Seeking opportunities: JWCharles merger positions new firm to lead S. Florida IPOs.(underwriting services of JWCharles Financial Corp. for initial public offerings)(Company Profile)

Come spring, JWGenesis Financial Corp. hopes to announce a new series of underwritings of initial public offerings for South Florida companies.

Marshall Leeds, chairman and CEO of the Boca Raton-based brokerage firm, said those deals would be for companies with annual sales in the $10 million to $100 million range.

Then, Leeds said, JWGenesis might gain national recognition and no longer be "one of the best kept secrets" in the securities industry.

Boca Raton's JWCharles Financial Services was looking to gain stature last June when it acquired Genesis Merchant Group Securities of San Francisco, which specialized in IPOs and mergers and acquisitions for mid-range firms.

Several weeks after the merger, JWGenesis underwrote its first South Florida IPO, a $124 million stock offering for Correctional …