Welcome to Hotel Jefferies

Team Jefferies,

After a recent business dinner, one of us bumped into a legendary leader in the hospitality industry who was more of an acquaintance than a longtime friend or client.  He graciously offered a seat at his table for an after-dinner drink.  This individual, who had famously built a truly world-class empire over decades, was familiar with Jefferies because he knew some of our clients and partners and even had a close relative who worked for Jefferies in a junior capacity.  His words were simple and direct but carried so much meaning that we wanted to share them with all of you today as we start Jefferies fiscal fourth quarter. 

He simply said, “I’ve been watching you and your firm for a long time and was wondering if you realized that Jefferies is in the hospitality business?”  At first this concept was surprising, but the longer the conversation continued and the more we thought about it, the more we realized he had an excellent point.  Consider the following:

1. Making Guests Comfortable.  Our clients come to Jefferies to address challenging problems and opportunities that are significant and real.  Whether it is an IPO, a block trade, a debt deal, a fixed income basket trade, the opportunity and risk of a large acquisition, or a restructuring of a bad capital structure, our guests (clients) often come to us when they are “out of their comfort zone.”  Our job is to work as a team to put them mentally and physically in the right place by solving their problem or helping them seize their opportunity.
2. Repeat Guests.  Our business is fundamentally dependent upon our clients returning time and time again.  Consistency and quality of service are paramount to achieving this goal.  One bad experience, and we jeopardize ever seeing our clients again.  When our clients feel comfortable that our entire firm knows and cares about them, they consider Jefferies their “home away from home.”
3. Concierge Service.  In our clients’ eyes, every individual person at Jefferies is our firm.  That is why culture is so critical.  If our people are treated fairly and with respect, given long-term opportunity, empowerment, and fair reward, we think like owners.  Owners think long term and embrace the critical importance of our clients.  And when we deliver as a team, embracing our opportunities as owners, our clients can tell the difference.
4. Word of Mouth.  Satisfied clients spread the word.  Clients listen to other clients when it comes to opinions on service, consistency, and quality.  Positive feedback from happy clients contagiously spreads and is always more effective than paid advertising or our name on a golfer’s hat.  Positive reviews drive utilization of our capacity, which in turn allows us to build our firm to the next level.
5. Brand Matters.  Strong brands are built and maintained when we consistently do the right thing by our clients over time and through all the different environments and cycles that come our way.  This takes an enormous amount of time, and the larger and more established brands will do everything in their power to minimize and prevent a new brand from emerging.  Tenacity, audacity, and authenticity are all required to build a new brand.  Once the brand is built, it is much easier to diversify our firm into new products, services, and regions.  A positive and strong brand enables clients to give us the benefit of the doubt when we try to get them to use Jefferies in new areas that they never considered.  We then must provide the exact same white-glove service in the new areas they have come to expect from us when they gave us that very first opportunity to serve them.  And as we all know, as difficult as this brand is to build, it can get tarnished and destroyed the moment any one of us ever takes it for granted.

We greatly appreciate how hard everyone worked this summer (and winter in the Southern Hemisphere).  We hope each of you enjoyed time with your family and friends and feel recharged as we enter our final fiscal lap of 2026.  We could not be prouder of the Jefferies Hotel that each of us has worked so hard to help build, protect, and serve.  Let’s all get to it and deliver the best possible service and experience to our clients as we complete 2026 together on a high note.

Putting chocolates on the pillows for our clients with all of you,

Rich and Brian