Leonard DeProspo, Finance Expert in Wynnewood, PA, United States
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Leonard DeProspo

Verified Expert  in Finance

Finance Expert

Location
Wynnewood, PA, United States
Toptal Member Since
January 24, 2020

Leonard has published equity research on financial technology firms representing over $500 billion of combined market capitalization. He joined Toptal to draw upon his extensive Wall Street experience and create differentiated analysis for his clients. In the past 13 years, Leonard has worked across four different sell side firms and co-authored over 1,400 research reports. He has 19 total years of experience in finance and valuation.

ValuationEquity ResearchFintechFinancial ModelingDue Diligence

Career Highlights

Equity Research Associate, Vice President
Mizuho Securities USA, LLC
Equity Research Associate, Vice President
CLSA Americas, LLC
Equity Research Associate
Sterne, Agee, & Leach, Inc.

Education Highlights

Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree
Emory University
Bachelor's Degree
University of Richmond

Certification Highlights

Series 7, 63, 86, 87
FINRA
CFA Charterholder
CFA Institute

Case Studies

Work Experience

Equity Research Associate, Vice President

2017 - PRESENT
Mizuho Securities USA, LLC
  • Supported senior analyst with equity research coverage of companies representing $500 billion of market capitalization within the financial technology sector. This analyst was recognized by StarMine in 2019 as a top 3 stock picker in the Information Technology sector.
  • Co-authored and published over 100 equity research reports on the financial technology and payments sector including company-specific initiation reports and earnings notes, financial technology industry trends, and merger and acquisition analyses. Also co-authored topic-specific reports regarding cross-border payment revenues, the burgeoning payments landscape in India, and industrial loan corporations.
  • Created and maintained financial models on 11 publicly traded companies, including creating quarterly and annual income statement estimates that were published to Bloomberg, Thomson First Call, and FactSet. Created accretion models for various mergers and acquisitions, including Vantiv/Worldpay and Global Payments/TSYS.
  • Co-organized two investor bus tours of West Coast financial technology companies that garnered over 30 buy-side institutional investor attendees and included meetings with CEOs, CFOs, founders, and heads of strategy.
  • Communicated research and stock ideas to a client base of over 200 buy-side institutional investors as well as internal sales staff and trading desk.
Focus areas: Fintech, Due Diligence, Analysis, Writing & Editing, Equity Research, Modeling

Equity Research Associate, Vice President

2015 - 2017
CLSA Americas, LLC
  • Supported the senior analyst with equity research coverage of companies representing over $450 billion of market capitalization within the financial technology sector. This analyst was recognized by StarMine in 2015 as the top overall stock picker in North America.
  • Co-authored and published over 200 equity research reports on the financial technology and payments sector including company-specific initiation reports and earnings notes, financial technology industry trends, and merger and acquisition analyses. Also co-authored topic-specific reports that incorporated industry expert viewpoints on blockchain as well as faster payment systems.
  • Created and maintained financial models on 12 publicly traded companies, including creating quarterly and annual income statement estimates that were published to Bloomberg, Thomson First Call, and FactSet.
  • Organized differentiated client events including meetings and conference calls with industry experts on blockchain, merchant acquirers, faster payment systems, and the proposed settlement between card networks and merchants.
  • Conducted due diligence with C-level management, including CEOs, CFOs, and Head of Investor Relations at publicly traded and privately held companies.
Focus areas: Fintech, Due Diligence, Analysis, Writing & Editing, Equity Research, Modeling

Equity Research Associate

2014 - 2015
Sterne, Agee, & Leach, Inc.
  • Supported an analyst with equity research coverage of companies representing over $400 billion of market capitalization within the financial technology sector.
  • Co-authored and published over 100 equity research reports on the financial technology and payments sector including company-specific initiation reports and earnings notes, financial technology industry trends, and merger and acquisition analyses. Also co-authored an industry outlook discussing tokenization and EMV, industry M&A activity, and margin pressure within prepaid.
  • Created and maintained financial models on 11 publicly traded companies, including creating quarterly and annual income statement estimates that were published to Bloomberg, Thomson First Call, and FactSet.
  • Communicated research findings and stock ideas to over 150 buy-side clients as well as internal sales and trading staff.
  • Conducted due diligence with C-level management, including CEOs, CFOs, and Head of Investor Relations at both publicly traded and privately held companies.
Focus areas: Analysis, Writing & Editing, Equity Research, Modeling

Senior Equity Research Associate

2006 - 2014
Janney Montgomery Scott, LLC
  • Supported a senior analyst with equity research coverage of companies representing over $400 billion of market capitalization within the financial technology sector. The analyst was recognized by The Wall Street Journal as one of the "Best on the Street" in 2012 for the business and industrial services sector, by Forbes and StarMine as a "Top Stock Picker" in 2012 for the information technology sector, and by Forbes and StarMine as a "Top Earnings Estimator" in 2006 for the capital markets sector.
  • Co-authored and published approximately 1,000 equity research reports on the financial technology and payments sector including company-specific initiation reports and earnings notes, financial technology industry trends, and merger and acquisition analyses. Also co-authored topic-specific reports on card payment fraud, mobile wallets, and the effects of the Durbin Amendment on debit card payments.
  • Created and maintained financial models on 11 publicly traded companies, including creating quarterly and annual income statement estimates that were published to Bloomberg, Thomson First Call, and FactSet. Created multiple accretion models, including for Global Payments' $4 billion takeover of Heartland Payment Systems.
  • Organized two industry conferences that garnered over 100 attendees each, and included C-level management from companies representing over $200 billion of market capitalization.
  • Held due diligence meetings with CEOs, CFOs, and Heads of Investor Relations at publicly traded and private held companies. Also organized information sessions with representatives from the Federal Reserve, World Bank, and US Senator Richard Durbin's office.
Focus areas: Fintech, Due Diligence, Analysis, Writing & Editing, Equity Research, Modeling

Financial Analyst

2001 - 2005
U.S. Trust Company
  • Provided specialized investment management and fiduciary decision-making services on behalf of employee benefit investment plans totaling over $1 billion.
  • Created valuation models for privately held companies to assess stock value ahead of IPOs, mergers, and for employee stock ownership plans for over 20 privately held companies.
  • Assisted with validating pricing of Aramark's $690 million IPO in 2001 on behalf of the employee retirement savings plan.
  • Led on-site due diligence teams that included multiple national investment banks to interview C-level management.
  • Worked with top tier investment banks to create valuation models and validate fairness opinions provided to privately held companies on behalf of ESOPs.
Focus areas: Employee Stock Options, Due Diligence, Writing & Editing, Modeling, Valuation

Financial Analyst

2000 - 2001
PricewaterhouseCoopers
  • Conducted on-site due diligence on merger and acquisition targets that represented over $1 billion of transaction activity.
  • Utilized financial modeling and other risk assessment methodologies to uncover financial and strategic risks or rewards ahead of deal execution.
  • Performed research to support analysis for acquisitions, including industry analysis, company-specific financial modeling, financial statement analysis, and report writing.
  • Utilized a broad range of tools and techniques to extract insights from from current trends in client's business area, including interviewing management teams.
  • Developed ideas and proposed solutions to problems as part of a team environment to solve complex business issues from strategy to execution.
Focus areas: Analysis, Due Diligence, Finance, Valuation, Modeling

Financial Analyst

1999 - 2000
Arthur Andersen, LLC
  • Provided valuation services to privately-held companies totaling over $1 billion, including valuation of equity, intangible assets, intellectual property, and purchase price allocation assessments.
  • Researched and analyzed comparable companies, as well as company-specific financials and data, to create valuation models based on both market multiples and discounted cash flows to determine the value of privately held stock.
  • Co-authored client reports that included company and industry analysis, financial projections and estimates, valuation models, rationale and methodologies, and final opinion on the range of reasonable values for that client's company.
  • Conducted due diligence with C-level management at various privately held companies.
  • Developed advanced skills in multiple industry-specific applications that included Bloomberg, SNL Financial, S&P, and the Microsoft Office suite.
Focus areas: Writing & Editing, Modeling, Valuation
2005 - 2006

Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree in Finance and Strategy

Emory University - Atlanta, GA

1995 - 1999

Bachelor's Degree in Finance

University of Richmond - Richmond, VA

DECEMBER 2006 - PRESENT

Series 7, 63, 86, 87

FINRA

OCTOBER 2003 - PRESENT

CFA Charterholder

CFA Institute

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