Jackson Securities Hires Donald Smart for Public Finance

BRADENTON, Fla. — Atlanta-based Jackson Securities has hired Donald Smart as a managing director in the firm’s public finance group.

Smart, who started work Jan. 1, is developing public finance transactions for tax-exempt debt issues by states, municipalities, counties, and various tax-exempt authorities.

He also is working on corporate-securities placement opportunities, according to Jackson officials.

“We believe that with his experience and contacts in the financial services sector, Don will be a strong addition to the Jackson Securities brand as we continue to position the firm to take advantage of new opportunities and help make us more competitive in those markets where we do business,” said Jackson president W. Bruce Gow.

Smart previously worked for Jackson as managing director of corporate finance and general counsel from 1999 to 2002.

In 2004, he joined Atlanta Life Financial Group as senior vice president and general counsel. Atlanta Life is a privately owned financial services firm and the parent company of Jackson Securities.

Smart said he rejoined Jackson Securities in public finance because issuers have growing needs in the municipal market.

“It is an especially advantageous time ... because the economy is beginning to show legitimate signs of sustainable growth,” he said. “My primary goal is to help the company gain market share in the public finance arena by assisting with our existing clients and by identifying and developing new client opportunities for Jackson Securities.”

Smart is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School and is an honors graduate of Harvard ­College.

He is a member of the bar associations in Connecticut, Georgia, New York, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C. He has 31 years of experience as a corporate finance investment banker and a corporate ­lawyer.

Jackson Securities was acquired by Atlanta Life in 2007. The firm ranked eighth among  minority-owned co-managers last year, according to Thomson Reuters.

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