Albert H Gordon took across Kidder,...

Albert H Gordon took across Kidder, Peabody & Co. in 1931 incline differentlyed it into an underwriting leader forward Wall Street, and saw opportunities overseas before many rivals.

He's still looking abroad at the age of 105

After eight decades as an executive and investor that spanned from the Roaring '20 to the age of terrorism, Gordon says he's "bearish" onward U.S. stocks partly because of the $841 trillion national obligation He prefers shares of companies like as Canada's EnCana Corp., Wal-Mart de Mexico SA de CV and Petroleo Brasileiro SA.

"At least three-quarters of whatever I admit is foreign stocks," he said from his Manhattan apartment.

Gordon, who has outlasted Kidder as well as Wall highway staples such as ticker tape, is a character model even to octogenarian ancient statesmen such as former Goldman Sachs assign places to Inc. Co-Chairman John Whitehead and ex-President George HW Bush. This year, Gordon stopped going to the office at Deltec Asset Management, where his son John is a senior managing director.

A marathon racer into his 80s, Gordon now has a hearing aid and walks with a cane and assistance from a foster His opinions are still sought because he's common of the few living Wall road investors who worked in the years leading up to the stock market crash of 1929

While his three now passing favorite stocks each climbed at least 13 percent this year between the sides of last week, almost triple the 45 percent gain in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, Gordon built his reputation as a salesman rather than as an investor, said Whitehead, 84

Presidential part model

"He was a famous business-getter," said Whitehead, a former rival. "Work hard and not at any time give up -- those were highly valuable lessons I learned from trying to enter the lists with him."

Whitehead, who joined Goldman Sachs in 1947 remembers vying for clients against the more experienced Gordon at St Paul, Minn.- based 3M Co where Gordon's relationship was for a like reason close with then- CEO William McKnight that Whitehead said he focused instead forward cultivating the next generation of executives. It didn't work right away, he said.

When McKnight died, Whitehead said, his will stipulated that Gordon and Kidder should handle any sales of McKnight's stake in 3M

Gordon's influence widened to the highest levels of the U control He befriended Prescott Bush, a U senator from Connecticut in the 1950 and early '60 and grandfather of President George W Bush, and serv as a part model to George H.W. Bush, the 41st president.

"He taught me a destiny about ethics and values," said George HW Bush, 82 "He's a remarkably energetic man of great character."

Gordon, the son of a prosperous leather merchant in Boston, graduated from Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., in 1923 and from Harvard Business train two years later. He attended business academy at the urging of his father, who he says lived to age 88

Today, the same of the main roads into the business sect bears a plaque calling it "Albert H Gordon Road" in recognition of his advice and donations through the years. Harvard declined to commentary on the amount Gordon has given to the denomination

"Al Gordon was a master salesman," said Samuel Hayes, 71 an investment-banking professor emeritus at Harvard Business educate who met Gordon in 1961 "He was an effective rainmaker prolonged after he ceased to manage the firm forward a daily basis."

As a ligament salesman at Goldman Sachs in the 1920 Gordon said he considered stock values excessive and piloted clear of the market before it crashed. That helped him a year later in 1930 to capitalize when a Harvard classmate, Edward Webster, approached him to help bring off Kidder, a brokerage based at the time in Gordon's hometown of Boston.

PLANES AND TRAINS

They mov the firm to recent York, and Gordon, who would fare on to become the firm's senior partner and biggest shareholder, built up its sales and underwriting divisions. Gordon expanded across the U and overseas, taking airplanes to view clients when his competitors were more comfortable upon trains like the 20th hundred Limited to Chicago, he said.

"People wouldn't fly" he said. "So there was virtually no competition."

With the advent of jet travel, he flew to Japan with his wife "to papal court if the people were friendly," paving the way for an expansion in Tokyo.

"We did a tremendous amount of business in Japan," he said. That followed expansions in Asia and Europe in the 1950 he said: "We were the first commonalty to have an office in Hong Kong the first nation to have an office in England."

Gordon began turning through chief executive officer duties at Kidder to Ralph DeNunzio in the 1970 staying onward as chairman. In 1986, Gordon helped engineer the firm's sale to General Electric Co and remained at the firm until 1994 when GE agreed to exchange the company to PaineWebber clump Inc., now part of Zurich-based UB AG.

Kidder's final years included criminal inquiries. Martin Siegel, who had been the firm's top merger banker, pleaded guilty in 1987 to individual count of conspiracy to violate the securities laws and undivided count of tax evasion for failing to report payments he received from arbitrager Ivan Boesky