East Wind Advisors

What East Wind Advisors does

East Wind Advisors, LLC is a privately held, boutique investment banking firm founded in 2002 and headquartered at 810 Seventh Avenue, 35th Floor, New York. The firm delivers strategic and M&A advisory services — including sell-side and buy-side M&A, debt and equity financing advisory, joint ventures, restructurings, valuations, fairness opinions, and strategic alliances — to middle market, emerging growth, and venture stage companies as well as financial sponsors. Its sector coverage is organized into six verticals: Education & Human Capital, Media & Entertainment, Consumer, Business Services, Healthcare, and General Industries (encompassing Aerospace & Defense, Building Products and Construction, Manufacturing, Natural Resources, Energy, Paper and Packaging, and Special Situations).

The firm's underlying technology is essentially its human capital and relationship network: principals collectively hold 250+ years of transaction experience at Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, UBS, and Bear Stearns. All securities transactions are executed through an affiliated broker-dealer, East Wind Securities, LLC, a FINRA and SIPC member, while the parent group includes East Wind Holdings, LLC. The firm has documented 60+ transaction tombstones across M&A, financing, and advisory mandates.

Revenue is generated almost entirely through transaction-based fees (retainers, success fees, and customary investment banking compensation structures) on bespoke, multi-year advisory engagements. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales executed by senior bankers who manage client relationships directly. The firm employs 11-50 professionals and is employee-owned, with Joshua Schwartz as Founder and Managing Partner and Ilan Kaufthal as Chairman.

Name

East Wind Advisors

Legal name

East Wind Advisors, LLC

Website

https://eastwindadvisors.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

East Wind Advisors is a privately held New York boutique investment bank founded in 2002 that provides M&A, financing, and strategic advisory services to middle market, emerging growth, and venture stage companies and financial sponsors across six sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investment Banking Advisory

NAICS

Investment Banking and Securities Intermediation (523150), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities (523)

SIC

Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211), Investment Advice (6282), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

M&A Advisory (Buy-Side & Sell-Side) (BPAHAOAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Capital Raising Advisory (Equity & Equity-Linked) (FSAEAGAC), Corporate Finance Advisory (Strategic Finance, Capital Structure & Recaps) (FSAEAGAE)

Keywords

• Investment banking advisory
• M&A advisory services
• Financial advisory services
• Middle market advisory
• Capital raising advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. M&A Advisory: Sell-side and buy-side M&A advisory services for middle market, emerging growth, and venture stage companies, including transaction execution for strategic and financial transactions.
2. Financing Advisory: Debt and equity financing advisory services, including arranging capital for clients across various transaction types and sizes.
3. Strategic Advisory: Joint ventures, restructurings, valuations, fairness opinions, and strategic alliance advisory services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

East Wind Advisors is a boutique investment bank that provides M&A advisory (sell-side and buy-side) and financing advisory (debt and equity) to middle market, emerging growth, and venture-stage companies, plus financial sponsors. It also delivers strategic advisory services including joint ventures, restructurings, valuations, fairness opinions, and strategic alliances, organized around six industry sectors: Education & Human Capital, Media & Entertainment, Consumer, Business Services, Healthcare, and General Industries. Securities transactions are conducted through affiliate East Wind Securities, LLC.

Product overview

East Wind Advisors is an independent, industry-focused investment bank founded in 2002 that provides advisory services to middle market, emerging growth, and venture stage companies as well as financial sponsors. The firm offers a single integrated service offering focused on strategic and M&A advisory, including financings, M&A mandates, joint ventures, restructurings, valuations, fairness opinions, and strategic alliances. The firm operates across six industry sectors: Education & Human Capital, Media & Entertainment, Consumer, Business Services, Healthcare, and General Industries. East Wind Securities, LLC, an affiliate, handles securities transactions and is a member of FINRA and SIPC.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• M&A Advisory Sell-side and buy-side M&A advisory services for middle market, emerging growth, and venture stage companies, including transaction execution for strategic and financial transactions across the firm's six sector verticals.
• Financing Advisory Debt and equity financing advisory services, including arranging capital for clients across various transaction types and sizes.
• Strategic Advisory Advisory on joint ventures, restructurings, valuations, fairness opinions, and strategic alliances for clients across the firm's six sector verticals.

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• East Wind Securities, LLCcoreOthersAffiliate company and broker-dealer that conducts all securities transactions. East Wind Securities is a member of FINRA and SIPC, handling all transactions involving the offering or sale of securities. East Wind Advisors works closely with this affiliate to provide comprehensive investment banking and securities-related services.
• East Wind Holdings, LLCcoreOthersAffiliate company within the East Wind group of companies. Part of the corporate structure alongside East Wind Advisors, LLC and East Wind Securities, LLC.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Lincoln International: Global mid-market investment bank providing M&A and financing advisory, closely overlapping East Wind's middle-market, sector-focused advisory model.
• Harris Williams: Middle-market M&A advisory firm with sector-focused coverage in Consumer, Healthcare, TMT, and Industrials, mirroring East Wind's sector-boutique approach.
• Houlihan Lokey: Publicly-traded global investment bank with strong middle-market M&A, capital markets, and financial restructuring advisory — a direct competitor for similar mandates.
• GCA Advisors: Independent, global M&A advisory firm focused on middle-market transactions, directly comparable in boutique positioning and deal size range.
• Citizens Capital Markets: Middle-market investment bank providing M&A and capital markets advisory to similar client types — corporates, sponsors, and growth-stage companies.

Broad incumbents

• Guggenheim Partners: Diversified financial services firm with investment banking capabilities spanning M&A and capital markets, competing for middle-market and sector mandates.
• Jefferies: Full-service investment bank with significant middle-market M&A and capital markets capabilities; broader scope but overlapping target clients in growth and mid-cap segments.
• Robert W. Baird: Employee-owned investment bank with strong middle-market M&A advisory practice, overlapping with East Wind's middle-market, sector-focused model.
• Stifel: Diversified financial services firm with investment banking division covering middle-market M&A and financing — overlapping target clients across multiple sectors.
• Cowen: Diversified investment bank with middle-market M&A and capital markets focus; competes for similar emerging-growth and sponsor-backed mandates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/east-wind-advisors
• Xx.com/eastwindadv

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about East Wind Advisors