Cantor Fitzgerald Equity Research Group Expands Coverage to REITs Sector

NEW YORK, Jan. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., a leading global financial services firm, today announced that it has expanded its U.S. Equity Research sector coverage with the hiring of a dedicated REITs research team including Managing Directors David Toti and Sri Nagarajan, and Vice Presidents Evan Smith and Gaurav Mehta, all formerly with FBR Capital Markets & Co.  Cantor Fitzgerald's U.S. equity research group is headed by Senior Managing Director Natasha Boyden, who was recently promoted to Head of U.S. Equity Research.  

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The new REITs sector coverage accentuates and broadens the scope of the firm's rapidly growing equity research platform, reinforcing Cantor's commitment to provide institutional clients with top-quality research on small and mid-cap companies.   

"Cantor Fitzgerald continues to attract extraordinary talent to our U.S. equity research platform. These new hires enable us to further strengthen our institutional equities capabilities and enhance our firm's ability to deliver information and insight that add value to our clients around the world," said Shawn P. Matthews, Chief Executive Officer of Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. "With the addition of REITs coverage, Cantor can provide its institutional clients with proprietary investment themes about an important sector that is of central importance to the U.S. economy."

"Real estate is a core focus for Cantor, and the collective experience that David, Sri, Evan and Gaurav bring covering the spectrum of REIT stocks will significantly deepen the firm's existing coverage of this key industry," said Ms. Boyden. "As we continue to hire highly qualified research analysts, we remain committed to provide best-in-class research and ideas to our institutional client base."

Mr. Toti, who joins Cantor Fitzgerald as a Managing Director was a Managing Director and Group Head of real estate research at FBR Capital Markets & Co. Earlier, as a senior REIT research analyst at Citi and Lehman Brothers, he covered an array of real estate sectors. Mr. Toti holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Syracuse University and an MBA in real estate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Mr. Nagarajan, joining Cantor as a Senior Research Analyst and Managing Director, most recently served as senior analyst at FBR Capital Markets & Co., where he covered office, industrial and shopping center REITs. Prior to FBR, Mr. Nagarajan worked as a senior investment analyst at Cohen & Steers Capital Management and as a senior manager at Sabre, Inc., managing a team researching efficient scheduling optimization algorithms and macroeconomic forecasting models for the transportation industry. Mr. Nagarajan received his B.E. from Anna University, India, an M.S. in industrial engineering from Louisiana State University, M.S. in systems engineering from The University of Arizona, and an MBA in finance and strategic management from The Wharton School of Business.

Mr. Smith worked on FBR & Co.'s Real Estate Research team, focusing on apartment, office, industrial, specialty and retail REITs. Prior to covering real estate, Mr. Smith was a research assistant in the FBR Consumer Equity Research Group, researching consumer hardline retailers. He holds a B.S. in business management from Ithaca College.

Mr. Mehta served as a Senior Associate, Equity Research at FBR & Co. where he focused on apartments, manufactured homes and self storage REITs. Mr. Mehta holds a Bachelor of Commerce from University of Delhi, India, a Diploma in Hotel Management from IHM, India and an MBA in Finance from Fordham University. Mr. Mehta is a CFA charter holder. 

About Cantor Fitzgerald
Cantor Fitzgerald, a leading global financial services firm at the forefront of financial and technological innovation, has been a proven and resilient leader for over 65 years. Cantor is continuing to grow its capital markets and investment banking businesses. Serving more than 5,000 institutional clients around the world, Cantor is recognized for its strengths in institutional equity and fixed income sales and trading and for its expanding presence serving the middle market with investment and merchant banking services, prime brokerage, and commercial real estate financing. Cantor Fitzgerald also is a leader in new businesses and marketplaces including gaming technology, e-commerce, and other ventures.  Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. is one of 21 primary dealers authorized to trade U.S. government securities with The Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Cantor Fitzgerald's 1,400 employees serve clients from more than 30 locations, including major financial centers around the world in the Americas, Europe, Asia/Pacific, and the Middle East. For more information please visit www.cantor.com.

Note to Editors:
Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. is the parent entity of Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.

SOURCE Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.