Stephens Inc. deepens municipal underwriting and trading expertise in Texas

Little Rock-based independent financial services firm Stephens Inc. has expanded its public finance presence in Texas with the hiring of Curt Shelmire as senior vice president and manager of Texas public finance; and Kevin Jackson as vice president of municipal underwriting and trading.

Shelmire will be based out of Stephens’ Austin office and Jackson will be based out of Stephens’ Dallas office.

“Surging population growth in Texas creates demand for greater resources and infrastructure improvements,” said Dennis Hunt, Stephens’ executive vice president and head of public finance. “Accordingly, our increasing market presence and capabilities are aligned to meet the region’s evolving public finance needs. Curt and Kevin bring to Stephens a wealth of industry experience and practical knowledge of the opportunities and challenges affecting municipalities throughout the state. Furthermore, we’ve established a solid foundation and will continue to grow our presence in Austin, Dallas and Houston with plans of hiring additional talented bankers in the region.”

Shelmire has nearly 30 years of public finance experience. He was most recently managing director of public finance investment banking at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. He has previously worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch & Co.

Jackson has nearly two decades of experience in municipal underwriting and trading with his most recent position at Preston Hollow Capital, where he was head of municipal trading. Previously, he was senior vice president and managing director of municipal trading at Hilltop Securities.