Lauren Pralle Tahon Joins Academy Securities as Head of Asset Management Distribution

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Academy Securities, the nation’s first Post-9/11 veteran owned and operated investment bank, today announced that Lauren Pralle Tahon has joined the firm as Head of Asset Management Distribution.

Lauren Pralle Tahon brings more than 20 years of financial services experience to Academy, where she leads the firm's Money Market Fund, SMA, and ETF distribution efforts. She spent a decade at BlackRock, most recently as Director and Insurance Sales Head for the Americas Institutional ETF business. Earlier at BlackRock, she led Cash Management for the Eastern Region and LATAM. She began her career at J.P. Morgan across roles in New York, London, and São Paulo, including as Vice President for Supply Chain Finance Program Management. She most recently served as Lead for Insurance, Americas for Bloomberg Index.

"Lauren has a strong track record of building institutional distribution businesses," said Academy's Chairman and CEO Chance Mims. "Her experience with client relationships and product launches across insurance and ETFs will help grow our asset management platform."

Ms. Pralle Tahon commented on joining the firm: “I am thrilled to join the incredible team at Academy and look forward to furthering Academy's Mission through the VETZ ETF, our growing SMA platform, and our Academy Money Market Fund Share classes together with our partners at JPMorgan Asset Management.”

Ms. Pralle Tahon holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance, with a minor in Spanish, from the University of Oklahoma. She holds her FINRA Series 7 and 63 licenses.

"Lauren has built and led high-performing sales teams at every stage of her career," said Academy's Vice Chairman Phil McConkey. "That kind of leadership will make an immediate impact for our clients and our team."

About Academy Securities

Academy Securities is a FINRA registered Broker Dealer and a preeminent veteran owned investment bank with strengths in capital markets, asset management, public finance, geopolitical intel, fixed income, and equity trading. Leadership and staff have had intensive military training prior to entering and gaining in-depth financial services experience in global capital markets. We are mission driven with a high ethical code, a solid sense of accountability and strive for excellence in the pursuit of our clients’ success. Academy is our nation’s first post-9/11 veteran owned and operated investment bank and is certified as a DVBE, SDVOB, and MBE. The firm has a strong top and middle tier client base served by a national platform with offices in New York, Chicago, San Diego, Chapel Hill, Louisville, Austin, Dallas, Sacramento, and West Palm Beach. Information about Academy Securities is available at www.academysecurities.com.