Robert W. Peterson Named Head of Private Client Services at Piper Jaffray

Robert W. Peterson Named Head of Private Client Services at Piper
Jaffray 


MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 28  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Piper Jaffray Companies
(NYSE:PJC) announced today that Robert W. Peterson will head its Private Client
Services business effective April 1.  Peterson, 37, replaces Paul D. Grangaard,
who is leaving Piper Jaffray after 19 years to pursue a unique opportunity at a
private equity firm in Minneapolis. Grangaard has led Private Client Services
since October 2001.

"Paul managed an important transition for our Private Client Services
business," said Andrew Duff, chairman and chief executive officer of Piper
Jaffray. "The strategy is set, the products and services are highly
competitive, and the management team is in place.  Bob is the right leader to
take it from here. He has tremendous execution skills and credibility due to
his integrity, teamwork, and track record of results."

Peterson joined Piper Jaffray in 1993, was the head of equity research from
2000 to 2003, and has been head of Investment Research at Piper Jaffray since
2003. The Piper Jaffray equity research group was ranked in the top 10 in the
Wall Street Journal Best on the Street 2004 Analyst Survey; ranked second by
Greenwich Associates among small- and mid-cap funds, and first for "most
creative ideas and themes"; and tied for seventh place overall in the
Forbes/StarMine survey on earnings estimates, stock picking and overall
analysis.

Investment Research will be aligned with the business units that are focused on
the investor-client value proposition. "Bob has taken significant steps during
the past two years to ensure the quality, integrity and independence of our
research, and these measures will continue," said Duff. "Although the reporting
lines will change, the safeguards we have established to address potential
conflicts of interest between research and investment banking will remain
intact."

The Private Client Services business at Piper Jaffray manages client assets of
$51 billion. In the second half of 2004, the unit began growing its ranks of
advisors, finishing the year at 860. Piper Jaffray maintains an open
architecture model, which allows the firm's financial advisors to provide
clients with best-in-class products and advisory services that meet their
unique needs.

"As a member of the firm's management committee, I have been deeply engaged in
the Private Client Services strategy," said Peterson. "I understand it, I
believe in it, and I am confident in our ability to execute it. We have great
people, a great platform for providing value to our clients, and a distinctive
employee value proposition to attract talented, client-focused professionals to
Piper Jaffray."

About Piper Jaffray Companies

Piper Jaffray Companies (NYSE:PJC) is a focused securities firm dedicated to
delivering superior financial advice, investment products and transaction
execution within selected sectors of the financial services marketplace. The
company operates through two primary revenue-generating segments: Capital
Markets and Private Client Services. Through its chief operating subsidiary,
Piper Jaffray & Co., the firm has served corporations, government and non-
profit entities, institutional investors and the financial advisory needs of
private individuals since 1895. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Piper Jaffray has
approximately 3,000 employees in 105 offices in 23 states across the country
and in London. For more information about Piper Jaffray, visit us online at
http://www.piperjaffray.com/ .

Since 1895. Member SIPC and NYSE. 

DATASOURCE: Piper Jaffray Companies



CONTACT:  Media Relations, Susan Beatty of Piper Jaffray Companies,

[phone]



Web site:  http://www.piperjaffray.com/ 

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