Jefferies Financial Group has expanded into Canada with the opening of a downtown Toronto 40-person office.

The move will likely have widespread investment effects across all commercial real estate asset classes. Jefferies now has 44 offices in more than 20 countries.

New York-based Jefferies announced that it has established full-service investment banking and capital markets capabilities in Canada to serve the evolving needs of corporate, institutional and government clients across the country.

“With this expansion, Jefferies will now provide clients in-depth expertise in advisory, M&A advisory, equity and debt capital markets, risk solutions, equity research, and sales and trading across all sectors in Canada,” said the company in a news release.

The firm’s Canadian investment team will be led by Bruce Rothney as CEO. Rothney is a former president and CEO of Barclays’ Canadian subsidiary. Former federal cabinet minister John Manley will chair Jefferies’ new Canadian business.

The firm’s northward expansion comes after Franklin Templeton’s Canadian subsidiary introduced Clarion Partners’ private real estate investment strategy in Canada.

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