A successful investment firm is defined and judged, to a large extent, by its performance across varying market conditions and its ability to identify and seize promising opportunities for investors. At Seligman, success has deep roots. A century-long history has allowed us to develop a time-tested approach to money management rooted in the integrity of client relationships and a tradition of service excellence.

Since its founding in 1864, the firm has played a pivotal role in the development of US financial markets. Here are some highlights of Seligman's rich history.
 

A defining characteristic of the firm has been its forward-thinking capacity for "frontier investing." Today, it's science and technology, small companies, emerging markets, and providing global diversification. During the 19th century, it was transportation and public utilities. Seligman was instrumental in helping open the western United States. In 1873, the firm made significant investments in railroads. The Missouri Pacific, the Atlantic and Pacific, the South Pacific, and the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railway Companies were all part of the Seligman portfolio. Later, in 1876, the Seligmans joined forces with the Vanderbilts to create public utilities in New York.

The Seligman family was also instrumental in providing financial support to the government in Washington, D.C. Working diligently with others, the firm helped to establish a pension for President Abraham Lincoln's widow, which was awarded to her in 1870 by the US senate. It was an early precursor to the retirement plan services later offered by the firm. And in 1874, President Grant named Seligman fiscal agent for the US Navy -- an appointment that would last through World War I.

The 20th century saw the firm establish an increasingly global perspective, and a shifting of emphasis from investment banking toward investment management. In 1914, Seligman lent support and backing to the construction of the Panama Canal, which helped promote the expansion of global trade. On the domestic scene, the firm expanded to support the launch of urban transit systems and to fund the growing capital needs of public utilities, large-scale mining, and land ventures. Seligman also played an important role in the development of the automobile industry, including participation in the early underwritings of General Motors Corporation.

At the end of the 1920s, Seligman became a leading contributor to the development and growth of the modern investment company. The firm created Tri-Continental Corporation in 1929, which today is one of the nation's largest diversified, closed-end investment companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1930, Seligman began managing its first mutual fund, Broad Street Investing Co., now known as Seligman Common Stock Fund. Though the 1930s were hardly the best of times - the stock market had crashed and the country was experiencing a long depression - both these fledgling funds survived their infancies to become two of the nation's most established funds. Today, the Seligman Group of Funds offers investors more than 50 investment options.

Since the1930s, investment management has remained Seligman's primary business. In 1991, a new dimension was added. Global expansion took place as Seligman included both global and international funds in its offerings in an effort to maintain the highest quality investment management services with access to global markets.

In 1997, Seligman began offering mutual funds to non-US investors. Seligman Global Horizon Funds is a Luxembourg-based investment company available exclusively to investors who are not citizens or residents of the United States.