Siebert Williams Shank & Co. Research
Firm Overview
Siebert Williams Shank & Co. (SWS) is an independent, non-bank financial services firm headquartered in New York and Oakland. The firm was founded in 1996 by Muriel Siebert, the first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, and merged with The Williams Capital Group in 2019 to create the nation's largest woman- and minority-owned investment bank. Today, SWS operates 29 offices across the United States with over 135 professionals and serves clients across multiple sectors and asset classes.
Core Business Model
Unlike traditional middle-market M&A advisory firms, SWS is a capital markets-first institution that operates across three primary business lines: Corporate Capital Markets, Municipal Finance, and Sales, Trading & Research. In 2025 alone, SWS achieved record-setting milestones: 328 municipal transactions totaling $108 billion in par-amount, and 108 corporate clients raising $378 billion in debt and asset-backed securities. The firm maintained its status as #1 in Peer Group Investment Grade USD Bookrunner rankings for 2025 and earned top-ranked positions in municipal finance categories including airports (#5), water & sewer (#6), transportation (#8), and higher education (#10).
On the corporate side, SWS serves as joint bookrunner and co-manager on major capital raises for Fortune 100+ companies including Home Depot, Amazon, AbbVie, Bank of America, Duke Energy, and others. Recent corporate transactions include bookrunning roles on Home Depot's $2B bond issuance to finance the $4.2B acquisition of GMS Inc. (2025), Amazon's $37B multi-tranche debt offering (March 2026), and numerous investment grade issuances for major financial institutions and industrial companies.
M&A Advisory Practice
While corporate capital markets is SWS's primary focus, the firm maintains a dedicated M&A advisory practice within its Corporate Finance division. As stated on their website: "We are well positioned to execute assignments that are too small for large firms. We provide fairness opinions and assist with mergers, acquisitions and divestitures." This practice is positioned to serve mid-market and lower-middle-market clients where larger investment banks have minimum engagement thresholds. The practice operates alongside the firm's core capital markets business and benefits from SWS's institutional relationships, analytical capabilities, and underwriting infrastructure.
Advisory Profile and Positioning
SWS's M&A advisory approach emphasizes personalized service to mid-market clients for whom boutique advisors provide better outcomes than mega-firms. The firm's thesis is that not all transactions require a bulge-bracket bank, and that significant opportunities exist in advising on deals below the minimum thresholds of major firms. Their sweet spot includes mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures in the $10M-$500M range where personalized attention and efficient execution are valued. The firm provides comprehensive advisory services including fairness opinions, buy-side and sell-side engagement support, deal structuring, and capital markets execution for financing.
Team and Expertise
The Corporate Finance practice is led by David Finkelstein, Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of Corporate Finance, and Ahmad Ismail, also Co-Head of Corporate Finance (joined SWS in 2023 with over a decade of capital markets and investment banking experience). Finkelstein brings over 20 years of corporate finance expertise, while Ismail adds depth in capital markets, institutional relationships, and investment banking execution. Sobani Warner, Co-President and former Co-Lead of Corporate Finance, adds additional senior leadership oversight. The practice benefits from the firm's overall leadership including CEO Suzanne Shank, Co-Presidents Gary Hall and Warner, and Chief Financial Officer Allan Katz.
Regulatory Standing and Operations
SWS is a FINRA-registered broker-dealer (CRD# 42568, SEC# 8-49877) established in Delaware in 1997. The firm is licensed in all 50 U.S. states and territories and conducts 14 types of business activities. The firm maintains institutional-grade compliance infrastructure with DiAnne Calabrisotto serving as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, and Ateesh Chanda as Chief Legal Officer. A partnership with Apollo Global (announced 2022) significantly increased the firm's underwriting capacity and provides access to bespoke financing solutions for clients.
Competitive Positioning
SWS differentiates itself through: (1) Independent broker-dealer status enabling personalized service vs. large bank bureaucracy, (2) Deep access to capital markets for financing execution, (3) Woman- and minority-owned status providing competitive advantages in RFP processes, (4) Institutional relationships across 135+ professionals and 29 offices, (5) Proven track record closing $378B in corporate transactions annually, and (6) Positioned to serve as sole diverse-owned co-manager in underwriting roles (demonstrated with Home Depot $2B bond offering, June 2024).
Industries and Capabilities
SWS has institutional experience across utilities, energy, telecommunications, financial services, retail, healthcare, technology, industrials, and other sectors. The firm's municipal finance team brings specific expertise in transportation, airports, water/sewer, education, and economic development financings. The corporate group focuses on investment grade debt and equity capital raises, with advisory capabilities extending to merger/acquisition financing and strategic transactions for mid-market issuers.
Growth and Future Direction
The firm continues strategic expansion with recent announcements including the February 2026 addition of Eric Avila as Managing Director and Head of Midwest Region (20+ years public finance experience) and February 2026 expansion of the Boston and Montgomery, Alabama offices. The expansion of senior leadership structure in 2025 (naming Gary Hall and Sobani Warner as Co-Presidents, promoting Keith Richard to Head of Public Finance, advancing Ahmad Ismail to Co-Head of Corporate Finance) signals investment in institutional capacity and bench strength heading into the firm's 30-year milestone in 2026.