SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc. recently made a series of new appointments to support its effort to invest in various equity businesses and expand in the Japanese and U.S. equities markets, according to a press release.
The group will work to strengthen “SMBC’s strong balance sheet and capital base to deliver added liquidity to the securities lending and funding markets,” a recent press release explains. “The firm’s platform will service interdealer brokers, work with agency and principal lenders and coordinate with the launch of the synthetic prime brokerage—targeted for Q3 2023—in order to offer what it can to hedge fund clients.”
The new executives will also help leverage existing trading partnerships between Japanese equities and North American clients, and develop new products with equity finance.
“These hires help reinforce our commitment to our equity clients and the overall equity business,” Masahito Nonaka, deputy president, SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc., said. “In addition to introducing new clients to our institutional business, the team plans to leverage SMBC’s strengths in developing new equity product offerings. Completing this will only further our reach with the institutional equity community.”
SMBC welcomes Allen Jordan as an executive director of U.S. equity sales trading. Under his new role, Jordan will be tasked with overseeing the company’s Japanese equity advisory, execution and ECM offerings. Before accepting his role with SMBC, he worked for Macquarie and Bear Stearns.
The company has also welcomed Marco Rosa as executive director and specialist in global equity sales trading, and Ted Langworthy as executive director and head of the Equity Finance team. Rosa’s new tasks will include U.S. equity sales trading, low-touch sales of Japanese equities and the creation of new strategies, such as ADR conversions and program trading.
Langworthy will use his experience in securities lending and equity financing with several global financial institutions, such as Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank and HSBC.
“The establishment of the Equity Finance team at SMBC Nikko America represents the firm’s willingness to expand its global footprint into new product lines. Launched on the heels of SMBC Nikko Tokyo’s newly established Equity Finance team, our Americas team’s objective will be to coordinate globally and highlight its expertise with Japanese and U.S. securities,” a recent press release states.