In a sector filled with big banks trying to push managed product, Haywood Securities takes a lot of pride in its independent status.

The Vancouver-based investment company is unique in its ability to seek out opportunities in young companies with potential for rapid growth.

With the dramatic shift in the financial landscape in recent years, the smart money has been shifting to specialized fleet-footed investment dealers with the savvy, flexibility and experience to act on an idea when the situation dictates.

And that’s exactly how Haywood Securities, under the direction of CEO John Tognetti, stays ahead of the game to serve investors and investment banking clients.

From left, Tony Migliarese, David McGorman and Paul Saks are among the quick-thinking, entrepreneurial experts at Haywood Securities.

Their culture has proven to be tailor-made for the company’s Calgary operation, which has flourished despite a nasty bear market since the office opened in 2000.

As Rob Blanchard, Haywood’s COO notes, it’s a brand-new world out there for investors.

“We’re now into a market- recovery stage where the focus needs to be on mid and small-cap stocks, which requires mastering a different kind of thinking. This involves working up qualified ideas faster and being more aggressive in implementing them.”

Haywood’s analysts and advisors unearth young companies with great management teams that are built around fresh ideas and the potential for rapid growth in the oil and gas, mining, biotechnology and advanced technology sectors. These investment opportunities are offered to qualified investors in both the institutional and retail markets.

Haywood’s dynamic style suits the fast-paced Calgary oil patch, which has fuelled phenomenal growth in the Calgary office where the staff has grown from 13 to 26 in the past eight months under the direction of Tony Migliarese, Branch Manager responsible for sales and trading. Migliarese joined Kim Gorius, Co-Branch Manager responsible for operations and compliance since November 2000.

“I am proud of the highly experienced and motivated team of advisors we have assembled in the Calgary office and their co-operation in sharing good ideas with each other. This has, and will continue, to lead to many great investment opportunities for their clients,” says Migliarese.

Nationally, the firm has acted as a lead or co-lead underwriter in syndicated deals ranging from $1 million to $100 million including high-profile companies such as Lionore Mining and Bema Gold.

Haywood boasts a team of forward thinkers – people like Paul Saks, a company VP and Senior Investment Advisor. Favouring a more entrepreneurial environment, Saks, formerly a top-tier advisor with Nesbitt Burns, made the move to Haywood in March 2000.

Saks had the foresight to correctly predict in 1999 that fee-based investment firms would lose clients and credibility as the stock market contracted.

His winning philosophy was a good fit at Haywood. “We strive to be close to the client and close to the idea because, at the end of the day, buy and hold doesn’t always work. To outperform the mutual fund or managed investments that are in a lull right now, you have to be a sharpshooter going after individual ideas, which is precisely what we do at Haywood,” explains Saks.

David McGorman, VP and head of investment banking in Calgary, chose to join Haywood in January because he relished the challenge of the shifting winds in the oil patch. “I saw the Calgary marketplace transform from a senior and mid-market into a start-up junior market through attrition, acquisitions and mergers, and I felt that a company like Haywood, given its depth of foot, could make a huge impact.”

“My focus in Calgary,” adds McGorman, “is on building an oil and gas practice, paying particular attention to the juniors. Our strategy is to fund promising juniors, help them grow their business and at the right time advise them on their exit strategy.”

McGorman attributes the research provided by Haywood’s oil and gas analyst Alan Knowles, as integral to their efforts. With over 20 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, Alan has been pivotal in finding early-stage opportunities with tremendous growth potential.

What really sets Haywood apart from other firms is the company’s sound reputation and talented individuals. “While we focus on maximizing our clients’ returns, we value our reputation and care about people, policy and process,” says Blanchard.

“Haywood enjoys an extremely high level of employee satisfaction and morale. I credit this to Haywood’s management for having aligned corporate interests and goals with those of our employees and clients,” says Migliarese.

Tognetti sums up the principles on which Haywood was founded: “Our belief and company philosophy is simple – if we do well by our clients, we will do well as a company. In order for us to benefit, prosper and be successful, our clients must first be the ones to achieve this.”