Janney Capital Aims to Raise Market Presence With a Slew of Muni Pros

Historic low issuance in the municipal space is not stopping firms from attempting to increase their market presence.

Janney Capital Markets has made two additions to its trading and underwriting teams. The firm already has hired 10 senior fixed-income professionals in the last year and 20 muni professionals since 2008.

Brendan Shanahan joins Janney as a vice president of municipal trading while Lauren Carter joins as a vice president of underwriting. Based in New York and the firm’s Philadelphia headquarters, respectively, Shanahan and Carter report to Dale Foard, head of municipal sales and trading.

Steve Genyk, managing director and head of fixed income at Janney, added that the new hires “are two more examples of Janney’s ongoing strategic expansion of its capital markets business, and continued focus on municipal sales and trading.”

Shanahan comes from Keybanc Capital Markets and has trading experience in investment-grade muni bonds across all sectors. He will work on expanding Janney’s institutional business.

Foard said Shanahan will focus on trading on the long-end of the curve, 20 years and beyond, so that the firm can become more specialized. Shanahan worked for Foard at Legg Mason about a decade ago, and is a “good, quality trader,” Foard added.

Carter comes aboard from TD Securities where she was responsible for underwriting over $2.7 billion of tax-exempt notes in 2010. She also held trading and sales positions at Commerce Capital Markets and the Vanguard Group. At Janney, she will be responsible for competitive underwriting in the Northeast.

Carter will also help build out the firm’s banking presence, Foard said.

Janney does not compete in competitive deals under $50 million and is working on generating more commission revenue, especially in the Northeast.

“When people think of Pennsylvania, we want them to think of Janney — and that has worked,” Foard said.

In the competitive market, “you’re bidding to make money and you know where the value is,” he said.

Foard said part of the firm’s goal is to expand its footprint in Philadelphia and New York in a bid to position the firm as an industry leader. “I’ve been at Janney for three years and we’ve grown quite a bit,” Foard said.

Particularly in the competitive space, the firm has made vast improvements in the past several years.

On competitive bond offerings, Janney has moved up from being the 52nd ranked senior manager nationally with 12 deals in 2007, to ranking 21st and underwriting 63 deals in 2010.

For the year to date, the firm is ranked 12th, participating in 43 deals.

As a senior manager on all deals nationwide, Janney has upped its status over the years. Since 2007, the firm has moved up as a senior manager from 58th place, running the books on 38 deals, to 35th place in 2010, running 123 deals.

So far in 2011, Janney Capital Markets is ranked 24th and has completed 62 deals.

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