Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Announces Hiring of Distressed Debt Team

Team will join High Yield Desk and be led by longtime industry veteran Jay McDermott

Expansion of firm's Global Fixed Income Division comes as institutional investors confront the need for more options as credit markets continue to toughen

NEW YORK, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. ("Oppenheimer") – a leading investment bank, wealth manager, and a subsidiary of Oppenheimer Holdings (NYSE: OPY) – announced today a significant expansion to its Fixed Income Division with the addition of ten distressed debt team members.

The team, which joins the firm from TD Cowen, will be combined with Oppenheimer's existing High Yield Desk and will be led by Managing Director Jay McDermott, who will report to Peter Albano, Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Fixed Income. 

"The expansion of our Fixed Income Division further demonstrates our relevance to institutional investors during a period marked by liquidity constraints and an increased frequency of credit events," Albano said. "The evolving dynamics of the credit markets place greater demands on security and sector selection by clients. By providing thought leadership and leveraging our expansive distribution capabilities, Oppenheimer's clients will be better equipped to outperform their benchmarks and take advantage of market opportunities that lie ahead."

McDermott is an expert in the field and has an established history of managing Distressed Debt, Loan Trading and High Yield teams. In addition to TD Cowen, he has also worked for Bear Stearns, RBS and Debtstream Corp. over the course of his more than 25 year career. His team brings industry recognized expertise in the sales, trading, research, and settlement of distressed securities and bank debt. The members include:

Tim Cavanaugh, Managing Director, Loan Sales and Sourcing
Michael Kasper, Managing Director, Sales
Harvey Potter, Managing Director, Sales
Eric Friel, Head High Yield and Distressed Research
David Kelley, Head of Distressed Trading
Ron Ryder, Head of Special Assets
Jon Satran, Head of Bank Loans
Matt Feldman, Executive Director, Research
Francesca Sena, Executive Director, Legal
Brian Smyth, Associate – Research/Sourcing

"The addition of this team significantly expands the firm's capabilities and broadens the spectrum of services we can offer to institutional investors and issuers," said Robert Lowenthal, President & Head of U.S. Investment Banking for Oppenheimer. "Over the past fifteen years, historically low interest rates helped to create an environment that conditioned borrowers to depend upon a lower cost of capital than is presently attainable. As a result, we have witnessed a surge in restructuring and debt advisory engagements across our investment banking and public finance advisory businesses. Oppenheimer is uniquely positioned to guide clients through their emerging financing challenges by offering holistic advice and facilitating access to capital providers."

McDermott concluded, "The combined team has decades of experience and extraordinarily deep relationships within the distressed debt community.  This aligns seamlessly with Oppenheimer's well established capital markets expertise and corporate culture. We are excited to join the firm and contribute both to the success of the global fixed income client franchise, as well as the broader achievements of the entire organization."

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. (Oppenheimer), a principal subsidiary of Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. (OPY on the New York Stock Exchange), and its affiliates provide a full range of wealth management, securities brokerage and investment banking services to high net-worth individuals, families, corporate executives, local governments, businesses and institutions.

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SOURCE Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.