Edward J. De La Rosa
Founder and President
De La Rosa & Co.
Edward J. De La Rosa established De La Rosa & Co. in 1989. During the past 19 years, the firm has become one of the Golden State’s leading underwriters of municipal bonds. De La Rosa is also one of California’s most active sales and trading desks for fixed income and variable rate securities. Mr. De La Rosa began his career in 1983 as a public finance banker in California. He was the architect of De La Rosa & Co.’s initial focus on public and private infrastructure projects for cities throughout California. He has since expanded the firm’s practice to include larger entities, such as the State of California, counties, transportation authorities, regional utilities and non-profit organizations.
Commensurate with the firm’s growth in investment banking, Mr. De La Rosa spearheaded the firm’s investment in sales and trading. De La Rosa & Co. is now one of the dominant fixed-income broker-dealers in California. The firm trades municipal bonds, U.S. Treasuries and Agency Securities, corporate debt instruments and collateralized debt & mortgage obligations. De La Rosa & Co. executes about $500 million of fixed income trades annually and serves as remarketing agent or dealer for a $2.7-billion portfolio of short-term securities. The firm is one of the few such broker-dealers headquartered in California.
Mr. De La Rosa has taken several steps to integrate of the firm’s trading expertise and infrastructure with its knowledge of municipal credit, economic development and real estate in California and the West. In 2008 he established De La Rosa & Co.’s asset management business to achieve this goal. The firm’s asset management business is focused on higher-yielding, tax-exempt, fixed-income securities and real estate-related debt instruments.
Mr. De La Rosa believes in high-quality service and a high level of business ethics. He served two terms on the Professional Qualifications Advisory Committee of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, where he set professional standards for investment bankers and bond brokers financing private and public projects. He also served two terms as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the California Public Securities Association.
Mr. De La Rosa leads his firm’s corporate citizenship program. He founded the E. J. De La Rosa & Co. Charitable Campaign to support scholarships, health-care services and other programs in California’s diverse communities.
Mr. De La Rosa holds a Master’s degree in Management from Yale University and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego.
He serves as a member of the Board of Advisors for Yale University’s School of Management. In 2004, he was awarded the Dean’s Alumni Achievement Award from the Yale School of Management.