Piper Jaffray & Co. (), often shortened to just Piper Jaffray or PiperJaffray, is a U.S. boutique investment banking firm based in Minneapolis, Minnesota and is a focused on delivering financial advice, investment products and transaction execution within targeted sectors of the financial services marketplace. Through its principal subsidiary, Piper Jaffray & Co., the Company serves corporations, government and non-profit entities, institutional investors and the financial advisory needs of private individuals.

History

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Piper Jaffray traces its roots to 1895 when George Lane established George B. Lane, Commercial Paper and Collateral Loans & Co., a commercial paper brokerage, in Minneapolis. In 1913, Piper, Jaffray Co. was established as another commercial paper business H.C. Piper Sr., grandfather of today's Vice Chairman, and C.P. Jaffray. In 1917, George B. Lane & Co. merged with Piper, Jaffray & Co. to form Lane, Piper & Jaffray.

The firm first obtained a seat on the New York Stock Exchange in 1929 with the acquisiton of Hopwood & Company, which had been devastated by the stock market crash of earlier that year. In 1997, the firm was acquired by U.S. Bancorp and from 1999 to 2003, the firm was known as U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray. In 2003 U.S. Bancorp 'spun off' Piper in a stock dividend to its shareholders and is traded independently.

Operations

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The Company operates through three reportable segments: Capital Markets, Private Client Services, and Corporate Support.

The Capital Markets division includes investment banking, institutional sales and trading, and securities research. Focus areas include health care, consumer, financial institutions and technology. The firm is the largest underwriter of municipal bonds in its headquarters state of Minnesota. "Piper" is noted for its underwriting of middle market IPOs, convertible securities and private placements.

The Private Client Services division provides financial advice and investment management services to high net worth individual investors, corporate benefits plans and non-profit institutions.

In April 2006, Piper Jaffray stated its intention to sell the Private Client Services division to UBS Financial Services.

External link

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• Piper Jaffray Company website

Companies based in Minnesota | Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange