Mairs and Power is an SEC-registered investment advisory firm and is Minnesota's oldest investment firm under continuous ownership and management. The firm was founded in 1931 by George A. Mairs, Jr., a St. Paul native who at the age of 28 determined that the field of investment management was under-represented in the Twin Cities and might provide a career opportunity. Already holding an undergraduate degree from Pennsylvania's Lafayette College, he went on to earn a Master's degree in corporate finance from the University of Minnesota. Mairs then became Minnesota's first independent professional investment counsel, just 15 months after the stock market crash of 1929.