The Trading Floor: Muni Veteran to Lead Hartfield's S.F. Office

The Nasdaq's losses are turning into the municipal market's gains. Hartfield, Titus & Donnelly hired former Merrill Lynch Nasdaq market maker Mike Carrington, as a vice president to head its San Francisco office.

The move marks a return to his roots for Carrington, who worked at Hartfield for four years before shifting to equity trading when he joined Herzog, Heine & Geduld in 2000.

Frank O'Brien, chairman and chief executive officer at Hartfield, an interdealer broker that deals exclusively in municipals, said the firm pursued Carrington because of his dedication and commitment to the field. He was also interested because Carrington's earlier work at Hartfield made him accustomed to the type of environment. "He had all the attributes that he needed," O'Brien said.

Carrington said he decided to return to Hartfield primarily because of the opportunity to join the management team. In addition, he prefers the smaller size of the firm. At Hartfield, he will manage the half-dozen other traders in the San Francisco office, and supervise customer relations.

He will report to Greg Moore, national brokering manager and senior vice president, who is based at Hartfield's Jersey City headquarters.

He officially left Merrill on Oct. 22 and begins his new position on Nov. 11. At Merrill, he reported to Kevin Lamb, sector manager, and Jimmy Fay, head of trading. He had worked at the firm since it bought Herzog, then one of the leading Nasdaq market makers, in 2000.

Carrington replaces Stephen Butterfield, who left Hartfield in August to join Stone &Youngberg, a full service brokerage and underwriting firm in San Francisco.