Hilltop Securities Inc. (HilltopSecurities) announced the addition of investment bankers to its Public Finance division in New York City, San Francisco, and Sherman Oaks, California. The team includes Fred Prager, David Hetz, Rochelle Powell and Ian Prager. Led by Fred Prager, the team is one of the nation's top providers of public finance services to higher education institutions, with a broad range of expertise across multiple other sectors including healthcare, public power, and non-profit institutions.

Fred Prager joins HilltopSecurities as Senior Managing Director in New York City and brings more than 40 years of experience to his new role. Prior to founding Prager & Co. in 1987, he managed L.F. Rothschild & Co.'s West Coast public finance business.

Hetz joins HilltopSecurities as Senior Managing Director in New York City and brings more than 40 years of experience to his new role. Prior to joining HilltopSecurities, he served as managing director and CEO of Prager & Co. He also has served as vice chair of Cain Brothers & Co., a leading healthcare investment banking firm, and as co-founder and managing partner of Cutlass Capital.

Powell joins HilltopSecurities as Managing Director in New York City and brings more than 25 years of experience to her new role. Prior to joining Prager & Co., she served as senior vice president in the public finance department of Greenwich Partners, a regional investment banking firm in the northeast. Ian Prager joins HilltopSecurities as Managing Director in San Francisco.

He joined Prager & Co. in 2005 where he provided quantitative, analytic, and strategic support for many of the firms public and private higher education clients. Prior to his time there, he spent seven years with Lockheed Martin in numerous roles.