William Clement, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Atlanta Life Financial Group; Ronald Brown, President and CEO of Atlanta Life Financial Group and Chairman, Jackson Securities; and Reuben McDaniel, President of Jackson Securities

By Aisha I. Jefferson

Brown says the merger gives Atlanta Life a much broader product offering.

“It could very well have an upward impact on the insurance industry here at Atlanta Life but I believe that in the investment advisors business and in the investment banking business is where we’ll see the more immediate lift,” he says.

Reuben R. McDaniel III, president of Jackson Securities, adds, “If you have a diversified financial services firm typically when one piece of your business may be slow because of structural reasons another piece could be strong.  That’s why I think diversification is the biggest advantage to Atlanta Life.”

In addition, McDaniel says merging with Atlanta Life offers Jackson Securities access to opportunities, particularly in the corporate underwriting and private client sectors, which it couldn’t previously tap.

McDaniel and Jackson Securities Chief Executive Dudley Brown Jr. will continue to manage Jackson’s day-to-day operations.  While McDaniel says no jobs will be cut as a result of this merger, the company will be looking to hire additional staff members to help with corporate underwriting business among other things.

Jackson Securities has offices in 10 cities and counts the city of Atlanta, Chevron, Citigroup, GE Capital Corp. and R&B superstar Usher Raymond among its clients.

In 2005, Jackson Securities merged with Chicago-based Berean Capital Inc., which McDaniel says really increased the Atlanta firms presence in the Midwest and gave it an additional product line to offer.

Brown says the Atlanta Life will definitely look to do mergers in the future but wouldn’t say with whom.

McDaniel says he thinks Jackson, who died in 2003, would be pleased with the merger. As a matter of fact, these discussions leading to the merger weren’t the first time the two companies entertained joining forces.

McDaniel remembers a lunch meeting he attended in 2000 with Jackson and current Atlanta Life chairman William Clement, where they discussed the benefits that could emerge if the companies joined forces.  While McDaniel says the conversation was more theoretical than serious, it is amazing that everything is coming full circle. 

“I think Maynard is smiling,” McDaniel says. “Maynard is very proud right now to see this as being a way to make sure that Jackson Securities and Atlanta Life continue as thriving financial institutions.” 

Herndon would be pleased as well, Brown points out.

“Because of the vision Mr. Herndon had for Atlanta Life I could only imagine that he would be equally as pleased if not more because the business that Maynard started and candidly the things Maynard was allowed to do when he was mayor are the kinds of things Alonzo Franklin Herndon not only dreamed about but he did everything he could do during his lifetime to make a reality.  So I almost feel this is all coming full circle,” Brown says.