The Ziegler Companies, Inc. History

Company Perspectives:

Our Mission: We advance health, wealth and well-being through tailored financial solutions. This statement is the soul of our company; it tells why we are in business--to have a positive impact on the lives of the clients we serve. We improve health (physical, spiritual and mental) by creating funding to build churches, healthcare and senior living centers in communities throughout America. We help clients retire in prosperity and dignity. We help them generate and preserve wealth that they can use to improve their quality of life--by educating their children and grandchildren, giving to charities, realizing dreams of travel, recreation and financial freedom.

Key Dates:

1902:

18-year-old Bernhard C. "Ben" Ziegler takes over an insurance business in West Bend, Wisconsin.

1907:

In wake of Roosevelt Panic of 1907, Ziegler begins making loans to area farmers.

1913:

Ziegler makes his first bond issue, for West Bend's Church of the Holy Angels.

1920:

Ziegler incorporates B.C. Ziegler and Company.

1928:

Company arranges its first institutional loan outside Wisconsin.

1929:

Anticipating the beginning of a recession, Ziegler sells all his stock and pays off his company's debt--in advance of the October stock market crash.

1949:

Company opens first sales office, in Milwaukee.

1964:

First Church Financing Corporation is created to handle collateral trust bonds.

1969:

Ziegler Financing Corporation is formed to provide short-term construction loans for commercial and industrial projects.

1970:

Ziegler unveils its own family of mutual funds.

1971:

The Ziegler Company, Inc. is created as a holding company for the various operating companies, and its stock is offered to the public on the over-the-counter market.

1973:

Ziegler acquires Chicago investment banking firm Barcus, Kindred & Company, Inc., which is later renamed Ziegler Securities.

1991:

Ziegler Asset Management, Inc. is formed to provide money management services; Ziegler Company's stock is listed on the American Stock Exchange.

1993:

Parent company is reincorporated in Wisconsin as The Ziegler Companies, Inc.

2001:

Headquarters are shifted to Milwaukee; the company's mutual fund family is rebranded as North Track Funds.

2003:

Ziegler voluntarily delists its stock from the American Stock Exchange; it begins OTC trading via the Pink Sheets electronic network.

Company History:

Further Reading:

• "B.C. Ziegler Co.: A 75-Year Niche in the World of Finance," West Bend (Wis.) News, October 15, 1977, p. 1.
• "B.C. Ziegler Company Opens New Office," West Bend (Wis.) News, April 4, 1928, p. 1.
• "B.C. Ziegler's Unfinished Autobiography Outlines Earliest Days," West Bend (Wis.) News, October 15, 1977, p. 6.
• "Bernhard C. Ziegler, 1884-1946," West Bend, Wis.: B.C. Ziegler and Company, n.d.
• Dymale, Nan, "Bernard C. Ziegler," West Bend, Wis.: B.C. Ziegler and Company, May 1988.
• "Firm Expanding, Creating New Opportunities," Main Street Journal, West Bend, Wis.: B.C. Ziegler and Company, December 3-5, 1993.
• Gallagher, Kathleen, "B.C. Ziegler Expands Services to Add Advice on Stock Purchases," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 13, 1995.
• ------, "Changes in Compensation, Approach: B.C. Ziegler Expands Brokerage Services," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 16, 1996.
• ------, "Ziegler Companies Decides to Delist Itself," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, October 29, 2003, p. 3D.
• ------, "Ziegler Companies Shakes Up Its Management," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, January 25, 2000, p. 1D.
• Hoeschen, Brad, "New Ziegler Executive Plans National Growth," Business Journal of Milwaukee, March 31, 2000.
• ------, "Ziegler Cos. Restructures," Business Journal of Milwaukee, February 6, 1998, pp. 1+.
• ------, "Ziegler's New CEO Serious About Changing Focus," Business Journal of Milwaukee, May 5, 2000.
• Muckian, Michael, "Mulherin Pilots Ziegler in Uncertain Times: Profits Improve As He Implements Turnaround Plan," Business Journal of Milwaukee, March 21, 2003.
• Roberto, Sondra, "Midwestern Firm Banks Its Future on Senior-Living Centers," Bond Buyer, July 2, 1996.
• Schwab, Paul, "Ziegler Revamps Mutual Funds," Business Journal of Milwaukee, March 16, 2001, p. 3.
• "Two Ziegler Brothers Leave Dart to Join Father's Firm," West Bend (Wis.) News, October 2, 1972, p. 1.
• "Ziegler Celebrates Centennial in 2002," special issue of Investor's Edge, Milwaukee, Wis.: B.C. Ziegler and Company, autumn 2002.
• The Ziegler Story, 1902-1977, West Bend, Wis.: B.C. Ziegler and Company, 1977.

Source: International Directory of Company Histories, Vol.63. St. James Press, 2004.