Avalon Adds Five Senior Hires to Event Driven and International Equities Teams

Avalon Capital Partners Limited (“Avalon”) has hired five senior cash equity salespeople as it continues with rapid expansion plans across both Event Driven and International Equities.

In the Event Driven division, Aaron Sawyer, Holger Klees and Gregory Lafitte have joined the team to bolster Avalon’s already considerable presence in this market.

In the International Equities Division, Conor Smith and Gavin Atkins join from Cantor Fitzgerald to lead the build out of an institutional cash equity desk, providing liquidity to an international client base.

“The continued expansion of Avalon with these hires is demonstration of our commitment to the Equity space. Where others are pulling out of equities, we are expanding. There is increasing investment in European equity and we have sales, research and trading teams ready to assist our clients in maximizing their returns,” said Jean-Yves Aknin, Avalon’s CEO.

“We are delighted to add Aaron, Holger, Gregory, Conor and Gavin to Avalon. Their track record and commitment to offering the best service to institutional customers is impressive and we look forward to their contribution to our success,” added Simon Langford, Avalon’s Managing Director.

Aaron Sawyer has over 20 years’ industry experience with resultant deep-seated market and multiple economic cycle expertise. Aaron has a strong background in Equity Finance, Special Situations, ECM and Long/Short alpha strategies. Before joining Avalon, Aaron spent ten years at Credit Suisse before joining Jefferies and then Macquarie to team-up with Holger on the build out of their European operations.

Holger Klees is a specialist in Event Driven with over 20 years’ experience. Prior to joining Avalon, Holger worked for Macquarie Bank and was part of Jefferies International’s European build out. He previously worked for Pali Capital and Lehman Brothers. Holger started his career in Derivatives Sales at BHF Bank where he set up a German focused arbitrage desk.

Gregory Lafitte brings sixteen years of expertise as a portfolio manager. He has covered a variety of markets but has a focus on US and Asian special situations. Gregory started his career at CM-CIC Market where he set up and developed the Asian merger arbitrage proprietary desk. He later relocated to Europe, joining Bred Banque Populaire in 2011, where he oversaw both the US and Asian merger arbitrage proprietary trading. Since then, Gregory has held roles Opera Trading and Makor Group.

Conor Smith brings 20 years of International Equities experience with extensive knowledge of equity analysis, market making, proprietary trading and sales. He has held roles at HSBC, Man Group, MF Global and Cantor Fitzgerald.

Gavin Atkins is an industry veteran who has spent 22 years in International Equities at Cantor Fitzgerald. Prior to that, Gavin held roles at Bishop Fleming and UBS.

About Avalon Capital Partners

One of the fastest growing brokerage firms in London, Avalon is an institutional broker providing extensive market knowledge and a dedication for providing a first-class service to a global institutional client base. At Avalon, client needs are our primary focus. We guarantee an unparalleled customer service from our dedicated and experienced teams, providing access to global markets and state-of-the-art technology.

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Contact information

Simon Langford
+44 (0) 20 3060 8888
slangford@avaloncp.com

Jean-Yves Aknin
+44 (0) 20 3060 8861
jaknin@avaloncp.com