DALLAS – Former New York State Environmental Facilities Corp. chief financial officer Kenneth G. Friedrich has joined Hilltop Securities Inc. as head of fixed income capital markets, company officials said.
“We expect that he will strengthen our taxable and municipal fixed income sales, trading and underwriting efforts across the country – with a particular focus on the middle markets,” said Hilltop chief operating officer Robert Peterson. “He brings the proven track record of success we believe that we need to achieve our goals, and we look forward to his leadership as we continue to strengthen and expand our capital markets business.”
With more than 30 years in public finance, Friedrich left RBC as head of municipal sales, trading and syndication in June 2016. For the past year, he has worked as chief financial officer for New York State Environmental Facilities Corp.
“I believe that HilltopSecurities is ideally positioned to significantly grow its sales and trading presence across credit, MBS and municipals,” Friedrich said. “I am also eager to help the firm continue to grow its senior-managed municipal origination presence to complement its market-leading financial advisory practice.”
Friedrich spent the majority of his career with RBC and its predecessor firm Dain Rauscher in New York, where he directly oversaw primary market pricing and distribution, as well as secondary trading and sales for long-term municipal securities. Friedrich earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from American University in Washington, D.C.
Peterson said that Friedrich wanted to return to the capital markets business.
Friedrich replaces Daniel Leland, who worked for the predecessor firm Southwest Securities for 20 years. Hilltop, the parent firm of the Southwest region's top financial advisory firm First Southwest Co., officially merged Southwest Securities with First Southwest in 2016. Peterson, who was with SWS before the merger, became president and chief operating officer of the new firm.
Replacing Leland was a "culturally difficult thing to do," Peterson acknowledged. "When you add a new person, it makes people a little concerned."
However, the firm is gaining efficiency and adding business in the wake of the merger, Peterson said.
Hilltop is a top financial services firm and registered investment adviser headquartered in Dallas, with offices in Plano and Southlake, Texas, and across the United States. The firm’s other areas of focus include public finance, municipal and taxable fixed income underwriting, sales and trading; equity and portfolio trading; retail brokerage services; securities clearing; structured finance; corporate finance; and securities lending.
