Our History
HJ Sims has lived and breathed the bond market since 1935. In bull markets and bear; through booms, bubbles and busts, we have demonstrated our exceptional expertise.
A Legacy of Progress
I guess you could say bond investing
is in my blood.
WILLIAM B. SIMS, Managing Principal
In the midst of the Great Depression, a man with no prior Wall Street knowledge opened a one room investment office with money borrowed from an influential venture capitalist — his mom. Herb was determined to learn everything he could about bonds. The start-up focused on credit-driven research on higher yielding instruments. His passion paid off: He identified high-yield instruments that delivered while others defaulted. Thus began the legend.
Today, the company my father founded is celebrated for excellence in private wealth management, fixed income securities and investment banking. We are dedicated to the success of numerous start-ups and other thriving ventures. We invest in and finance a variety of projects essential to our communities, including senior living campuses, federally insured hospitals and fast-growing charter schools, to name a few.
We are proud of our pioneering and entrepreneurial roots as well as the innovative approaches and tools we have brought to the markets throughout the years. Inspired by our founder, my father, our wealth management, banking, institutional and trading professionals continually advance solutions that help our clients build wealth, achieve their financial goals and enrich the lives of those most dear to them.
History Timeline
Herbert J. Sims & Company is established on Wall Street
HJ Sims approved as a broker-dealer by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the National Association of Securities Dealers (now Financial Industry Regulatory Authority - FINRA)
HJ Sims underwrites its first tax-exempt hospital bond
Merrill Lynch, Salomon Brothers and Eastman Dillon join forces with HJ Sims to finance over $1.5 billion in hospital issues
Long-term care bond issues underwritten by HJ Sims are purchased by bond funds and insurance companies
HJ Sims moves its headquarters to Westport, Connecticut
HJ Sims offers its first private placement, a MatchCap℠ for Canterbury Woods in New York
HJ Sims underwrites its first solely managed offering in excess of $100 million - the Episcopal Home Foundation in San Francisco, California.
HJ Sims opens Rockville, Maryland office
LeadingAge hires HJ Sims to refinance its debt
HJ Sims provides $457 million financing for start-up CCRC and replacement nursing facility project outside of Boston, Massachusetts – the largest senior living project ever financed in the US at that time
HJ Sims relocates corporate headquarters to Fairfield, Connecticut
HJ Sims opens a branch specialized in fixed income investing in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
HJ Sims expands the Rockville, Maryland office
HJ Sims executes a $236,300,000 financing for NewBridge on the Charles in Dedham, Massachusetts – the largest fixed rate public bond issue in 2017.
HJ Sims expands office in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
HJ Sims recognizes the potential for rebuilding America’s infrastructure, using high yield tax-exempt bonds to refinance county roads in Florida
HJ Sims underwrites high-yield bonds to finance natural gas systems in Georgia
HJ Sims underwrites the first municipal bond to finance a long-term care community
Sims Mortgage Funding, Inc. establishes and commences operation as an FHA-approved lender
LeadingAge, formerly AAHSA, selects HJ Sims as a preferred banker
HJ Sims’ investment banking location opens in Orlando, Florida
HJ Sims opens northern New Jersey office
HJ Sims opens Boca Raton, Florida office
HJ Sims underwrites its first charter school
Entrance fee principal redemption bonds, a new concept in financing, is introduced by HJ Sims with its underwriting of Ingleside at King Farm in Maryland
HJ Sims opens Minnesota office
HJ Sims opens Austin, Texas office
HJ Sims opens an investment banking location in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
HJ Sims opens Charlotte, North Carolina office
HJ Sims expands office in Boca Raton, Florida
2020 - HJ Sims Opens offices in Jupiter, FL, California and Illinois
HJ Sims History
