Stifel Financial Corp. has added a pair of financial veterans to lead its fixed-income capital markets division with the hiring of David Rubulotta and promotion of Brant McDuffie.
The team will share the role of deputy co-heads of the department, which is a first for the financial services holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., according to a release.
Rubulotta and McDuffie will report to Eric Needleman, the global head of fixed income capital markets, who said the firm, which focuses on banking, securities, and financial services, is fortunate to have gained the two longtime financial industry professionals.
Needleman said given the pair’s wide range of experience, their knowledge and skills will enhance the firm’s products and services, including municipals.
In their new leadership roles, the pair will help expand and enhance the firm’s existing municipal operations, McDuffie told The Bond Buyer on Tuesday.
“We operate a robust distribution platform for our public finance products, facilitate secondary market transactions, and provide analytics on municipal securities to a diverse institutional client base,” McDuffie said.
Their prior experience will lend itself to leadership efforts on the fixed income team.
Rubulotta most recently headed business development at Citigroup Global Markets fixed income division, while also leading leveraged finance sales. He began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and has also previously held senior roles with Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs & Co.
A certified public accountant, Rubulotta received an undergraduate degree from Villanova University and a masters of business administration degree from Columbia University.
“During his 25 years in the fixed income business, David has developed deep relationships with top institutional investors, financial sponsors, alternative asset managers, pension funds, and endowments, while leading diverse teams and working in partnership with some of the sharpest minds in the fixed income universe,” Needleman said of Rubulotta’s credentials.
“Understanding the needs of these clients has enabled him to identify investment trends and adapt the delivery of differentiated products and solutions that enhance accessibility to capital and drive performance,” Needlman said in the release.
McDuffie will launch his new position while maintaining his current role as head of rate sales, trading, and research in Stifel’s fixed income division, where he oversees the firm’s institutional fixed income brokerage business, serving middle-market depositories, insurance companies, and money managers, according to the firm.
He joined the firm after its acquisition of Sterne Agee, where he was head of fixed income capital markets.
McDuffie previously was a director in interest rate and currency risk management at Wachovia Bank. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in managerial economics from Hampden-Sydney College.
McDuffie has been instrumental in helping grow the fixed income business at Stifel, according to Needleman, who said the promotion is “well-deserved.”
“Amidst challenging market conditions, we have steadily added to our sales effort, trading desks, and research groups, and prioritized the development of value-added products for our clients under Brant’s leadership,” the department head commented about his colleague.
Stifel’s broker-dealer affiliates provide securities brokerage, investment banking, trading, investment advisory, and related financial services to individual investors, professional money managers, businesses, and municipalities.