History
 In August of 1929 the Dow Jones Industrial Average peaked at 381.70 and by July of 1932 hit bottom at 41.22. In the same period 10,000 banks across the country failed and in the process robbed many Americans of their life savings. John R. Reed lost his college savings as a result of the banking collapse and in the early 1930's took a job as a salesman for McKnight-Keaton, a wholesale grocery company in Sikeston, Missouri.
As a traveling salesman Mr. Reed would ride the ferry boats across the Mississippi and Ohio rivers in order to call on merchants in Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri. Eventually he was promoted to Manager of McKnight-Keaton and while there, met his future wife Dorothy Dudley whom he married in 1935.
In the early 1950's Mr. Reed joined the Woodward Wholesale Hardware Company of Cairo, Illinois as General Manager where he earned a salary of $10,000 per year. By 1958 the business had attracted the attention of larger companies and he advised the owners of Woodward that conditions were right for the company to sell. Mr. Reed traveled to Louisville, Kentucky and negotiated the sale of Woodward to Stratton & Terstegge. Stratton & Terstegge later became known as S&T Industries, and grew into one of the largest manufacturing and wholesaling companies in the nation.
 With the sale of Woodward complete Mr. Reed picked up a copy of the St. Louis Globe Democrat and answered an ad placed by a St. Louis brokerage firm. He traveled to St. Louis, interviewed for the position, and was hired as a stockbroker for Edward D. Jones & Co. At the time of his hiring, Ted Jones, son of Edward D. Jones, had embarked on a novel plan to open one-man brokerage offices across the country. At the time Mr. Reed joined Edward D. Jones & Co., the firm had only nine offices.
In 1968 Mr. Reed decided to move his branch office from Cairo, Illinois to Union City, Tennessee thereby becoming the first office in Tennessee for the Jones family. In the same year, Ruth Davis joined Mr. & Mrs. Reed as a teletype operator in a small second floor office in downtown Union City. In the years that followed Mr. Reed's office consistently ranked first in profitability. He was among the first to be invited to become a partner when Ted Jones expanded the ownership of the firm in 1974, and he hired and trained numerous investment representatives along the way.
 In 1986 Mickey Smith was recruited by Edward Jones to open a branch office in Martin, Tennessee. In less than twelve months, and with the help of his wife Pam, the office was established and profitable. In August of 1987 Mr. Reed, nearing retirement, asked Mr. Smith to take over management of his client's assets.
 At the time of his retirement in 1989, John and his old buddy Ted enjoyed some fried crappie together at Reelfoot Lake near Union City. They shared stories about the early days and reminisced about two careers bound by markets and the life long commitment to placing the customer first.
In October of 1987, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 507.99 points to close at 1,738.74. The catastrophic loss of more than twenty-two percent, the largest percentage loss in history, became know as "Black Monday". In the ten years following the crash of 1987, client assets grew from $80 million to over $180 million placing Mr. Smith in the top 5% of his firm - nationwide.
In 1998 Mr. Smith established Reed & Company, LLC and contracted with Boston-based LPL Financial Services to handle the firms back office clearing, execution, and custodial services. In 2002 the firm added tax and business advisory services and changed the firm name to SmithReed, LLC. Today the firm is built around a team of experts who provide advice on investment, tax, and business issues and serves clients in AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, IL, KS, KY, MO, NC, NY, OH, TN, and SC.
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