CastleOak Securities Continues Steady Expansion With the Hire of Seasoned Veterans in Its Fixed Income and Municipal Divisions

NEW YORK, March 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- CastleOak Securities, L.P., a leading New York‐based boutique investment banking firm, today announced the continued expansion of its Fixed Income and Municipal Sales and Trading and Underwriting divisions with the additions of six industry professionals. In addition, the firm announced the recent opening of its new office in Los Angeles as it extends its presence in order to meet the growing demand of clients.

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Kevin Di Russa, formerly of Wunderlich Securities, has been named Senior Managing Director responsible for the company's sales efforts in Fixed Income;  Omar Buttari and Kevin Ghomashchi, also formerly of Wunderlich Securities, and Kimberly Sullivan, formerly of Coastal View Asset Advisors, have been named Managing Directors in Fixed Income Sales and Trading; Beth Wolchock, formerly of Jackson Securities, has been named Managing Director of Municipal Underwriting in Public Finance; and David Frank, also formerly of Jackson Securities, has been named Managing Director of Municipal Trading in Public Finance. Mr. Buttari and Mr. Ghomashchi will be located in the new Los Angeles office.

"The addition of these experienced professionals to our outstanding team reflects our aggressive growth across key sectors of the market," said David Jones, President and Chief Executive Officer of CastleOak Securities.  "Their extensive client relationships and industry knowledge will enhance our sales efforts and enable us to continue delivering the service our clients expect. In addition, the opening of our new office in Los Angeles increases our geographical footprint throughout the U.S. which strengthens the depth and breadth of our business."

The new members of CastleOak's team are:

FIXED INCOME SALES AND TRADING

Mr. Di Russa served as Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Wunderlich Securities where he was responsible for expanding its capital markets efforts nationwide and developing a new debt research platform. Prior to that, Mr. Di Russa served as Executive Managing Director at Jesup & Lamont Securities Corp. He also has held senior level positions at Sterne Agee and Leach, Jefferies/Bond Direct, and Advest.

Mr. Buttari has over 20 years of sales and trading experience covering 1st and 2nd tier asset management firms, public pension funds, municipalities and banking institutions. Mr. Buttari served as Managing Director and Executive Vice President of Institutional Sales and Trading at Wunderlich Securities. Prior to that, Mr. Buttari was Director of Structured Products at BTIG in Los Angeles. He also served as Director of Taxable Fixed Income for De La Rosa & Company Investment Banking and Senior Vice President for the Capital Markets Division of Raymond James & Associates.

Mr. Ghomashchi has spent over a decade on Wall Street as a buy-side specialist for various hedge funds focused on distressed and special situations opportunities. He most recently served as Vice President and High Yield Desk Analyst at Wunderlich Securities. Previously, he was Co-Portfolio Manager of Event Driven Strategies at Millennium Management.  Mr.  Ghomashchi has also held positions at Ahab Capital Management and Amaranth Advisors.

Ms. Sullivan brings over 25 years of experience in capital markets, with a background in agencies, mortgages, corporate bonds, structured products, private placements and derivatives.  Ms. Sullivan was a Managing Partner for Coastal View Asset Advisors and a Senior Vice President at Lehman Brothers as an Institutional Fixed Income Salesperson.

MUNICIPAL UNDERWRITING AND TRADING IN PUBLIC FINANCE

Ms. Wolchock most recently served as Managing Director at Jackson Securities where she was lead underwriter for its activities in tax-exempt and taxable municipals. Prior to that, she was Managing Director of Greenwich Partners where she led the underwriting desk. She was also the National Manager of the underwriting department at Dean Witter Reynolds and served as Manager of the negotiated underwriting desk at Kidder Peabody (which was eventually acquired by Paine Webber).

Mr. Frank served as lead tax-exempt trader at Jackson Securities. Previously, he was Head General Market Trader at Greenwich Partners and was one of five founding partners at Belle Haven Investments.  Mr. Frank also worked at Chemical Bank where he was Vice President of Municipal Trading, managing a 17-person trading operation.

About CastleOak Securities

CastleOak is a New York based boutique investment bank with regional offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Columbus, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and Portland. It is managed by a team of seasoned professionals with an average of over 20 years of financial services industry experience. CastleOak provides sales and trading, capital markets, and financial advisory services. The company recently launched Money Fund Access, a leading edge institutional money fund portal which leverages State Street's FundConnect(SM) platform. CastleOak offers expertise in primary and secondary market transactions, and is structured to effectively advise its clients on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, valuations and general strategic assessments.

CastleOak is in a strategic partnership with Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P., a leading global financial services provider to the institutional equity and fixed income capital markets.

For more information, please visit www.castleoaklp.com.

SOURCE CastleOak Securities