Raymond James is adding resources to its Financial Services Investment Banking practice with the addition of Jonathan Knauss as managing director. A veteran of the middle market, Knauss will serve clients in the specialty finance sector.

“Jonathan is a highly skilled and experienced banker with an impressive track record of transactions across the financial services industry,” said Jim Bunn, senior managing director and head of Investment Banking at Raymond James. “We’re continuing to see increased levels of deal activity in financial services and Jonathan’s expertise in the sector gives us additional capabilities to grow our advisory and underwriting services in this space.”

Knauss is based in Chicago and joins Raymond James from Hovde Group where he was head of the diversified financials group. He previously headed the specialty finance investment banking practice at BMO Capital Markets and began his investment banking career at A.G. Edwards.

The addition of Knauss continues the measured growth of Raymond James’ Financial Services practice which provides strategic advisory and equity and debt capital formation. Over the past several years, Raymond James hired multiple senior professionals to support this growing practice and added new capabilities, including mutual-to-stock-conversions for thrifts and mutual insurance companies as well as Fixed Income origination and syndication for financial institutions of all types. Deal flow has been strong as the group has advised on 17 M&A transactions announced or closed this year and executed 22 securities offerings during 2017.

“This is a first-class team of professionals who are truly committed to the clients’ best interest,” said Knauss. “The growth orientation of Raymond James is especially well suited to the dynamic specialty finance sector in which I focus. There’s a lot of opportunity in the sector now and we don’t see that slowing anytime soon, so I expect to be busy.”