The company was founded in 1887 when Albert Gallatin Edwards and his son opened for business in St. Louis.

It was the first St. Louis brokerage to handle transactions on the New York Stock Exchange, buying a seat on the NYSE in 1898.

The acquisition closed on October 1, 2007, and A.G. Edwards became a wholly owned subsidiary of Wachovia Corporation.

In 2006 the firm agreed to pay $900,000 "to settle claims that it charged customers excessive account fees.

[10] In 2008, the office of the Massachusetts Secretary of State launched a formal investigation into A.G. Edwards in response to a string of complaints from retirees of the former Boston Edison (now known as NSTAR).

The investigation centered on a former A.G. Edwards broker, William "Buck" McHugh, who had targeted the Boston Edison retirees for their large severance packages beginning in the late 1990s.