The Bond Buyer highlights new addition to the SWS team in California

Siebert hires UBS' Belinfanti Knight as managing director in California

Andrew Belinfanti Knight has been hired by Siebert Williams Shank as a managing director of public finance, the firm announced on Wednesday. A 16-year veteran of the municipal bond sector, he will work out of the firm's Los Angeles office.

"The most important thing for me is to be part of a firm that's 100% committed to the municipal bond industry and with Siebert this is their core business, so that speaks for itself," said Andrew Belinfanti Knight. (Andrew Belinfanti Knight)

Belinfanti Knight has worked on over $20 billion of senior managed transactions in municipal finance and is known for client relationships and quantitative analysis.

He spent the past six years as executive director of public finance at UBS, where he was in charge of day-to-day banking coverage of local and state entities issuing municipal bonds in the Western region. He also conducted credit rating analysis of cities, counties, schools and community colleges, helping the firm build its public finance business in California.

Prior to this, he was director of public finance at Wells Fargo for eight years, where he helped increase the company's presence in the Golden State.

Belinfanti Knight will lead SWS' coverage of K-14 education municipal bond issuers, which includes public school districts and community colleges in California and the West.

"Our firm is committed to expanding in regions and sectors with robust muni issuances and we view the K-14 market in California to be a great intersection of such," said Gary Hall, SWS president of infrastructure and public finance.

"Given his high regard for technical excellence, I am looking forward to Andrew elevating our value proposition to new and existing school district and community college issuers in the West Region."

Belinfanti Knight will be able to use his relationships with numerous state and local entities to help drive SWS' continued growth in the public school financing space, a major point of emphasis for the firm in 2024.

Belinfanti Knight will join three bankers already working in the firm's Los Angeles office, led by Grace Yuen, managing director and head of the West region.

"We are very excited to have Andrew join our team and elevate our presence in the K-14 educational sector in California and throughout the West Coast," Yuen said. "His knowledge about the sector will be invaluable as we continue to serve our clients and grow our footprint in the region."

Belinfanti Knight, who earned an MBA in finance from Howard University, started his career in mortgage-backed securities before transitioning to public finance.

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by Chip Barnett

The Bond Buyer

March 7, 2024