Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: JEF)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc is a US headquartered global investment banking and capital markets firm. The company provides investment banking, capital markets, and asset management services to clients worldwide.

Revenue is generated primarily through fees for investment banking advisory and underwriting services, commissions and spreads from sales and trading activities, prime brokerage financing spreads, wealth management fees, and asset management fees including management and performance fees.

The company operates through the following segments: Investment Banking and Capital Markets and Asset Management.

• The Investment Banking and Capital Markets segment provides investment banking advisory and underwriting services across equities and fixed income, prime brokerage, equity finance, research and strategy, corporate lending through Jefferies Finance and commercial real estate finance through Berkadia.

• The Asset Management segment offers alternative investment management services to global investors through directly owned managers and affiliated asset managers, often seeding or providing strategic capital, and invests in public securities, private companies, and consolidated subsidiaries involved in real estate development, online foreign exchange trading, and telecommunications, while managing a legacy merchant banking portfolio and other investments.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc competes primarily with large global bank holding companies that have greater capital and resources, as well as with other broker dealers, asset managers and boutique firms.

The company serves a diverse client base that includes public and private corporations, financial sponsors and owners, institutional investors such as mutual funds, hedge funds, investment advisors, pension and profit sharing plans, insurance companies, government entities, and high net worth individuals and their families. Specific relationships noted in the filing include joint venture partners Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company and Berkshire Hathaway, and strategic alliance partners Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and SMBC Nikko Securities Inc.