Contingencies (Details) (Litigation)	1 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2009 claimants
Litigation
Contingencies
Number of former advisors filing a class action suit	2

Represents the number of former advisors filing a class action suit against the Company.

No definition available.

Name:	wdr_LossContingencyClassActionSuitFiledByNumberOfFormerAdvisors
Namespace Prefix:	wdr_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration