Auriga Expands Fixed Income Operations in the U.S.

NEW YORK, May 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Auriga USA announced today that they substantially expanded their fixed income sales and trading operations in the U.S. with several new product lines. Auriga USA is a privately owned US subsidiary of Auriga Securities, Sociedad de Vlores, S.A., with home offices in Madrid, Spain. In the past year, the U.S. subsidiary opened four new locations and hired nine new traders and salespeople.

"We're excited by the opportunities here and the confidence Auriga SA has in our success. A recent infusion of capital from our partners is allowing us to aggressively pursue new products and the right people to service them," said CEO Rich Winter. The firm is a growing institutional broker/dealer specializing in residential and commercial mortgage backed securities and other asset backed securities. 

Auriga USA's New York office was launched nearly four years ago, focusing on residential mortgage backed securities (RMBS) not backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  During 2011, the office expanded operations and experts on staff to handle asset backed securities (ABS), agency collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) and commercial mortgage backed securities (CMBS).

Auriga USA opened four new sales offices in 2011 across the U.S. They are headed by industry veterans George Fondren, Dallas; Charles Kapp, Chicago; Luke Fry, Los Angeles; and Shannon Smith, San Francisco.  "Consolidation continues across Wall Street. We are in a position to hire some of the highest quality people in the industry.  This is an unprecedented opportunity for us to continue build a powerful team," said Alex Hendrickson, head of sales.

Recently, Brad Harris, formerly of UBS and with 15 years experience as an agency trader, and Jon Devirian, formerly of Cohen Brothers with a decade as a CBMS trader, joined the firm. "These individuals, along with our other recent additions allow us the opportunity to enhance and expand our relationships with our customer base," said Jason Adams, co-head of trading. The fully staffed trading desk now boasts five mortgage product specialists, each with a specific area of expertise.

"Each of our traders has extensive experience in mortgage-related products and our 15-person sales force is 100% dedicated to mortgage and asset backed products. This focus avails us the opportunity to provide relevancy to our customers," Adams added.

About Auriga Holdings, LLC

Auriga Holdings, LLC is a majority owned U.S. subsidiary of Auriga Securities, Sociedad de Vlores, S.A., a Spanish-based holding company with one of the most active fixed income broker-dealers in Spain and an asset management division with over $250 million of AUM.  Auriga SA has no debt and approximately $40 million Euro in equity. 

Auriga Holdings, LLC has three primary divisions, a fixed income unit, an equity research division and a SEC registered investment advisor.

Auriga USA, LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Auriga Holdings and is a registered broker-dealer.

SOURCE Auriga USA