Piper Jaffray Cos. financial services investment banker Jim Murray has left his position to become CFO of Legal Business Services, a litigation finance company, a person familiar with the move said.
Another investment banking industry source confirmed that Murray left the company to take a CFO position, and Murray has not been registered with Piper Jaffray since Oct. 7, according to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. records. A media contact for Piper Jaffray did not respond to requests for comment.
As an i-banker, Murray's coverage included asset managers, nonbank lenders and other financial services companies. It is not uncommon for investment bankers to become CFOs at companies that operated in the industry they covered. CFO roles often require less travel and offer a better work-life balance than what i-bankers typically experience.
Murray is a veteran investment banker who has spent more than 30 years in the business. He was one of several members of Sterne Agee & Leach Inc.'s financial institutions group who joined Piper Jaffray in 2015. Piper Jaffray is now set to greatly expand its financial institutions coverage with the pending purchase of Sandler O'Neill & Partners LP, an investment bank that focuses on the sector.
Earlier in his career, Murray worked with such companies as Freeman & Co. Securities LLC, Houlihan Lokey Capital Inc. and Fox-Pitt Kelton Inc.
