NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cowen Group, Inc. (“Cowen”) (NASDAQ:COWN) today announced that the Washington Research Group has joined Cowen and Company. The Washington Research Group’s six award-winning senior policy analysts will be based in Cowen’s Washington, D.C. office and will operate under the Cowen Washington Research Group brand. The team will report to Robert Fagin, Cowen’s Director of Research.
“The Washington Research Group is well known to institutional portfolio managers for high quality and in-depth work that draws on decades of policy-related experience. We are excited to bolster the domain expertise of our exceptional fundamental equity and credit research with the Washington Research Group’s valuable macro perspective,” said Mr. Fagin. “Our enthusiasm reflects the ever-growing importance of government policy and regulatory affairs in investment analysis.”
Established more than 40 years ago, the Washington Research Group has been consistently recognized at the top of its field in industry surveys such as Institutional Investor. Biographies of the Cowen Washington Research Group’s six senior policy analysts are below.
In addition to hiring the Washington Research Group, Cowen is also pleased to announce that, as of September 1st, it will serve as the sole distributor of Prevision Policy LLC research to the financial community. This third-party research product focuses on health care policy analysis, and brings unique perspective to the tracking, assessment and detailed explanation of regulatory and reimbursement developments affecting the biopharmaceutical industry.
Cowen Research is the award-winning equity and credit research division of Cowen and Company. The research team is dedicated to providing clients with access to sophisticated, cutting-edge, and specialized research product and investment advice that will enable them to be better investors and decision makers. Cowen’s marquee product is Ahead of the CurveTM, a celebrated series of in-depth research reports that showcase the firm’s unparalleled research depth and industry knowledge.
Biographies of the Cowen Washington Research Group team:
Eric Assaraf
Mr. Assaraf covers healthcare and medical technology policy issues with a particular focus on Medicare coverage and reimbursement. He joined the Washington Research Group in 2002. Mr. Assaraf received a bachelor’s degree in Communication and an MBA from the University of Maryland at College Park.
Paul Gallant
Prior to joining the Washington Research Group, Mr. Gallant served as legal advisor to the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). He has also served as legal advisor to two other FCC Commissioners. Mr. Gallant previously held senior government affairs positions with Qwest Communications and with Broadband Office, Inc. In an earlier stint at the FCC, he helped draft the regulations that opened the cable TV and local telephone markets to competition. Before joining the FCC, Mr. Gallant served as a staffer for a U.S. Senator. He received a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University and a law degree from Catholic University.
Chris Krueger
Chris Krueger is a senior policy analyst at the Washington Research Group. He publishes the DC Download, which is considered by many to be a “must-read” daily for Wall Street portfolio managers who want a quick look at top Washington stories and their impact on the capital markets. Mr. Krueger covers DC macro, fiscal and tax policy, and event-driven situations. Earlier in his career, he worked for nearly four years on the Senior Staff of the House of Representatives. He has also worked on several local, state, and federal political campaigns across the country. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont and an MA in International Relations from King’s College London.
Roman Schweizer
Roman Schweizer has over 15 years of experience in Washington, D.C., having served as a government acquisition official, industry consultant and journalist. Prior to joining the Washington Research Group, he was an acquisition professional with the US Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship program. Previously, he directed a team providing Congressional and media strategic communications support to senior Navy officials on high-profile ship acquisition programs. Mr. Schweizer has also consulted on US and international defense, aerospace, homeland security and technology market sectors to Fortune 100 clients on behalf of DFI International and Fathom Dynamics LLC. Mr. Schweizer has been published in Inside the Navy, Inside the Pentagon, Armed Forces Journal, Defense News, ISR Journal, Training and Simulation Journal, the Naval Institute’s Proceedings, and the Navy League’s Sea Power. Mr. Schweizer earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the American University in Washington, D.C.
Jaret Seiberg
Prior to joining the Washington Research Group, Mr. Seiberg spent more than a decade following Washington policy developments as the Washington bureau chief and assistant managing editor of The Deal and The Daily Deal and as the deputy bureau chief for the American Banker. Mr. Seiberg speaks frequently to industry groups, including the Consumer Bankers Association, the American Bankers Association, the Mortgage Bankers Association, SIFMA, the National Association of Realtors, the Risk Management Association, and the National Association of Home Builders. He also has addressed forums sponsored by regulators, including the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, the Office of Thrift Supervision, and the Council of Federal Home Loan Banks. Additionally, he has briefed bank management teams, Congress, and congressional staff. He has appeared on CNBC, ABC News, CNN, Fox Business, and Fox News and is frequently quoted in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post and American Banker. He has a bachelor’s degree from American University in Washington, D.C., and an MBA from the University of Maryland at College Park.
Rick Weissenstein
Mr. Weissenstein covers healthcare services and pharmaceutical policy issues. Mr. Weissenstein joined the Washington Research Group in 1999 as the senior analyst responsible for analyzing health care policy issues and trends emerging in the federal and state legislative, regulatory and legal arenas and their implications for the health care industry. He was formerly the Washington Bureau Chief for Modern Healthcare magazine, and a reporter for Advertising Age magazine. He began his career as a Certified Public Accountant in the Chicago office of Ernst & Young. Mr. Weissenstein earned a bachelor’s degree in Accounting at Millikin University, Decatur, Illinois, and a master’s degree in Journalism at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.
About Cowen Group, Inc.
Cowen Group, Inc. is a diversified financial services firm and, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, provides alternative asset management, investment banking, research, sales and trading and prime brokerage services through its two business segments: Ramius and its affiliates make up the Company’s alternative investment segment, while Cowen and Company and its affiliates make up the Company’s broker-dealer segment. Ramius provides alternative asset management solutions to a global client base and manages a significant portion of Cowen’s proprietary capital. Cowen and Company and its affiliates offer industry focused investment banking for growth-oriented companies, domain knowledge-driven research, a sales and trading platform for institutional investors and a comprehensive suite of prime brokerage services. Founded in 1918, the firm is headquartered in New York and has offices worldwide.
