Post bonuses, Fixed Income Traders Depart Goldman, Barclays, JPMorgan

While equity traders are leaving investment banks as business slumps, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and Barclays are losing senior fixed income staff, according to headhunters

Headhunters said that Mark Deniston, head of sterling rates swap trading in London, has left Goldman Sachs. Deniston joined Goldman from Deutsche Bank in 2008 and was promoted to managing director at Goldman in 2011. The bank did not respond to a request to confirm Deniston's departure, but a call Goldman's switchboard revealed his number was no longer on Goldman's telephone system.

David Cross, head of sovereign derivative trading at J.P.Morgan, has left the bank. When we called, a colleague of Cross's confirmed his departure. JPMorgan didn't return a request for comment.

Finally, a host of sterling traders and salespeople have left Barclays' investment bank. Adam McCormack, the head of gilt sales at Barclays has departed after twenty four years with the bank, along with Paul Oliver, a sterling trader, and Simon James, a gilt salesman. When we called, a colleague confirmed their departure. Barclays declined to comment.

Headhunters said some of the departing traders have retired, while others are likely to join hedge funds such Brevan Howard and BlueCrest. Both funds declined to comment, although both have hired a number of traders from investment banks over the past 24 months.  Brevan Howard hired Wayne Leslie, a credit trader from Goldman in November 2012. BlueCrest hired Peter Von Maydell, the former head of foreign exchange strategy at Credit Suisse in early January.

Moore Capital has also been hiring. The FSA register shows that Moore hired Carlo Draghi, a former trader at JPMorgan in early January. 

There may be more big trader moves to come. One headhunter who specialises in placing people in hedge funds and spoke on condition of anonymity, said he interviewed someone from Goldman Sachs recently who complained that Brevan Howard were trying to "clear Goldman's trading team out."

Tanya Lutyens at hedge fund search firm Lutyens da Cunha, said bank traders moving to hedge funds is nothing new. "Traders have been moving out of banks ever since banks started winding down their proprietary trading desks in response to the Volcker Rule."

It's possible, however, that the 2012 bonus round has promoted a greater exodus than usual. "People who aren't going into hedge funds are retiring," another headhunter said, speaking off the record.