OUR PEOPLE
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SOUTHWEST MERCHANT GROUP has built a core team of senior professionals with 
differing backgrounds and areas of expertise. Although clients may work 
primarily with one or another team member, they benefit from the combined 
education, experience, and expertise of the entire group.

MICHAEL D. RIGGS
MANAGING DIRECTOR

Mike is one of the senior investment bankers in the Southwest, and is our 
specialist in capital funding. He has managed over 20 public offerings of 
Southwestern based companies, raising over $200,000,000. He has also 
consulted with client companies regarding mergers and acquisitions and 
arranged the private placement of both debt and equity totaling an additional 
$500,000,000.

He has been associated with four regional investment banking firms, all of 
which were members of the New York Stock Exchange: Eppler, Guerin & Turner, 
Inc., Schneider, Bernet & Hickman, Inc., Institutional Equity Corporation and 
Rotan-Mosle, Inc. Mike was a major shareholder, director and head of 
corporate finance at two of these firms, and a senior member of the corporate 
finance department at the other two. He is a graduate of the University of 
Arkansas and the Harvard Business School.

STEVEN J. COOK
MANAGING DIRECTOR

Steve Cook has many years experience in trading and analyzing both fixed 
income and equity securities, as well as in private placements of debt and 
equity. He started in the securities business at Scudder, Stevens & Clark, 
where he managed institutional portfolios including both debt and equity 
investments ranging from $500,000 to $100,000,000. He then spent several 
years at Bear, Stearns & Co., where he was Limited Partner in charge of 
Institutional Sales, and also founded and managed the Risk Arbitrage Desk.

During the last several years Mr. Cook founded and managed an investment 
program for individuals, and a merchant bank for small and middle market 
companies, where he managed well over $100,000,000 in debt and equity 
placements.

He graduated MAGNA CUM LAUDE and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of 
Oklahoma, and then received an MBA from Harvard Business School. In addition, 
Mr. Cook has completed certification as a Chartered Financial Analyst.

M. RICHARD MARCUS
MANAGING DIRECTOR

Richard Marcus is our expert on financial risk management, derivatives, and 
other complex financial instruments. After receiving a B.S. in Economics from 
the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Finance, Mr. Marcus joined 
his family business which he eventually took public. After that business was 
sold, he began using his expertise in finance to manage money for friends and 
colleagues. During this time he developed extremely sophisticated hedging 
techniques, which he has refined and incorporated into the proprietary system 
which he calls statistical arbitrage.

In addition to using his specialized knowledge for funds management, Mr. 
Marcus works closely with our investment bankers as a consultant to 
corporations to stablize future material costs, or to meet capital 
requirements. He has recently been working with Morgan Stanley on a sizable 
and complex financing project.

Mr. Marcus is licensed by the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission 
(CFTC) as a Commodities Pool Operator, and he executes trades on the Chicago 
Board Options Exchange.