Melvin Norman Hecht

1919 Investment Counsel LLC (1919ic) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. The firm was founded in 2005 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF). On November 2014, Stifel acquired 1919ic from Legg Mason, Inc. Prior to and as a result of this acquisition, the firm changed its name from Legg Mason Investment Counsel LLC to 1919 Investment Counsel LLC. 1919ic provides comprehensive investment counsel services to both individual and institutional clients, and financial planning and family office services to individual clients.

On March 10, 1864, the Maryland Legislature granted a charter incorporating the Safe Deposit Company as a secure repository for valuables, responding to concerns for the safety of Maryland's people and property in time of war. In 1876, the Safe Deposit was granted fiduciary powers and changed its name to Safe Deposit and Trust Company. This was the first corporate fiduciary in Maryland and one of the first in the nation. Mercantile Trust and Deposit merged with Safe Deposit and Trust Company in 1953 to form Mercantile-Safe Deposit and Trust Company (MSDT), which trades as Mercantile Bank & Trust. In 1969, Mercantile Bankshares Corporation (NASDAQ: MRKB) was organized as the first registered bank holding company in Maryland. With Mercantile Bank & Trust as its largest bank, Mercantile Bankshares began operations in September 1970. MSDT manages portfolios for individuals and institutions as well as the Mercantile family of mutual funds.