Fall of Peregrine’s Wasendorf Presaged in Christmas Toast

Peregrine Financial Group Inc. employees gathered for their annual holiday party at the River East Art Center, overlooking the Chicago River. After enjoying appetizers and an open bar, they heard the kind of somber note you don’t expect from the boss at such a fete: Even businesses that get off to a good start aren’t guaranteed to last.

That was the gist of the remarks last December from Russell Wasendorf Sr., chief executive officer of Peregrine, the futures brokerage he founded. Wasendorf rambled and said that while he was proud of creating Peregrine after his first year in business, you never know how things will turn out, recalled Phil Flynn, a former analyst at Peregrine’s futures brokerage, PGFBest, who attended the party.