BTIG, a broker dealer specialising in institutional trading and related brokerage services, has hired Alexander Piper and James Zurovchak to its fixed income group.

Piper joins BTIG’s high yield team and Zurovchak joins the RMBS sales team.

Piper joins BTIG as a director in the fixed income high yield sales team. Prior to BTIG, he was with Imperial Capital where he spent five years in high yield, bank debt and equity sales, and Jefferies, where he handled bonds direct.

Zurovchak joins BTIG as a director in RMBS sales and will also be trading agency CMOs. He comes to BTIG from Source Capital Group, a NY-based RMBS boutique broker dealer, where he focused on RMBS sales. Prior to joining Source Capital, Zurovchak held various sales and trading roles at Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, Nomura and Kidder Peabody.

“We continue to build our global franchise with professionals who have deep product knowledge and experience through all market cycles,” says John Purcell, co-head of fixed income at BTIG. “Alexander will bring more depth to our high yield and distressed effort across both loans and bonds, and will add to our distribution for new issue product as we expand our capital markets capabilities. James brings a wealth of experience, particularly in agency CMO trading, which will continue to be a critical area for residential mortgage financing as other sources remain constrained.”

BTIG’s fixed income group was launched in early 2009. The group focuses on sales and trading of credit products, which cover the full credit spectrum from investment grade to distressed debt.