Dan Ives left Wedbush Securities after eight years to form Yorkville Ives, a merchant bank combining research, trading, and investment banking. The new firm will target AI and tech infrastructure clients.
Dan Ives, the tech analyst known for his bullish calls on Apple and AI stocks, will leave Wedbush Securities after eight years to launch a merchant bank with Yorkville Securities. The new firm, Yorkville Ives, will combine equity research, investment banking, institutional trading, and principal investment, the company said in a statement.
Ives becomes a partner and senior managing director at the new venture. He described the move as a "natural next step" after months of conversations with Yorkville, which he said had the dealmaking experience his brand and research expertise needed. "This was really about trying to figure out a one plus one equals four," Ives told Business Insider.
The shift reflects a broader trend on Wall Street. Traditional sell-side research departments face pressure from commission compression and the rise of passive investing. Analysts with strong personal followings increasingly leave large banks to capture more of the revenue their work generates. Ives, with more than 300,000 followers on X and a regular spot on financial TV, is taking that logic further by folding research into a full-service banking platform.
Yorkville Ives had between 10 and 20 employees as of Wednesday. Ives said the firm has received a "wild amount of interest" from candidates but has no specific hiring plans. He described the search as targeting "highly motivated and experienced Wall Street people across research, sales, trading, and banking." Clients will include both public and private companies, with Ives calling the firm a "Swiss Army knife" for transactions.
The new bank will focus on the same sectors Ives has covered for years – AI, technology, and infrastructure. He also sits on the advisory board of marketing technology firm Zeta Global and served as chairman of Eightco Holdings, overseeing cryptocurrency investments before stepping down in March. Asked about specific challenges, Ives declined to name them. "You just have to convince people, you have to show them the results," he said.
Ives said the departure from Wedbush was a "tough decision" and that the idea of starting his own firm had been in the works for years. He offered no timeline for the bank's first deal. "Rome wasn't built in a day," he said.
Drafted by a large language model from the source reporting linked above, then screened by automated publishing checks. It is not read by a journalist before publication. Some articles cite our Alpha Score. Verify prices and figures against the original source. Educational coverage, not personalized advice.