A Georgia-based broker-dealer has hired a former UBS executive.

First Southern Securities has appointed Rafael Pagán as managing director as it seeks to widen its reach within the merger and acquisition sphere.

“We welcome Rafael as a managing director of FSS and look forward to establishing a footprint in the M&A space with Rafael’s leadership,” commented W Heath Hawk, the firm’s chief executive.

Pagán previously spent over 18 years in the investment banking group of UBS Puerto Rico where he worked as executive director before leaving in October 2015, according to his LinkedIn profile, to set up and lead strategic advisory firm RP Advisors.

He has participated in excess of $750 million in debt offerings and private placements for commercial and hospitality real estate projects.

FSS, based in Alpharetta, Georgia, was founded in 2010. It specializes in investment banking, municipal bond sales and fixed income trading for institutional and private clients throughout the US.