Ari Kavour joins HilltopSecurities leadership

HilltopSecurities hired Ari Kavour as executive managing director and head of structured finance and structured products.

Kavour, who has nearly 30 years of experience in the finance industry, will seek to expand the firm’s fixed income and mortgage presence. He will also serve on Hilltop’s executive committee.

“I am super excited and really looking forward to figuring out how I can help and grow the business,” Kavour said. “My first task is to see what we have within the firm and how I can use my experience and my relationships to increase the level of business that we’re doing with our client base.”

Kavour joined Hilltop last month from Wells Fargo, where he spent five years as head of mortgage finance. He has also held senior positions with Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley, according to a press release announcing his hiring. 

Kavour believes he’s joined the firm at an ideal time, in a “better operational environment than the market has seen over the last couple of years.”

“Here we have a combination of high rates, wider spreads, a steeper curve, and, I expect, more activity both in fixed income markets and in the mortgage market,” Kavour said. “So I view this as an excellent opportunity to build and grow a mortgage platform within Hilltop.”

Hilltop is smaller than most of the firms where Kavour has worked, which he says will be an adjustment.

“We cannot offer everything to every one of our clients, and we’re going to have to choose ways to be more pertinent to some of our clients, and figure out ways to add value in specific ways,” Kavour said.

“We are very pleased to have Ari join HilltopSecurities to lead our structured finance and mortgage business,” Hilltop CEO Brad Winges said in the release. “Ari’s historical skillset and vision in the mortgage sector are key elements of why he is such an important hire for our firm.”

Kavour will serve in the firm’s New York City office and seek to expand Hilltop’s New York presence “across all product segments,” the release said. He’ll be making regular trips to the firm’s Dallas headquarters, he said — he’s made a few already.

“It’s been great. It’s been a breath of fresh air,” Kavour said.