Guggenheim continues secondaries build-out with Lazard, ex-Coller hire

Guggenheim Securities is continuing the roll-out of its secondaries advisory business with the hire of a professional with experience at Lazard and Coller Capital.

Benjamin Carper will join the New York and Chicago-headquartered firm in February as a vice-president, according to three sources familiar with the matter. Carper comes from Lazard where he spent the last two years, according to his LinkedIn profile.

He also has experience at Morgan Stanley.

Carper will join Richard Saltzman, who was set to join the firm after a period of gardening leave, Secondaries Investor reported in September. Saltzman was head of secondaries advisory at Houlihan Lokey.

Guggenheim’s secondaries unit will be led by Matthew Wesley, who is also set to join in February. Secondaries Investor reported in July that Wesley and Joseph Slevin had left PJT Park Hill and were set to launch an advisory unit at the firm.

The advisory market is heating up with at least three other entrants this year in addition to Guggenheim. In September, Duff & Phelps’s former secondaries advisory team resurfaced at Swiss interdealer broker Tradition, while in October several members of Greenhill’s senior team departed to join Jefferies.

Secondaries Investor also reported in October that Aviditi Advisors, launched by two former Credit Suisse fundraising veterans, had hired Lazard director Ryan Binette to work on secondaries.

Guggenheim Securities is the investment banking and capital markets business of Guggenheim Partners. The latter has more than $295 billion in assets under management and is active across investment management, investment banking and insurance services, according to its website.

Guggenheim and Lazard did not return requests for comment.