Alex. Brown to switch stock trading to NYSE

Alex. Brown Inc. said yesterday that it will move trading in its stock to the New York Stock Exchange, making shares of the nation's oldest investment banking company available in the nation's best-known financial marketplace for the first time.

Big Board trading is expected to begin next month under the symbol "AB."

The company's shares now trade in the over-the-counter market, as they have since Alex. Brown went public in 1986.

"The majority of publicly traded firms in the securities industry are listed on the NYSE," said Chief Executive A. B. Krongard.

"As a result, we believe that listing on the NYSE is in the best interest of our company and its stockholders," he said.

Chief Financial Officer Beverly Wright said the move will not cause noticeable changes for employees, stockholders or customers of the 192-year-old company.

Alex. Brown is based in downtown Baltimore.