Continental Investment Corporation of Boston bought Waddell & Reed for $82.5 million in 1969.

Liberty National Insurance Holding Company, later renamed Torchmark Corporation acquired it for $160 million in 1981.

[4] In the 2000s, the company was put in the spotlight due to, according to a controversial SEC/CFTC report, being a major factor in the 2010 "Flash Crash", when a bug in the companies' algorithm coupled with significant competing high frequency traders combined to create a massive crash in the price of S&P500 E-mini futures.

[5] In February 2016, Waddell & Reed announced the purchase of at least 8.2% of the Spanish company Abengoa, which was in serious financial trouble.

[6] In 2021, the company was purchased by Macquaire Asset Management, a division of Macquarie Group,[7] becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary in the process.