Stifel Financial Corp. announced Eric Southard joins from Raymond James and Sean Finger joins from Leerink Partners as Managing Directors in options sales. Jack Gradowitz joins from J.P. Morgan as a Director on the options trading desk.

They are all based in the firm's New York City office. Eric, Sean, and Jack each bring deep experience across equity derivatives, including sector specialization and event-driven strategies, which are critical in efforts to grow the options offering. Eric Southard, who has more than two decades of equity derivatives experience, rejoins Stifel from Raymond James, where he was most recently a Managing Director in Derivative Sales.

Previously, Southard was a Vice President of Equity Derivatives Sales at Stifel.Sean Finger brings extensive derivative market experience to Stifel, with a specialization in the healthcare sector. He spent 18 years at Leerink Partners, where he was a key tenant in the buildout of the firm's derivatives desk. He began his career on the floor of the American Stock Exchange.

With more than 17 years of derivatives trading experience, Jack Gradowitz comes to Stifel from J.P. Morgan, where he most recently was a Vice President on the Americas Equity Trading Desk for the firm's Global Wealth Management business. In his role, Jack was part of a team responsible for the execution of U.S., Canadian, LatAm, Asian, and European equities, ADRs, ETFs, and options.