LOS ANGELES — Investment banking firm Rice Financial Products Co. has hired seven people to bolster its sales and trading operations and expand its footprint in California, Illinois, Texas and New York.
"We saw an opportunity to get very high quality people on the platform," said Don Rice, the firm's chief executive officer.
The 22-year-old New York-based, minority-owned firm has grown rapidly since it began the transformation from a municipal derivatives boutique to a full-service underwriting firm in 2006.
The firm is opportunistic in its hiring and is always in growth mode, said Rice, adding that the firm works "aggressively each day to make sure we have the best people in every seat."
The firm has nine offices nationally. It has been managing underwriter on issues totaling $33.7 billion, earning a 17th place ranking nationally, according to Securities Data Co.
Three of the new hires will work under Tim Barbera, who was promoted to head of underwriting, sales and trading as part of a planned succession. Barbera, who has 17 years of municipal trading experience, had worked as co-head for three years with Howard Mackey, also former vice chairman.
"Tim has been a rising star for some time, so I made him co-head with the intention that he could move to head at some time in the future," Rice said. "That opportunity presented itself when Howard Mackey made the decision to leave the firm."
Barbera teaches finance as an adjunct professor at Seton Hall University, where he earned his bachelor's degree and master's of business administration. He is working on his Ph.D. in finance from Drexel University.
The firm made three hires under Barbera, further bolstering its trading desk.
Jared Fragin was named managing director and head of the Taxable Fixed Income Group, which sold a total of $19.2 billion in fixed income securities to state and local governments in 2014, according to the firm. Fragin worked at UBS for the past 10 years, most recently as director in U.S. Treasury and Agency Trading.
Ed Fitzpatrick was hired to work as a managing director on the trading desk. He moved over from the sales and trading desk at Loop Capital Markets. Jaqueline Lindo was hired to work as an operations associate on the sales and trading desk. She joined the firm from Ramirez & Co.
The firm also expanded its investment banking presence bringing in two new managing directors.
"We came out of the derivatives world, so we tend to be transactional as a firm," Rice said. "We are used to doing large, complicated, highly-analytical deals on a lead basis. We work hard to get people who work well within that framework."
Adrienne Archia will manage the firm's Chicago office while Hector Reyes-Erazo manages the firm's San Francisco office.
Archia, who has 29 years of experience, previously worked for Rice, but left in 2010. Most recently, she worked as a financial advisor with Ehlers & Associates, but also has been the chief financial officer of the Chicago Housing Authority.
"She is really well-known in the Chicago office, it is great we have her working there," said Rice, adding that she was instrumental in securing the firm work on a large wastewater deal there.
Reyes-Erazo, who has 20 years of experience in public finance, has worked for Backstrom McCarley, Estrada Hinojosa, Stone & Youngberg and PaineWebber.
Reyes-Erazo's expertise is in education, which is a sweet spot for the firm.
"We have a really good staff of educational bankers and a knowledge base in that area," Rice said. "Hector allows us to take that expertise into a state that has a lot of opportunities for educational financings."
Keith Irven was hired as a vice president to manage Rice's Texas public finance business. He joins from First Southwest.
Brett Giddings, also an investment banker, was hired as an associate. He recently earned his master's degree in financial engineering from Columbia University.
"I think we are really well-placed for the future," Rice said. "Our talent and comparative advantage as a firm is attracting extremely-talented people and giving them the environment where they can use their skills."
