Our History
1918
We trace our roots back to 1918. It was in Poland, at the end of the First World War, that a young Oscar Gruss opened an office in the city of Lviv to trade in foreign currency.
The firm quickly grew to a staff of over fifty employees in both offices in Lviv and Warsaw, in the short span of a few years.
1940s
As World War II raged in Europe, Oscar Gruss and his family left their growing business to flee to the United States.
Oscar set out to repeat his earlier successes and in 1947, with the help of his son Emmanuel, established the New York Stock Exchange member firm that continues to bear his name.
Today
At a time when many Wall Street firms become impersonal and rife with conflicts, Oscar Gruss offers a rare blend of specialization, experience and capability. Our aim – provide our clients with the ideas to identify opportunities in the market and the means to realize them.
In each of our major areas, we provide truly independent, conflict-free research and timely market information.
Similarly, our sales and trading functions are designed to work with our clients – free from the distractions of any proprietary trading.
As members of the New York Stock Exchange, we are able to execute orders on our clients’ behalf. We are active executors of equity and option orders, and also maintain both floor broker relationships and direct electronic connectivity to each of the regional exchanges.
By concentrating our resources on certain niche areas, we are able to offer a highly personalized service. We pride ourselves on knowing and understanding the needs and preferences of each of our clients, and delivering them efficiently time and again.
Israel
Fifty years later, in 1968, we opened an office in Tel Aviv making us the oldest US brokerage with an Israeli operation.
Our success in Israel is due, in large part, to our policy of staffing our Tel Aviv offices with local talent and training them in our specific way of doing business. We have also benefited from personally asking our clients how we can meet their individual needs and requirements rather than imposing a standard series of products and services.
Special Situations
Our business mix changes to fit the various stages of an economic cycle
Our Special Situations group provides research, sales and trading in event-driven “Special Situations”. Our team is comprised of trading and research professionals, each of whom have had many years of experience within this niche product category.
The firm’s historical knowledge base is an invaluable asset when examining potential events and announced transactions to determine the likelihood outcome and the trading consequences of its occurrence. The team’s significant depth of knowledge ensures an ability to deliver timely and valuable information to the client.
We maintain a dedicated trading desk which specializes in the particular needs of the special situations investor, including the execution of spread orders. Our research is generated on a “real-time’ basis and is made available via our proprietary database that provides live commentary on developments in the special situations universe.
Since many of the situations we cover unfold over several weeks or months, we believe a continuous update is key for properly timing entry and exit points. Additionally, all material is archived enabling our clients to check on closed, terminated or abandoned transactions for any relevant precedents.
Mr. Avi Avital has been working for the company from 2005 as a Sales Trader and from 2009 as Head of Trading. His focus is managing the Israeli branch's Operations and Sales and Business Development.
Mr. Avital got his degree at Tel Aviv University Recanaty School of Business.
Ms. Danielle Landau joined Oscar Gruss as the Controller in 2003. Prior to joining Oscar Gruss, she worked as a public accountant at Cornick, Garber, and Sandler, LLP, a public accounting firm. In 2010, Ms. Landau transferred from the Applicant’s Accounting Department to the Compliance Department. In 2014, Danielle transitioned to Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Financial Officer.
Ms. Landau has over 18 years of experience in the combined fields of accounting and compliance.
She received her Bachelors of Business Administration in Accounting from Pace University in 1998.
Latest News
24 April 2024
Churchill Capital Hires Cliff Ackers, Jamie Axford and Jordan Davis to the USA Equities Desk
Churchill Capital is pleased to announce that Cliff Ackers, Jamie Axford, and Jordan Davis, experienced Sales Traders formerly with Oppenheimer and Co., have joined our USA Equities trading team to strengthen our capabilities. They bring a wealth of expertise and will offer valuable market insights and trading advice to our institutional and hedge fund clients. […]
10 April 2024
Makor Launches First FIC Capital Guarantee with VitisLife and Intesa Sanpaolo
Makor Group is pleased to announce a new, strategic collaboration with VitisLife and Intesa Sanpaolo to secure its first FIC Capital guarantee.
10 May 2022
Makor Becomes a Member of London Stock Exchange and Turquoise
Makor Group today announces that its London and Paris-based entities have become members of the London Stock Exchange and Turquoise MTF.