California Education Finance

Committed to building the future of education in California.

Our team brings experience, professionalism and integrity to financing K-14 school bond programs in the state of California. We pride ourselves on providing creative solutions, top-notch service and low borrowing costs, supporting our clients’ efforts to act as true stewards of taxpayer dollars. Our eight-person education team out of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Pasadena and Orange County is backed by the power of Raymond James, which is consistently among the leading municipal bond underwriters in the nation. Our extensive distribution network reaches not only Tier 1 institutional buyers, but also Tier 2 and Tier 3 with the largest middle-market institutional sales force in the nation.

#1

underwriter of negotiated general obligation bonds for K-14 school districts in California*

8

public finance professionals dedicated to California K-14 financing

67

transactions priced in 2022 totaling $1.26 billion

818

employees in 237 offices in 135 cities statewide

465

retail brokers with 157,602 accounts and $45.4 billion AUM

*Source: Bloomberg, based on total number of issues (2018-2022)
Stats as of December 31, 2022
Past performance may not be indicative of future results.

Full-service Capabilities

  • General obligation bonds
  • Certificates of participation
  • Private placements
  • Tax-credit financings
  • Limited tax obligations
  • Rating agency strategy
  • Debt portfolio analysis

Team

Randy Merritt
Managing Director, Head of California Education Group
   
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Parker Colvin
Managing Director, Municipal Underwriter
   
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Trennis Wright
Managing Director
   
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Alexzis Fuke
Alexzis Fuke
Director
   
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Alex Boutyrski
Alex Boutyrski
Vice President
   
Brett Lee
Vice President
   
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Brandon Bassell
Associate
   
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Featured Transactions

Helping California schools navigate the pandemic

COVID-19 has brought unique challenges to the state’s education financing space. Hear from Managing Director John Baracy and his fellow panelists on the current environment and what to expect moving forward.

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Raymond James rebuilds California schools one bond at a time

Updating aging schools is no small task. Learn how John Baracy and the Raymond James California Education team are helping the state by reading this article from CASBO.

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Public Finance Market Watch

In-depth and timely commentary and analysis on the municipal market from industry experts.