William Blair Launches Private Shares Trading

CHICAGO & NEW YORK & BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--William Blair, the premier global boutique with expertise in investment banking, investment management, and private wealth management, today announced the launch of its Private Shares Trading practice. Private shares trading expands the firm’s Institutional Sales & Trading offerings, delivering buyers and sellers of private capital the highest level of transactional focus, informational access, and private market insights.

Anthony Frascotti, a veteran of private shares markets, joins William Blair in Boston as head of trading to lead the new Private Shares offering. He is joined by managing directors Matt Giunta and Julian Gendels, who will work in tandem with our global institutional equity trading team to execute direct secondary transactions for venture-backed companies across the funding lifecycle.

“Private shares trading brings further liquidity solutions to holders of venture-backed securities and allows greater private markets access for William Blair’s institutional client base,” said Scott McLaughlin, William Blair’s head of equities. “Collectively, Tony, Julian and Matt have executed transactions in hundreds of venture-backed companies and bring a level of expertise in the private market that will be accretive and synergistic with our existing research sales, sales trading and equity capital markets capabilities.”

Frascotti draws on over five years of experience in the buying and selling of private shares in late-stage venture-backed companies and returns to William Blair from Forge Securities, where he served as head of capital markets. Frascotti’s experience includes working with privately held companies, institutional investors, family offices, venture capital and private equity firms, pension plans, mutual funds, and insurance companies. Prior to Forge, he served as a senior director at SharesPost, after starting his career in William Blair’s institutional sales and trading team. Frascotti received his B.A. magna cum laude from Boston College.

Giunta’s background focuses on facilitating the buying and selling of shares in innovative companies on the private market. He joins from Forge Securities, where he served as a senior director in the firm’s private securities group. Before that, Giunta held roles with BlackRock, JPMorgan Chase & Company, and Morgan Stanley. He received his B.S. in finance from the University of Delaware. Gendels also joins from Forge Securities, where as director he facilitated private transactions with institutional counterparties. Gendels received his B.A. in finance from Union College. Giunta and Gendels join William Blair in New York.

“We are thrilled to join William Blair’s respected equities team,” said Frascotti. “The firm’s approach to its research, sales and trading capabilities aligns seamlessly with our private trading business and should offer immediate synergies to the bank as a whole.”

About William Blair

William Blair is the premier global boutique with expertise in investment banking, investment management, and private wealth management. We provide advisory services, strategies, and solutions to meet our clients’ evolving needs. As an independent and employee-owned firm, together with our strategic partners, we operate in more than 20 offices worldwide.*

*Includes strategic partnerships with Allier Capital, BDA Partners, and Poalim Capital Markets.