Stephens Inc. Opens San Francisco Research Office

Stephens Inc. has expanded its equity research department with a new operation in San Francisco’s financial district. The location will focus on equity research in the specialty finance industry.

The San Francisco office will be staffed by senior analyst John Hecht and research associate Kyle Joseph, both of whom will be focusing on specialty finance, including payday lending, pawn brokers, business development companies and other consumer and commercial finance interests.

The specialty and consumer finance sector has a long-standing area of expertise for Stephens Inc. across equity research, sales and trading, principal investing, corporate finance and other divisions. Since 2010, the firm has managed or advised on more than 20 specialty finance mergers and acquisitions and capital raising transactions with a total value approaching $4.0 billion, according to a company statement.

“This marks the second senior research team hired year-to-date. We have the capital and desire to opportunistically hire from a talented pool of research analysts,” noted Nik Fisken, Stephens Inc. EVP and Director of Research. “Such was the case with John and Kyle, both of whom are nationally known and highly regarded professionals dedicated to research in a subsector that directly aligns with Stephens’ long-standing activity and expertise in specialty finance.”

Hecht joins Stephens as a Managing Director and Research Analyst. Previously, he served as a Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst in specialty finance at  JMP Securities.  As a senior analyst at JMP, Mr. Hecht covered more than 20 specialty finance companies. After receiving his undergraduate degree in economics at the University of California-Berkeley, Hecht obtained his MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Stephens Inc. is a privately-held, full-service investment banking firm headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas.