Dan Ives departs Wedbush to co-found Yorkville Ives & Co., a merchant bank for the AI era

Dan Ives departed Wedbush Securities on July 1, 2026, and has since co-founded Yorkville Ives & Co., a merchant banking platform developed in partnership with Yorkville Securities. The venture was formally announced around July 15, 2026.

What Yorkville Ives actually is

Yorkville Ives is positioning itself as a modern merchant banking model built specifically for what its founders are calling the “fourth industrial revolution.” The firm’s focus areas include AI, technology broadly, energy transition, and infrastructure.

Ives joins as partner and senior managing director, where he plans to continue covering technology stocks and companies alongside the firm’s advisory and investing work.

The platform includes principal investing capabilities, meaning Yorkville Ives can take positions in companies on behalf of both the firm itself and its clients. That structure gives it exposure to private markets in a way that a traditional sell-side role at Wedbush never could.

Early reporting referenced a closed-end fund tied to private-company exposure, but coverage of the actual launch has centered on the merchant banking model rather than a discrete fund product. Principal investing in private companies remains a core part of the platform’s stated mandate.

Why this matters beyond one career move

Yorkville Securities brings an established infrastructure to the partnership. Ives brings name recognition, a following among retail and institutional investors, and deep relationships with the technology companies he has covered throughout his career.

His prior work at Wedbush included involvement in AI-themed ETF products, though those products remain linked to Wedbush Fund Advisers following his departure.

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