Joe Ricketts Politics Ruffle TD Ameritrade Brass

TD Ameritrade executives don't want the online brokerage linked to its founder's political activities.

 
Ameritrade CEO Fred Tomczyk said Tuesday the company lost some customers earlier this year when Joe Ricketts reportedly, considered and then dropped a proposal to revive controversy over the relationship between President Barack Obama and his former pastor.
 
But Tomczyk says the number of customers that left wasn't significant compared to Ameritrade's 5.74 million funded accounts.
 
Tomczyk says Ricketts' conservative political views don't reflect Ameritrade's views because the company generally stays out of politics.
 
Ricketts retired from Ameritrade's board last fall to focus on other interests, including his family's ownership of the Chicago Cubs. That ownership has become more difficult, some say, in a city controlled by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a surrogate for President Barack Obama. 
 
After the story broke, Emanue withdrew from negotiations with the Ricketts' family to provide help in securing financing for a stadium revamp. 
 
Ricketts' family still owns about 15 percent of Ameritrade's stock, and two of his sons serve on the board.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
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