Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC has announced that it is launching an equity capital markets business.

The firm has hired Thomas Morrison as the head of its new equity capital markets team. Morrison has more than 17 years of experience originating and executing equity offerings, most recently as a managing director in the equity capital markets group at Banc of America Securities.

“Bernstein is re-entering the equity capital markets business for a simple reason: our clients want us to bring the same independent, rigorous insight to bear on the primary market that we currently provide on the secondary market,” said James Gingrich, chairman and CEO of Bernstein.

“The quality and integrity of Bernstein’s research is unparalleled in the industry. Bernstein’s distribution capabilities and communication of industry and company positioning are unmatched as well. We look forward to extending this premium service to our investing and issuing clients in the equity new issue business,” Morrison said.