You are cordially invited to join us for our 2006 annual ... - Piper Jaffray

PROXY STATEMENT2006 ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERSTO BE HELD MAY 2, 2006The Board of Directors of Piper Jaffray Companies is soliciting proxies for use at the annualmeeting of shareholders to be held on May 2, 2006, and at any adjournment or postponement of themeeting. This proxy statement and the enclosed proxy card are first being mailed or given toshareholders on or about March 16, 2006.QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THE ANNUAL MEETING AND VOTINGWhat is the purpose of the meeting?At our annual meeting, shareholders will act upon the matters outlined in the Notice of AnnualMeeting of Shareholders. These include the election of directors, approval of our Amended andRestated 2003 Annual and Long-Term Incentive Plan, ratification of the selection of our independentauditor for 2006 and consideration of a shareholder proposal. Also, management will report onmatters of current interest to our shareholders and respond to questions from our shareholders.Who is entitled to vote at the meeting?The Board has set March 6, 2006, as the record date for the annual meeting. If you were ashareholder of record at the close of business on March 6, 2006, you are entitled to vote at themeeting. As of the record date, 20,722,849 shares of common stock, representing all of our votingstock, were issued and outstanding and, therefore, eligible to vote at the meeting.What are my voting rights?Holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote per share. Therefore, a total of 20,722,849votes are entitled to be cast at the meeting. There is no cumulative voting.How many shares must be present to hold the meeting?In accordance with our bylaws, shares equal to a majority of the voting power of the outstandingshares of common stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors as of the record datemust be present at the annual meeting in order to hold the meeting and conduct business. This iscalled a quorum. Shares are counted as present at the meeting if:) you are present and vote in person at the meeting; or) you have properly and timely submitted your proxy as described below under ‘‘How do Isubmit my proxy?’’What is a proxy?It is your designation of another person to vote stock you own. That other person is called aproxy. If you designate someone as your proxy in a written document, that document also is called aproxy or a proxy card. When you designate a proxy, you also may direct the proxy how to vote yourshares. We refer to this as your ‘‘proxy vote.’’ Three executive officers have been designated as proxiesfor our 2006 annual meeting of shareholders. These executive officers are Andrew S. Duff, James L.Chosy and Sandra G. Sponem.