Boutique investment bank Evergreen Capital Partners closed its doors late Wednesday, a failure that reflects the downturn in junior resource financings.
Employee-owned Evergreen was founded in 2006 by veterans of Northern Securities, and had less than 20 employees. The firm focused on raising money for mining, energy and technology plays, and trading junior stocks in those sectors.
Tech and commodity financings have all but dried up this year, and that's cut into the bottom line of every dealer focused on these sectors.
Regulators at the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (or IIROC) said Wednesday that they "will be working with the firm to ensure that clients have access to their accounts and for the orderly wind-down of the firm's operations."
IIROC executives could not be reached for comment on the firm's capital position.
Evergreen principals included head trader David Connacher, who has worked on a number of equity desks at domestic and global firms, Toronto-based mining financier Paul Reid and Calgary-based energy banker Trevor Conway. The firm also had three research analysts, covering mining, energy and technology.
While a handful of large investment banks dominate Canadian capital markets, there are 203 dealers in the country, according to the Investment Industry Association of Canada. Many of those firms are small, regional players that will struggle during a prolonged bear market.