Former E.F. Hutton execs plan a comeback: report

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A group of former E.F. Hutton & Co. executives plan to relaunch a new boutique financial-advisory firm under the same name, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

The group, led by former E.F. Hutton and Smith Barney manager Frank Campanale, is expected to announce on Monday that it will launch the firm in coming weeks with the hiring of financial advisers and others, Campanale told the WSJ.

In the 1980s, E.F. Hutton was considered one of the largest brokerage firms, with 19,000 employees. In late 1987, E.F. Hutton agreed to be sold to Shearson Lehman Brothers Holdings for about $1 billion.

E.F. Hutton later became part of Smith Barney, which is now part of a joint venture owned by Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and Citigroup Inc (C.N).

It is unclear whether the new company will be able to build a business around the name, the WSJ report said.

(Reporting By Nadia Damouni; Editing by Ed Lane)