Braver Stern Securities opened a Midwest office based in the Chicago area. David Connelly will lead the office and become a member of the company’s management committee.
Connelly was head of Chicago fixed – income sales for 17 years at Bear Stearns. Most recently, he was a senior managing director at Guggenheim Securities, where he managed the Chicago office and led the financial institutions group and bank client group.
Brian Vanselow, JP Gagne, Kevin Smith, and Mike Piper will also join in mortgage sales. Andy Lorimer also joins as a CDO/CLO trader based in New York.
Vanselow, Gagne, Smith, and Piper were also at Guggenheim and Bear Stearns, where they built and established their mortgage practice.
Lorimer joined Guggenheim last year from Resource America, a specialized asset management firm based in New York.
The firm’s decision to expand its mortgage sales and trading team is part of a continued effort to increase its sales and trading platform and product offerings. The additions supply significant industry experience, customer relationships, and product capabilities that compliment the company’s existing customer-focused strategy.
“We are excited about this talented group of individuals joining our team,” said Cliff Sterling, managing director in fixed income sales at Braver Stern. “They will significantly expand our distribution capability and help to develop our relationships with the important Midwest market.”
Braver Stern is an independent broker-dealer specializing in MBS and other structured and securitized products for institutional clients.