A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc., a brokerage firm headquartered at St. Louis, has been named as one of the 100 best places to work in the United States.

The firm, which includes a branch location in Cape Girardeau, is the only retail brokerage firm in a book authored by business journalists Robert Levering and Milton Moskowitz.

The book, "The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America," rated firms in six areas: pay and benefits, opportunities, job security, pride in work and company, openness and fairness, and camaraderie and friendliness.

The authors interviewed thousands of employees throughout the country.

Marsha Limbaugh, branch manager of the Cape Girardeau office of A.G. Edwards, said, "The positive work environment at our company is a key to our success in serving our clients well. Employees who feel good about their work provide better service to our clients. Doing what is best for our clients is our primary objective."

The new book is the second edition of Levering and Moskowitz's nationwide bestseller of the same title in 1984. Of the companies in the original book, 55, including A.G. Edwards, repeated on the list.

The book was published by Currency/Doubleday and was released Jan. 22.

A.G. Edwards is a 105-year-old financial services company with 466 offices in 48 states and the District of Columbia.