SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 1, 1999 (PRIMEZONE) - First Security Van Kasper today announced the appointment of J.P. Mark as director of research and senior equity research analyst.
Mark, 40, who will be based in San Francisco and focus on the telecommunications and technology sectors, most recently served as a senior equity research analyst with Dain Rauscher Wessels in Menlo Park and San Francisco, specializing in telecommunications services, data storage/storage area networks and PC peripherals.
Earlier, he held similar positions with Rauscher Pierce Refsnes, based in Dallas, as well as with Montgomery Securities and Robertson, Stephens & Company. Prior to joining the securities industry, Mark served as chief technology analyst with Paul Kagan Associates. He also was a research associate at Harvard Business School.
Mark earned a bachelor's degree, cum laude, from Tufts University, followed by a master's degree in civil engineering and public health. He also earned a master's of business administration degree from the University of Chicago.
Van Kasper, president of First Security Van Kasper, said, "J.P. brings a variety of analytical expertise and management capabilities to First Security Van Kasper, which will greatly complement our institutional and retail operations. As we approach the millennium, our research organization is well positioned to provide clients with insightful and meaningful information in order to capitalize on the numerous investment opportunities in a broad sector of industries in the year 2000 and beyond."
First Security Van Kasper will hold its annual growth conference, "Companies for the New Millennium," at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in San Francisco on October 4-5, 1999. Over 300 portfolio managers from throughout the United States are expected to hear presentations from more than 80 publicly traded company executives.
First Security Van Kasper, founded in 1978, is an investment banking, private client and institutional brokerage firm with offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose, Fresno, Walnut Creek, Sacramento, San Diego and Newport Beach, California and Phoenix, Arizona. Last year, the company became a subsidiary of Salt Lake City-based First Security Corporation (Nasdaq:FSCO), the second largest independent bank holding company in the West with more than $20 billion in assets.
First Security Van Kasper is ranked among the top West Coast firms in terms of number of transactions and total dollars raised in public offerings of common stock, convertible securities and fixed-income instruments. The firm also places securities privately, advises clients on merger and acquisition transactions and performs valuation services. Through its investment management subsidiary, Van Kasper Advisors, the company manages assets for corporations, retirement plans, trusts, fiduciaries, financial institutions and individuals.