US jobs roundup: Departures on Wall Street
The job market may be improving, but investment banks still know how to fire people. In the past week Goldman Sachs laid off 50 equities traders and sales staff in the US after the equities division failed to match growth elsewhere in the bank.
Reuters said Merrill Lynch axed 20 stock traders and sales staffers on Wall Street in a cost-cutting exercise. Merrill did not return a phone call on the subject.
Meanwhile Banc of America Securities hired Joseph Kohls as a managing director, based in New York. Khols was previously a managing director at Lehman Brothers covering medical technology.
Bank of America named Christine Mandell head of global foreign exchange effective immediately. Mandell, who was head of investor client management for equities and debt at the firm, will remain in New York.
Jim Stenson, managing director and head of global high grade debt capital markets at Banc of America Securities, was hired by Wachovia Securities as a managing director in the fixed income division's high grade debt capital markets group.
Stenson spent three years at Banc of America and before that worked for UBS and Kidder Peabody.
Wachovia also hired John Ciccarone as vice president and market consultant for the global financial institutions Americas and US dollar payment products groups. Ciccarone moved from ABN Amro where he was a vice president in the product and services group.
Martin Leibowitz, vice chairman and chief investment officer of TIAA-CREF, joins Morgan Stanley as a managing director on the US equity strategy team. Leibowitz, who according to Morgan Stanley is a leading authority in the fields of bond analysis and portfolio allocation strategies, spent 26 years at Salomon Brothers before working at TIAA-CREF.
Legg Mason made two promotions. Ira Malis switched to Legg Mason Funds Management from Legg Mason Wood Walker to become senior vice president, director of research. Malis was director of equity research for Legg Mason Wood Walker and is succeeded by Hugo Warns.
Warns was senior insurance industry analyst in equity research before his promotion. Warns had a stint with JP Morgan's securities equity research department as a senior analyst in 2002.
Robert Pozen, the former vice chairman of Fidelity Investments and an expert on mutual fund regulation, has been named chairman of MFS Investment Management, the mutual fund firm that recently settled with regulators over improper trading practices.
Pozen is currently the John Olin Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School and will replace Jeffrey Shames who is retiring after 21 years with MFS.
Gartmore Riverview hired Jo Ann Di Dario as its chief operating officer. She leaves Derivatives Portfolio Management where she has been a consultant on back-office, accounting and administrative initiatives. Di Dario will be based in Red Bank, New Jersey at the fund-of-hedge funds headquarters.
John Hindelong, the head healthcare analyst at CSFBoston, announced in an internal email that he plans to retire. Hindelong says he looks forward to spending more time on 'golf courses, ski slopes, and tennis and basketball courts.' Hindelong was a healthcare analyst at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette and before that at Smith Barney, Harris Upham.
Anthony Sanfilippo, a founder member on the Knight Trading Group's board of directors, has resigned after joining the company in 1997. Sanfilippo was a company officer until June 2003.
Wilshire Associates, the US pension consulting and investment management firm, parted company with Stephan Nesbitt, senior managing director. Wilshire said he left after declining a reduction in responsibilities.
Wilshire has been under the scrutiny of the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding mutual fund-timing strategies, which has prompted the firm to separate its fund management and consulting departments. Julian Bonafede replaces Nesbitt on the consulting side while Michael Napoli, a managing director, replaces Nesbitt on the investment side.
