Both maritime equity specialists from Noble Capital Markets have jumped ship to begin work at New York-based Alliance Global Partners (AGP). TradeWinds has confirmed that AGP is the destination for shipping analyst Poe Fratt, and AGP said in a separate statement that it has welcomed Mark Suarez, who had led Noble’s investment banking efforts in the sector. While neither man could be reached for comment ahead of TradeWinds’ deadline, shipping executives said they expected AGP would broaden its coverage of transportation and logistics including shipping names. Suarez has been hired to head that practice.

“We are excited to have Mark join the banking team as we expand our verticals that we currently cover,” said AGP chief executive Phil Michals in a statement. AGP national sales manager Eric Steingruebner also offered a hint of direction. “With transportation and logistics becoming ever more critical during this time, it will give us a competitive advantage to have someone with Mark’s background finding opportunities in this sector,” Steingruebner said.

The departures came virtually on the eve of Noble Capital’s annual investor conference, dubbed NobleCon, held outside of Fort Lauderdale from Tuesday to Thursday. That led to some confusion for shipping presenters during the event, although Noble’s Michael Heim, an energy analyst, introduced himself to management teams as taking up maritime names in Fratt’s place.

Both Suarez and Fratt came on the scene in 2017 as Noble announced a counter-cyclical play in shipping equities, specializing in smaller-cap names. Suarez has a total of 16 years in shipping investment banking and equity research, with previous stints at McQuilling Holdings and Euro Pacific Capital.

AGP describes itself as a full-service national investment firm and SEC-registered broker-dealer for the past 39 years. It has 11 offices across the US, with headquarters on Madison Avenue in Manhattan. The firm says it has taken part in more than $20bn worth of capital markets transactions as lead manager, co-manager or syndicate member and completed more than 300 public offerings as a deal manager.

As TradeWinds has reported, shipping equity analysts have been on the move in recent weeks, with Jefferies veteran Randy Giveans leaving for a post with Navigator Holdings and Omar Nokta departing Clarksons Platou Securities to fill Giveans’ spot, with an expected start date in July.