Notable 50th Anniversaries:
From Credit Cards to Employee Retirement 

In 1974, two acts were signed into law impacting the financial services industry. We reflect on these events as we approach the 50th year of the founding of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management. On October 28, 1974, President Gerald Ford signed the Equal Credit Opportunity Act into law, making it illegal for a financial institution to discriminate against an applicant based on race, religion, national origin, sex, marital status or age. In recognition of this anniversary, we created a two-minute video with some our team members regarding the significance of this legislation for women.

In September, we shared a Forbes article on social media reflecting on the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Our founders often reference this act as one of the catalysts for starting our firm. ERISA was designed to help Americans save for retirement and provide protections to workers regarding the funding of employer plans.