Halle Benett Joins KBW as Co-Head of Diversified Financials Investment Banking Group

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., a full-service, boutique investment bank and broker-dealer that specializes in the financial services sector, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF), today announced that Halle Benett has joined the firm as Co-Head of Diversified Financials Investment Banking.

Mr. Benett brings nearly twenty years of experience to KBW. Most recently, he served as a Senior Adviser at Ares Management, working with the firm’s capital markets, private debt, private equity and real estate groups. Prior to that, he spent sixteen years at UBS, where he was Global Head of Specialty Finance and Head of the Financial Institutions Group Americas. He began his career at Ryan Beck & Co. Mr. Benett graduated from Rutgers University with a BA and received his Masters of International Affairs from Columbia University.

“KBW continues to grow its businesses by investing in quality talent and we are thrilled to have someone with Halle’s experience and creativity join our leadership team,” said Peter J. Wirth, Co-Head of Global Investment Banking at KBW. “Halle is a proven business generator and his intimate knowledge of diversified investment companies will make him a valuable asset to our clients who are seeking to gain an advantage in these growing markets,” added Rick E. Maples, Co-Head of Global Investment Banking at KBW.

Based in New York, Mr. Benett will work alongside Chauncey Dewey, KBW’s Co-Head of Diversified Financials Investment Banking, and is responsible for expanding the group’s work across specialty finance and alternative asset management sectors, advising clients on mergers & acquisitions, divestitures, initial public offerings, private equity raisings and growth/buyout initiatives.

In the United States, KBW is the premier advisor on financial services industry transactions. Since the beginning of 2013, KBW has advised on 61 deals, totaling approximately $5.6 billion in transaction value, and has been the top-ranked issuer of common stock, participating in 78 deals with a combined deal value of approximately $2.4B.

About KBW

KBW LLC, a Stifel company, operates in the U.S. and Europe through its broker dealer subsidiaries, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Limited (KBW Europe). Over the years, KBW has established itself as a leading independent authority in the banking, insurance, brokerage, asset management, mortgage banking and specialty finance sectors. Founded in 1962, the firm maintains industry-leading positions in the areas of research, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions as well as sales and trading in equities securities of financial services companies.