LOS ANGELES -- Rauscher Pierce Refsnes Inc. has opened a new office near Los Angeles to expand its public finance presence in southern California, a move that has attracted five individuals from other firms. "It's not a new strategy by any stretch of the imagination" because the bond dealer had hoped to expand to southern California since entering the state in San Francisco a dozen years ago, said Leslie O. Lynch Jr., executive vice president and co-manager of Rauscher Pierce's fixed income department.
The Dallas-based firm already has "a good mix" of clients in southern California, Lynch said.
The new office, opened last week, is located in Glendale, about 10 miles north of downtown Los Angeles.
Paul C. McDonnell Jr., formerly a vice president with Sutro & Co., has joined Rauscher Pierce as a first vice president and managing director. Calvin Hsu, who also worked for Sutro, is now an assistant vice president at Rauscher Pierce.
Rounding out the new office are three hires from Seidler-Fitzgerald Public Finance, a division of Seidler Amdec Securities Inc.
Kenneth D. Ough, formerly a managing director at Seidler-Fitzgerald, has joined Rauscher Pierce as a senior vice president. Jonathan D. White, formerly a vice president at Seidler, now serves in a similar post at Rauscher Pierce. Barbara A. Gasik, formerly an administrative assistant at Seidler, is an associate at Rauscher.
McDonnell, Ough, and White had worked previously in public finance for national firms such as Merrill Lynch & Co. and Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co.
The investment bankers "have a very strong client base," Lynch said. They will focus on traditional municipal finance needs for schools, cities, counties, and special districts, he said.
The expansion gives Rauscher Pierce a further public finance foothold in major growth states, adding to its offices in Texas, Sarasota, Fla., and Phoenix.
Using full credit to the book manager as the yardstick, Securities Data Co. determined that Rauscher Pierce ranked 19th nationally for underwriting new long-term municipal deals in 1992, with 190 issues totaling $2.42 billion.
California deals provided almost 10% of that dollar volume total, with 17 issues totaling $223.4 million, according to Securities Data figures. Rauscher Pierce ranked 22d in California, with a market share of 0.8%.
The new office should boost Rauscher Pierce's underwriting volume in California, Lynch said. He also stressed that the new hires will continue working a "significant amount" as financial advisers, a service that helped build the firm's San Francisco practice.
Lynch said the Glendale office gives the bankers convenient access to locations throughout southern California. Glendale in recent years has developed a thriving corridor of office buildings, many of which have attracted financial service firms.
"We believe very strongly in the California market," Lynch said, adding that "California will weather this recession" and continue to provide public finance opportunities.
