Wedbush analyst Dan Ives to leave firm and launch merchant bank

According to CNBC, Dan Ives is leaving Wedbush Securities to start a merchant bank that he said will combine research, advisory, capital raising and investing. Ives, who has spent eight years at Wedbush and more than 25 years covering technology stocks, said the new firm is expected to be formally announced in the coming weeks and will provide proprietary research, strategic advisory services, capital raising and investments across sectors including technology, energy and financials. He said he plans to continue covering technology stocks in a research role while building the business, and that the firm will focus on opportunities tied to artificial intelligence and other structural shifts. At Wedbush, Ives also served on the advisory board of Zeta Global and briefly as chairman of Eightco Holdings, where he led a crypto treasury strategy centered on Worldcoin, the digital token associated with Sam Altman’s identity venture, World.