Who is David Zervos? Wall St economist and marketing chief Jeffries advised US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent | Today’s news
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has hired veteran Wall Street economist David Zervos as an adviser in the department.
Zervos, who was longtime chief market strategist at investment banking giant Jeffries, will now serve as an advisory body to the board, according to CNBC, which also reported that he is expected to start his new position immediately.
After a series of staff departures from the Treasury Department, Zervos is expected to bring his experience and intellectual strength to the US Treasury Department. Zervos joins the department at a time when seven of the 16 Senate-confirmed appointees have decided to vacate their seats by mid-August. Bessent himself has been his third chief of the general staff since January 2025, when he became finance minister.
Who is David Zervos?
Zervos has been working with Jeffries since 2010.
He holds a doctorate in economics from the University of Rochester and has been appointed twice by the U.S. Federal Reserve. He was first appointed early in his career in the 1990s to research interest rates and technical economics, CNN reported.
Zervos then left his job at the Fed to work in the public sector and returned in 2009 after the financial crisis to work as a visiting advisor in the Monetary Affairs Division of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington.
Before rejoining the Fed, Zervos held a number of business and commercial and research positions in the private sector. He was a global macro portfolio manager for Brevan Howard and UBS O’Connor.
For Jeffries, in his role as the firm’s chief marketing strategist, Zervos met with clients in the fixed income, equity and investment banking sectors across the firm’s platform. He also engaged in media appearances and participated and spoke at various conferences on financial markets.
He also heads the Global Macro Division of Leucadia Asset Management LLC (“LAM”).
In this capacity, he provides a written strategy for his perspective on global macroeconomics and financial trends, which the LAM Global Macro Division then shares with Jeffries’ clients as well as paid subscribers.
Notably, Donald Trump also considered Zervos to run the U.S. Federal Reserve, but the U.S. president ultimately chose Kevin Warsh for the job.
Zervos called himself a “Wall Street geek” in an interview with CNBC, in which he also expressed his excitement about his third stint as a US government employee.
He also praised Bessent, saying the 64-year-old “has done an incredible job in this administration of leading the economy through many tumultuous times.”
“Whether it’s trade, whether it’s war, he’s stepped up,” Zervos added.
