Investment banking and brokerage firm Stephens Inc. has named John Baumgartner managing director and co-head of equity capital markets.
Prior to joining Stephens, Baumgartner served as managing director and head of equity capital markets for Robert W. Baird & Company, where he oversaw Baird's capital-raising transactions including IPOs, follow-on equity underwritings, block trades and private placements.
"The firm's roots in the public equity markets date back to 1970 when Stephens took Wal-Mart public," Brad Eichler and Kenny Gunderman, co-heads of Stephens' investment banking unit, said in a statement. "Since that time, we have continued to focus on helping high-quality companies access equity capital to help grow their businesses.
"The addition of John highlights our ongoing commitment to this area," they added.
Baumgartner will be based in the firm's Dallas office.
"Stephens is one of the most experienced and successful investment banks," Baumgartner said. "The firm's equity underwriting business has a tremendous legacy as well as continued great potential looking forward, and I'm very excited to be part of the team."
Northern Trust Expands Transition Mgmt. Team
Northern Trust has created two dedicated sales positions in its transition management services unit, who will work closely with institutional investors to manage costs and risks while changing investment managers or asset allocation policies.
Bill Kincaid has joined Northern Trust to lead transition management sales, distribution and relationship management in North America, reporting to Grant Johnsey, head of transition management, North America.
Kate Lander has taken a similar role for the Europe, Middle East and Africa and Asia-Pacific regions. She reports to Simon Hutchinson, head of transition management for those regions.
Kincaid has spent more than 20 years in the institutional brokerage, asset management and asset servicing industry, most recently with the transition management sales team at BNY ConvergEx.
Lander has been with Northern Trust for six years, most recently as head of fixed income trading for global securities lending in London.
"These new sales positions, along with new analysts hired in recent months, reflect the growth we have seen in transition management and demonstrate Northern Trust's commitment to this business," said Michael A. Vardas, Jr., managing director of Northern Trust Capital Markets. "Transition management is a core business for us. With Kate and Bill on our team, we see great potential for growth in providing the complex transition with customized strategies, superior service and confidentiality that clients expect from Northern Trust."
Jonsey added: "The success of our transition management business is built on the quality of our people, and we are pleased to add industry veterans with wide experience to these dedicated sales roles. Bill and Kate will work with the consultant community and our clients to profile Northern Trust's role as an established leader in the transition management industry."
Great-West Hires Ghazaleh As VP of IRA Strategy
Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance has appointed Sam Ghazaleh as vice president of retirement solutions for its individual retirement account strategy, a newly created position.
"We're building an education resource center, further improving our IRA and retirement planning offerings, and adding new functionality to our distribution process," said Mitchell Graye, president and CEO. "Sam is a hands-on executive who has an impressive record of leading these types of strategic initiatives. He's a welcome addition to our organization."
Ghazaleh spent more than 12 years at Fidelity Investments in a variety of executive roles in its retirement services business, leading strategy and planning and building Fidelity's IRA business. He was also an executive with Rollover Systems and a management consultant. Ghazaleh was also an Air Force officer for five years.
"We're building an education resource center, further improving our IRA and retirement planning offerings, and adding new functionality to our distribution process," said Mitchell Graye, president and CEO. "Sam is a hands-on executive who has an impressive record of leading these types of strategic initiatives. He's a welcome addition to our organization."
Ghazaleh will report to EVP of Individual Markets Bob Shaw, who commented on his new report: "When it comes to retirement planning and distributions, Sam and his team will create a valuable planning and education resource for our customers."
Copeland Leads Wealth Unit at Affiliated Managers
John W. Copeland III is now president of Affiliated Managers Group's new subsidiary, AMG Wealth Partners. The unit focuses on investments in boutique wealth management firms.
A 23-year veteran of the wealth management industry, Copeland is based in West Palm Beach, Fla., reporting to Sean M. Healey, AMG's chairman and chief executive officer.
"With an increasing number of high-net-worth clients seeking sophisticated investment solutions and advice, the wealth management industry is growing rapidly, and independent firms with institutionalized practices are best positioned to capitalize on this growth," Healey said. "The largest and most successful firms represent a very attractive investment opportunity for us, and these firms can benefit greatly from AMG's partnership approach. Given our unique investment structure and reputation for being the partner-of-choice for independent firms, combined with the attractive opportunity set, we are confident that over time, AMG Wealth Partners will become a meaningful component of our growth strategy."
