Fall 2019
According to Company lore, Woodstock Corporation and its predecessor organizations were founded in October 1929. After the passing of the founder of Paine Webber, (the Boston based broker dealer and investment bank), William A. Paine, his estate and financial affairs were handled by an office called Paine Estates. Within a few years Paine Estates was incorporated as Woodstock Corporation, mostly handling tax and custody issues. In the late 1960s, Woodstock Corporation registered as an investment adviser, as we are today. William A. Paine died a few weeks before the Wall Street Crash of 1929. As with other estates, the valuation before the crash was much higher than the valuation post-crash. Company lore credits William A. Paine’s estate with helping to establish the alternate valuation date now available to all US taxable estates.