Gift from grandparent inspires the foundation of a nationwide, customer-focused online investing firm
A native of St. Louis, Scottrade Founder and CEO Rodger Riney was raised to treat everyone with respect – a characteristic on which he founded Scottrade. This emphasis on respect was encouraged by the same person who introduced him to the stock market. When Riney was around 10 years old, his grandpa purchased shares of stock for him. Riney closely followed those shares in the daily paper, fascinated with the ability to make money from owning part of a company. From that moment on, Riney’s passion for stock trading grew.
Home from college during Christmas break in the 1960s, Riney began working at Edward D. Jones & Co. marking the new highs and lows on the brokers’ quote board. After he graduated with his master’s degree in business administration from the University of Missouri – Columbia, he worked full time for the investing company in a variety of positions, from selling investment vehicles to customers, to starting the company’s human resources department. While working there, he discovered that he preferred the customer service aspect to the sales side of the business. So in 1980, Riney began his own brokerage business, Scottsdale Securities, in Scottsdale, Ariz.
“I could never understand why customers should have to pay all the fees full-commission brokerages charged them,” Riney said. “Many could do their own research and didn’t need analysts to tell them what to buy and sell. They just wanted a way to invest on their own at a low cost.”
As word spread about Scottsdale Securities low commissions and superior customer service, business grew. A year later, in 1981, Riney opened a second office in St. Louis. During the next 15 years, he oversaw the opening of more than 50 offices across the United States. In 1996, he enhanced customer service by offering the ability to trade online, which ultimately led to the firm changing its name to Scottrade, Inc. to reflect the name of the firm’s website, Scottrade.com. With online trading, customers could continue making their own investing decisions while trading at even lower commissions.
Throughout the firm’s 30+ year history, Riney has remained focused on customer service by opening more than 500 branch offices and providing a variety of educational opportunities, both of which helped the firm become one of the largest online investing firms in the United States. In honor of his efforts, Riney was named regional Financial Services Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young in 2000 and was a national finalist for the award in 2008.
Today, Riney continues to be a humble example of how customer service should be provided at a firm named one of FORTUNE’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” in America for four consecutive years. At the heart of his philosophy is the motto “do the right thing,” which he reiterates throughout the firm by making sure customers receive the best value and associates’ dedicated work is rewarded.
