HJ Sims

Company History

“I guess you could say bond investing is in my blood.”

In the midst of the Great Depression, a man with no prior Wall Street knowledge opened a one room investment office with money loaned from an influential venture capitalist — his mom.

Herbert J. Sims is more than the name on our door. Herb was my father: a stickler for research, with a drive to learn everything he could about bonds. Herb’s passion paid off: He identified high-yield instruments that delivered when others defaulted. Over time, his shared insights turned that small office into a wealth of investment banking and fixed-income experts.

At HJ Sims, our clients come first—whether they’re individuals, issuers, advisers or institution. We have a long history of client confidence and consistent growth to live up to. Fortunately, Dad’s dedication for focusing on numbers, without treating people like them, lives on in all of us.

William B. Sims
Managing Principal

History Timeline

• 1935

  Herbert J. Sims & Company is established on Wall Street

• 1937

  Sims recognizes the potential for rebuilding America's infrastructure, using high yield tax-exempt bonds to refinance county roads in Florida

• 1946

  Sims' investors enjoy tax-exempt high yields through refinancing of a St. Petersburg, Florida causeway

  Sims approved as a broker-dealer by Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA www.finra.org)

• 1948

  Sims underwrites high-yield bonds to finance natural gas systems in Georgia

• 1964

  Sims underwrites its first tax-exempt hospital bond

• 1965

  Sims underwrites the first municipal bond to finance a long-term care community

• 1970

  Merrill Lynch, Salomon Brothers and Eastman Dillon join forces with Sims to finance over $1.5 billion in hospital issues

• 1980

  Sims finances its first continuing care retirement community (CCRC), a facility in Florida

• 1984

  Sims Mortgage Funding, Inc. established and commenced operation as an FHA-approved lender

• 1984

  Long-term care bond issues underwritten by Sims are purchased by bond funds and insurance companies

• 1987

  LeadingAge, formerly AAHSA, selects Sims as a preferred banker

• 1989

  Sims moves its headquarters to Westport, Connecticut

• 1995

  Sims' investment banking location opens in Orlando, Florida

• 1996

  Sims offers its first private placement, a MatchCap^SM for Canterbury Woods in New York

• 1998

  Sims opens New Jersey office

• 1998

  Sims underwrites its first solely managed offering in excess of $100 million

• 1999

  Sims opens office in Boca Raton, Florida

• 2001

  LeadingAge welcomes Sims as a new member

• 2001

  Sims' Maryland investment banking location opens

• 2002

  Sims underwrites its first charter school

• 2005

  LeadingAge hires Sims to refinance its debt

• 2006

  Entrance fee principal redemption bonds, a new concept in financing, is introduced by Sims with its underwriting of Ingleside at King Farm in Maryland

• 2007

  Sims opens an investment banking location in Houston, Texas

• 2007

  Sims provides $457 million financing for start-up CCRC and replacement nursing facility project outside of Boston, MA - the largest senior living deal ever financed at that time

• 2010

  Sims opens Minnesota office

• 2011

  Braintree Capital Partners joins the Sims family of companies

• 2011

  Sims expands its Minnesota office to include investment banking