Wachovia Securities has retained all A.G. Edwards’ retail brokerage executives for the management team that will take over when Wachovia Group acquires the St. Louis-based brokerage in a $6.8 billion deal set to close in the fourth quarter.

The management team of 21 includes seven executives from A.G. Edwards. The move to retain all A.G. Edwards executives at the combined firm is seen as the key to retaining the majority of A.G. Edward's brokers, who number more than 6,600.

Danny Ludeman, president and chief executive of Wachovia Securities, will be president and chief executive officer of the combined firm. Robert Bagby, chairman and chief executive of A.G. Edwards, will become chairman when the two firms merge.

Under the new management team, Ronald Kessler, vice chairman of A.G. Edwards and director of operations, will keep his post. Douglas Kelly, currently chief financial officer and director of law and compliance for A.G. Edwards, will become the chief operating officer for the combined company.

Mary Atkin, head of staff division, will remain in her post with responsibility for human resources, training and diversity. Peter Miller, director of sales and marketing at A.G. Edwards, will be co-leader of the Financial Services Group with Brand Meyer, who heads the group at Wachovia.

Gene Diederich, director of branches at A.G. Edwards, will co-direct the Private Client Group branch system at the combined firm with Terry Chase, Wachovia's Western region president for Private Client Group.

John Parker, chief information officer and director of the technology group at A.G. Edwards, will serve as co-director of the Business Services Group with Marge Connelly from Wachovia. Brian Underwood, chief compliance officer at A.G. Edwards, will hold the same position when the two firms merge.

Paul Pautler, director of investment banking at A.G. Edwards, will be absorbed into Wachovia's Capital Markets and Investment Banking group, although his position is yet to be determined.

Wachovia said it hopes to lose no more than 3 per cent of the A.G. Edwards brokers that it wants to keep, which it says is similar to the "regretted" attrition rate at Prudential Securities' brokerage arm after Wachovia bought it in 2003.

The Wachovia-A.G. Edwards combination will be based in St. Louis and will have a total of almost 15,000 financial advisors, 1,512 brokerage offices and client assets of $1.1 trillion.