Adams Funds facts for kids
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| Public | |
| Traded as | NYSE: ADX |
| Industry | Investment |
| Founded | 1854 |
| Founder | Alvin Adams |
| Headquarters |
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U. S.
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Key people
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Adams Funds is an investment company. It used to be called Adams Express Company. Today, it includes two main parts: Adams Diversified Equity Fund, Inc. (traded on the New York Stock Exchange as ADX) and Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. (traded as PEO).
The Adams Diversified Equity Fund invests in many different types of companies. The Adams Natural Resources Fund focuses on energy and natural resources companies.
Adams Funds started a long time ago, in the 1800s. It was a shipping and cargo business. It even helped with the Pony Express. In 1929, it changed into an investment company. It survived the Great Depression and is now one of the oldest investment funds.
The company tries to find good companies to invest in. They want to protect investors' money. They also aim to give back money to investors through dividends. Both funds have paid dividends for over 80 years. They promise to pay at least 6% of their value each year.
Adams Express was founded in 1854. It is one of the oldest companies on the New York Stock Exchange. It has paid dividends every year since 1935. The company moved its main office to Baltimore, Maryland, in 1976. That is where it is based today. It also has an office in Boston, Massachusetts. Mark E. Stoeckle has been the CEO since 2013.
Contents
A Long History
Starting as a Shipping Business
In 1839, a man named Alvin Adams started carrying letters and packages. He had lost his business in a financial crisis. He began by moving items between Boston and Worcester, Massachusetts. His company was called Adams & Company. Soon, he expanded his service to New York City and Philadelphia. By 1850, his company was shipping goods by train and stagecoach to St. Louis.
Adams Express was used by groups who wanted to end slavery in the 1840s. They used the company to send anti-slavery newspapers. In 1849, a slave named Henry "Box" Brown even shipped himself to freedom in Philadelphia using Adams Express. In 1855, the company officially became the Adams Express Company.
A part of the company, Adams & Company of California, started in 1850. It offered shipping services on the Pacific Coast. But this part of the company was not managed well and failed in 1855.
During the Civil War
When the American Civil War began in 1861, Adams Express had operations all over the American South. This part of the company was called Southern Express. Adams Express even helped pay soldiers for both the Union and Confederate armies.
The main company was very strong in New England and the mid-Atlantic states. It also reached far into the Western plains. By 1910, it owned large amounts of stock in major railroad companies.
Adams Express hired Allan Pinkerton to help solve problems with robberies. This helped build up the famous Pinkerton National Detective Agency. Later, in 1918, President Woodrow Wilson combined Adams Express's shipping business with other companies. This new company became the American Railway Express Company.
Becoming an Investment Company
Since 1929, Adams Express has worked as an investment fund. It is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ADX. In 2015, the company changed its name to Adams Diversified Equity Fund. This was to show that it was no longer a shipping company. It continues to be an investment fund today.
See also
- Adams Express during the Civil War
- Petroleum & Resources Corporation
