Bear Stearns & Company

Bear Stearns & Company was a large investment banking, securities trading, and brokerage firm which collapsed in the wake of the financial crisis of 2008. Bear Stearns was founded in 1923 by Joseph Bear, Robert Stearns and Harold Mayer. The company traded primarily in equities. Until 2007, the company’s main businesses included brokerage in capital markets and investment advisory services. By 2007, the company employed over 15,000 people globally. The company was one of the most admired securities firms in the U.S. until its demise in 2008. While the company owned huge amounts of capital and assets, the company’s subprime hedge funds became worthless in the wake of the financial crisis of 2008. The company was forced to bail out its own funds as a result. As the crisis grew more intense and its stock prices plunged, the company was sold to JP Morgan Chase.