CastleOak Securities hires six for its municipal finance team

By Toni Weeks

San Diego, Feb. 16 - CastleOak Securities, LP announced in a press release that it has hired a team of six municipal finance and institutional sales and trading specialists. The team, which will be based in the company's Midwest offices, was the core of the public finance team of former Cleveland-based SBK-Brooks Investment Corp, one of the largest minority-owned investment banking firms in public finance and institution brokerages.

The team will be headed by senior managing director Eric Small and managing directors Warren Nicholas "Nick" Potonak and William Matlock. Matthew Middendorf and Gregory Reynolds, directors in the firm's public finance group, and Jonathon Ly, hired as the group's financial analyst, round out the group.

"We have sought for some time to add public finance capabilities to our platform," David Jones, president and chief executive officer of CastleOak, said in the release.

"I am confident that their strong record of outstanding client service and buyside experience will contribute to the continuing expansion of our fixed-income business."

Small, who will be based in Cleveland and Chicago, joins the firm with 30 years of broad-based capital markets experience. Prior to SBK, he was senior investment director with the bond investment department of Aetna Life & Causalty and taught finance and economics at Cleveland State University. He holds a bachelor's degree in finance from Georgetown University and a master's degree in management from the Arthur D. Little School of Management.

Potonak joins the firm with 28 years of institutional sales experience in taxable and tax-exempt bonds. Prior to SBK, he managed the fixed income sales desk for Tucker Anthony Inc. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics and is completing his M.B.A. at John Carroll University. Potonak will be based in Cleveland.

Matlock, who will be based in Columbus, Ohio, comes to CastleOak with over 25 years experience in public and private sector investments and treasury and debt management. Prior to SBK, he was the deputy director of investments and debt management with the State of Ohio Treasury. He earned his bachelor's degree in accounting and financial management at Cleveland State University.

Middendorf, who will be based in Cleveland, began his career with National City Bank as a money market trader before moving on to SBK to work with institutional clients. He has over 15 years of experience in the taxable and tax-exempt markets, focusing primarily on municipal and agency securities. He is a graduate of Kent State University with a bachelor's degree in finance.

Reynolds, with 11 years of institutional capital markets experience, holds an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago and an engineering degree from North Carolina State University. He will be based in Indianapolis.

Ly was a former consultant and head of training at Ferrand Consulting Group, Inc., an investment banker with KeyBank Capital Markets and senior analyst at Chapman and Cutler. He earned dual bachelor's degrees in economics and finance from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Ly will be based in Chicago.

CastleOak is New-York based boutique investment bank.

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