Rodman & Renshaw Recruits Kevin Lupowitz for New Venture

Rodman & Renshaw has recruited Kevin Lupowitz, the former Chief Information Officer of institutional trading network Liquidnet, to head up Direct Markets, a new subsidiary launching an automated electronic transactions platform linking public company issuers with investors.

Lupowitz, 42, was named CEO of DirectMarkets’ operating entity, a new venture aimed at giving the public companies more cost efficient access to the capital markets by enabling them to bypass certain traditional roles typically held by investment banks that presently control the transactional process.

While companies such as Instinet, ITG and Liquidnet led the way with industry-changing applications and platforms, however, the release notes, this disintermediation, and the resultant efficiencies, have largely bypassed the market for primary offerings of securities by existing publicly traded companies. These transactions are still predominantly handled manually, much as secondary trading transactions were in years past.

By linking issuers with purchasers of securities, the platform expects to substantially reduce related fees and expenses because of the limited role of intermediaries, notes the release, adding that the DirectMarkets platform is positioned to be the catalyst for a major paradigm shift in the securities industry. The new platform will officially launch on March 6.

Both investors and issuers will gain from 24/7 seamless access to DirectMarkets’ platform through a graphical user interface (GUI) accessible via a desktop or laptop computer, as well as any mobile smart devices such as tablets or smartphones.

DirectMarkets’ platform will enable issuers to sell shares —covered by a shelf registration —directly into the secondary market and to complete funding transactions at a fraction of the current cost, according to the release. Meanwhile, investors will be able to directly contact issuers, with effective shelf registrations in place, to indicate their interest in buying that issuer’s stock, effectively gaining the ability to accumulate stock positions in a more cost-effective manner than through on-going open market purchases, according to today’s release.

Direct Markets will approach companies listed on NYSE, NYSE Amex and NASDAQ, as well as unlisted OTCBB companies onto the DirectMarkets platform, which is designed to lower the cost and add efficiencies to current methods that public companies use to effect financings, including follow-on offerings, Registered Directs (RDs,) At-the-Markets (ATMs), Confidentially Marketed Public Offerings (CMPOs) and Private Investments in Public Equities (PIPEs). There are also plans for adapting the platform for international markets.

“DirectMarkets will be a game-changer and with Kevin Lupowitz’s talent and experience at the helm, this new electronic transaction platform is the catalyst that will redefine Rodman as an innovative technology company focusing on the financial services industry, while strengthening our legacy business,” commented Edward Rubin, CEO of Rodman & Renshaw in the release.

In a statement, Lupowitz added, “I look forward to heading DirectMarkets. Rodman already has a solid foundation of thousands of potential issuers and investors. DirectMarkets will capitalize on those existing relationships to provide issuers with efficient access to market demands. We will have a unique competitive advantage as the platform gains traction and we begin the process of easing issuers and investors through the transition from manual transactions to our new automated platform.”

Before joining DirectMarkets in December of 2011, Lupowitz was the CIO at FXall, a leading electronic foreign exchange platform, which he joined in February of 2011. Previously, he was a founding employee of Liquidnet, the global institutional trading network, where he was also CIO.

Ivy is Editor-at-Large for Advanced Trading and Wall Street & Technology. Ivy is responsible for writing in-depth feature articles, daily blogs and news articles with a focus on automated trading in the capital markets. As an industry expert, Ivy has reported on a myriad ... View Full Bio