founded Muriel Siebert & Co., launching her brokerage at a time when few women were even welcome on the trading floor.
On Mayday, Siebert emerged as a pioneer in the discount brokerage revolution. In response to the SEC’ s deregulation of fixed commissions, she slashed institutional trading fees by 40 %. She launched executiononly services aligned with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act( ERISA) of 1974’ s new fiduciary rules. She faced backlash from her clearing firm and ridicule from her peers, but she ran the numbers and proved the model was effective.
Her marketing was creative and disruptive. One ad depicted a torn $ 100 bill and read:“ How Muriel Siebert cuts your investment commissions 50 %.” Wall Street scoffed, but thousands of individual investors called in, seeking affordable and transparent service.
Driven by“ pride, principle and profit,” Siebert did not just build a legacy; she opened doors that had long been locked.
Charles R. Schwab: The Entrepreneur
Charles Schwab quietly dismantled Wall Street’ s century-old guard brokerage model. When Mayday abolished fixed commissions, legacy firms scrambled to protect profits. Schwab saw something else: freedom. When Merrill Lynch announced it would hike commissions under the new regime, Schwab went in the opposite direction— slashing rates, stripping down services and centering his firm on low-cost, investor-first principles.
It was not his first attempt. After two failed ventures in the industry, Schwab could have walked away. Instead, he founded a brokerage firm in 1971, which he later renamed Charles Schwab & Co.
Schwab opened his first branch in Sacramento, California, just months after Mayday. He bypassed traditional brokers and advertised directly to the public through newspaper ads. Critics dismissed him and tried to slow his growth, but Schwab continued to expand branch offices across the country.
In 1979, he went all-in, investing the equivalent of the firm’ s entire $ 500,000 net worth into a mainframe trading system to automate transactions and streamline operations. It was a high-stakes move— and a visionary one. He not only lowered costs but also reduced the barriers to entry.
NYSE President Robert W. Haack( left) welcomes Merrill Lynch Chairman Donald T. Regan to the trading floor on July 7, 1971— the day Merrill Lynch became the first publicly traded securities firm listed on the Exchange.
Schwab transformed Wall Street to serve Main Street. His legacy is a cultural shift toward financial independence. More than just an entrepreneur, he was, in his own words,“[ an ] agent of change for the better.”
Donald T. Regan and the Rise of the Full-Service Advisory Model
While Mayday 1975 ushered in an era of price competition among discount brokerages, Donald Regan— then chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith— took a different path. Regan repositioned Merrill Lynch as a full-service financial institution grounded in professional advice, client trust and national scale. In 1971, Merrill Lynch became the first NYSE member firm to go public— an unprecedented move that reflected the industry’ s shifting landscape. That same year, Regan served on the advisory committee for the Martin Report.
In the lead-up to Mayday, Regan criticized fixed commissions as“ two-faced”— an industry that professed free-market ideals while maintaining cartel-like pricing. He went further, calling the impending reform“ a very healthy thing.”
On May 1, Merrill launched a bold national ad campaign:“ Any stockbroker can fill your order. Merrill Lynch thinks you need more than an order-taker.” That same day, the SEC approved Merrill’ s
AP Wire Photo / Historic Images www. MoAF. org | Summer 2025 | FINANCIAL HISTORY 31