EquitiesFirst
Jeff Smith is the Senior Managing Director at EquitiesFirstTM.
Driving the development of origination at EquitiesFirst as well as its business units across North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania, Jeff is primarily responsible for the firm’s global client acquisition and marketing functions. He also oversees all underwriting activities within the organisation.
Jeff brings over 30 years of extensive institutional experience and knowledge to EquitiesFirst, particularly in the areas of innovative financing, professional accounting and derivatives management.
Prior to joining EquitiesFirst, Jeff held key executive roles at Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Prudential and Salomon Brothers. He has also served as a Certified Public Accountant at Deloitte. Jeff holds an MBA in finance and a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Jeff is based at the global headquarters in Indianapolis, United States.
EquitiesFirst
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EquitiesFirst is a global investment firm that specializes in long-term equities-based financing solutions. The company provides capital for asset owners in exchange for equity holdings. EquitiesFirst acquires custody of the equity during the financing term, but returns the assets upon repayment, allowing the company’s partners to retain 100% of the equity upside appreciation. Established by entrepreneur and investor Alexander Christy Jr. in 2002, the company has issued over $4.5 billion in loans. The inspiration for EquitiesFirst stemmed from Christy's experience in 1997, when he helped secure financing for a family-owned apple farm in Michigan. The farm had no assets to leverage, except their holdings in publicly traded stocks. Christy identified a specialist capital provider in New York who could lend against equity assets, and he brokered a financing agreement, enabling the family to secure their business. This experience led Christy to explore the potential of financing against equities, eventually culminating in the formation of EquitiesFirst. The company's approach, which it calls "Progressive Capital," is designed to overcome traditional financing limitations by providing efficient access to liquidity for listed companies, entrepreneurs, and institutional investors based on the value of their publicly traded securities and equity holdings. With headquarters in Indianapolis, EquitiesFirst has an international presence spanning 13 offices across eight countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, China (Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing), South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, and Australia (Brisbane, Sydney, Perth, Melbourne). The company is licensed and registered in all jurisdictions where it operates, adhering to stringent regulatory compliance and internal control measures to mitigate risks.