomat in World War I and World War II.[24] W. Averell Harriman was the ambassador and statesman responsible for the relationship between Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt during World War II.[25] Some historical records of Brown Brothers Harriman and its precursor companies are housed in the manuscript collections at the New-York Historical Society.[26]

Present, 2000's

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In the last four decades, the firm remained a private partnership while many competitors went public. The firm avoided large-scale mergers and did not require government support during the 2008 financial crisis. As of 2021, annual revenue has been reported at approximately $2 billion, with profits of about $500 million.[27]

In February 2021, the firm released the infomediary technology platform and reported around 150 users. Investors use the system to manage their data and operations.[28]

In May 2021, Zachary Karabell released a book about the history of the firm, called Inside Money: Brown Brothers Harriman and the American Way of Power.[29] The book describes the firm as responsible and influential throughout its 200-year history. The firm's partners have been well-connected throughout American government but have also been self-invested alongside their client's interests, which is credited for long-term success.[30][31]

In 2026 BBH Infomediary Data Solutions released NAVqc, a system to help companies manage net asset value oversight obligations.[32]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Brown Brothers Harriman 2019 Annual Report. bbh.com, Archived 2021-07-22 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ "BBH Annual Report" (PDF). BBH & Co. 2010. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
  3. 1 2 "New Bank Building on Hanover Street" (PDF). The New York Times. September 3, 1916. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
    • a "Brown Brothers, who are the oldest as well as one of the largest private banking concerns in the country" — ¶ 2
    • b "The firm was started in America in 1800 in Baltimore by the original Brown ... after starting in general dry goods business" — ¶ 3
    • c "in 1825 the banking office of the firm was opened in New York City on Pine Street. The firm has been on its present Wall Street site since 1833." — ¶ 3
  4. ↑ "Alex. Brown & Sons Company Building, 135 East Baltimore Street, Baltimore, Independent City, MD". Library of Congress. 1933. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
    • a "Alex. (Alexander) Brown & Sons (founded 1800), the first and oldest continually operating investment banking firm in the United States." — Notes §, ¶ 1
  5. ↑ Zachary Karabell, Inside Money: Brown Brothers Harriman and the American Way of Power (2021) pp. 341–356.
  6. ↑ "BBH Offices". Brown Brothers Harriman. August 5, 2026. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
  7. ↑ "BBH profile in Global Custody". globalcustody.net. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  8. ↑ Loten, Angus (July 6, 2017). "Brown Brothers Harriman CIO to Lead New Fintech Business". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved August 11, 2026.
  9. ↑ Article •. "BBH's Christopher Remondi on Alts, ETFs, and Data-Driven Solutions". www.citisoft.com. Retrieved August 11, 2026.
  10. ↑ Harriman, Brown Brothers. "Brown Brothers Harriman | Capital Partners, Investor Services". Brown Brothers Harriman. Archived from the original on August 5, 2026. Retrieved August 11, 2026.
  11. ↑ Milburn, Robert. "New Money Is Heading to Brown Brothers Harriman". online.barrons.com. Retrieved August 11, 2026.
  12. ↑ Milburn, Robert. "New Money Is Heading to Brown Brothers Harriman". online.barrons.com. Retrieved August 11, 2026.
  13. ↑ Schultz, Abby. "How Women Clients Are Reshaping Private Banks". www.barrons.com. Retrieved August 11, 2026.
  14. 1 2 Hall, Henry (1896). "America's Successful Men of Affairs". New York Tribune. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
    • a "To him were born in Ballymena, four sons, William, George, John Alexander and James." — Pg. 116, ¶ 2
    • b "The family came to America in 1800, settling in Baltimore, where, after a prosperous career as a linen merchant, Mr. Brown founded the bank of Alex. Brown & Sons, in partnership with his four sons. He died April 6, 1834." — Pg. 116, ¶ 2
    • c "established the houses of Brown, Shipley & Co., in England
  15. ↑ Walker, Andrea (April 3, 2002). "Alex. Brown name all but gone: German bank changes brokerage arm's title in marketing move". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
    • a "the oldest continuously operating investment bank in America, according to experts. Founded in 1800 as Alex. Brown & Sons" — ¶ 17
  16. ↑ "1818: Philadelphia House Established". Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Retrieved August 29, 2014.[permanent dead link]
    • a "John A. Brown travels to Philadelphia and establishes John A. Brown & Co. ... John A. Brown's historic Philadelphia house also serves as the founding date for the future Brown Brothers Harriman & Co." — Pg. 1, ¶ 8
  17. 1 2 3 "Brown Brothers & Company records 1825-1889". New York Public Library. 1936. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
    • a "Baltimore in 1800 and opened a dry goods business with which his four sons became associated."
    • b "One son, John (1788–1872), opened a branch in Philadelphia in 1818"
    • c "Another son, James (1791–1877) established Brown Brothers & Co. in New York City in 1825 and eventually absorbed the other branches."
    • d "In addition, Brown Brothers & Co. was associated with the English firm of Brown, Shipley & Co., which was run by another brother, William Brown (1784–1864)."
  18. ↑ "Guide to the Records of Brown Brothers Harriman 1696 -1973, 1995 (bulk 1820-1968): MS 78". New York Historical Society. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
    • a "linen merchant Alexander Brown emigrated to the United States in 1800" — ¶ 1
    • b "In 1810, Alexander's eldest son William returned to England and established the trading firm William Brown & Co. in Liverpool. This became Brown Shipley & Co. in 1839 and relocated to London. It separated from Brown Brothers as a distinct business entity in 1918." — ¶ 1
  19. ↑ "Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.: Private Company Information - Businessweek". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  20. ↑ John Atlee Kouwenhoven (1968). Partners in banking: An historical portrait of a great private bank, Brown Brothers, Harriman & Co., 1818-1968. Doubleday.
  21. ↑ TIME (December 22, 1930). "Business: Brown-Harriman". TIME. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
  22. ↑ "Breakingviews - Review: Lessons from Wall Street's forgotten bank". Reuters. Archived from the original on July 22, 2025. Retrieved August 12, 2026.
  23. ↑ "Collection: Drexel Burnham Lambert Group Inc. records | ArchivesSpace Public Interface". archivalcollections.drexel.edu. Archived from the original on May 7, 2023. Retrieved August 12, 2026.
  24. ↑ Parrish, Thomas (April 21, 2009). To Keep the British Isles Afloat: FDR's Men in Churchill's London, 1941. New York: Smithsonian Books/Collins. ISBN 978-0-06-135793-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  25. ↑ "Three Americans In London, Fighting For War". NPR. February 3, 2010. Retrieved August 12, 2026.
  26. ↑ "Two Centuries of Banking: The Enduring Partnership of Brown Brothers Harriman | The New York Historical". www.nyhistory.org. Retrieved August 12, 2026.
  27. ↑ "Breakingviews - Review: Lessons from Wall Street's forgotten bank". Reuters. Archived from the original on July 22, 2025. Retrieved August 12, 2026.
  28. ↑ Parsons, Joe (February 10, 2021). "BBH's new look investment ops platform targets faster transformation times for asset managers". Global Custodian. Retrieved August 12, 2026.
  29. ↑ "Centennial Speaker Series: Zachary Karabell on Inside Money: Brown Brothers Harriman and the American Way of Power". Fordham Now. Retrieved August 2, 2026.
  30. ↑ Lowenstein, Roger (May 18, 2021). "The Wall Street Capitalists Who Put Morals Above Money". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 2, 2026.
  31. ↑ Karabell, Zachary (May 14, 2021). "Essay | The Capitalist Culture That Built America". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved August 2, 2026.
  32. ↑ "BBH Infomediary Data Solutions unveils NAVqc - Asset Servicing Times". www.assetservicingtimes.com. Retrieved August 5, 2026.

Further reading

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