PJC Piper Jaffray Companies

MINNEAPOLIS, April 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Piper Jaffray & Co. is pleased to announce new additions to its High Yield and Structured Products Group. The firm has hired Jeff Stewart as senior research analyst in high yield covering consumer products and retail and Robert Haley as a senior high yield trader. Stewart and Haley will be working out of the firm's Minneapolis headquarters and will eventually be based in a future office location in Charlotte, N.C. "We are thrilled to have Jeff and Robert join our High Yield and Structured Products Group at Piper Jaffray," said Ben May, head of the High Yield and Structured Products Group at Piper Jaffray, who was hired late last year to lead the group. "Jeff has deep knowledge and experience in high yield consumer products and retail and will provide clear, in-depth analysis for our clients in this sector. Robert comes to Piper Jaffray with more than 15 years of experience in both high yield securities and leveraged loans. We look forward to their contributions in serving clients in this unique financing arena." Stewart joins Piper Jaffray from Wachovia Securities, where he was a research analyst covering retail, specialty retail, apparel and consumer products in the firm's high yield group in Charlotte. He has a bachelor's degree in business and finance from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Stewart will report to Joel Denney, head of Investment Research at Piper Jaffray. "Jeff will bring additional expertise to our clients by providing high yield analysis based on several years of experience covering consumer products and retail," said Denney. "We are excited to have Jeff as part of our Investment Research team, where our goal is to provide differentiated and proprietary research for our clients." Haley joins the firm from Wachovia Securities, where he most recently was a senior trader in the firm's high yield group in Charlotte. He has a bachelor's degree from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va. Haley will report to Rich Barry, head of trading in the High Yield and Structured Products Group at Piper Jaffray. Piper Jaffray & Co. is the chief operating subsidiary of Piper Jaffray Companies (NYSE:PJC), a focused securities firm dedicated to delivering superior financial advice, investment products and transaction execution within selected sectors of the financial services marketplace. The company currently operates through two primary revenue-generating segments: Capital Markets and Private Client Services. The sale of the company's Private Client Services branch network, announced April 11, 2006, currently is pending. The company's Capital Markets business generates revenue through two groups, Corporate and Institutional Services and Public Finance Services. Through its chief operating subsidiary, Piper Jaffray & Co., the firm has served corporations, government and nonprofit entities, institutional investors and the financial advisory needs of private individuals since 1985. Piper Jaffray headquarters in Minneapolis and has approximately 2,800 employees in 107 offices in 23 states across the country and in London. For more information about Piper Jaffray, visit us online at http://www.piperjaffray.com/ . Since 1895. Member SIPC and NYSE. DATASOURCE: Piper Jaffray & Co. CONTACT: Susan Beatty, Media Relations of Piper Jaffray & Co., +1-612-303-5680 Web site: http://www.piperjaffray.com/

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