Brokerage Firm Eyeing Redundant Bankers in Hiring Push
If you’re a laid off banker, know the name Makor Capital. The independent brokerage group, founded two years ago by former Cantor Fitzgerald executives, is planning a big hiring spree. Makor has also signaled that you don’t necessarily need to be employed to be considered.
Makor told Financial News that it plans to make roughly 20 new hires over the next six months across its London, Paris and Geneva offices, focusing mostly on cash equities, credit and foreign exchange. Makor currently maintains a headcount of around 40.
While the immediate hires will take place in Europe, Makor Chief Executive Michael Halimi said the firm is looking to enter the U.S. through an acquisition. The broker already trades cash equities, fixed income and other products for hedge funds and institutional clients in North America, as well as in Asia and Europe.
Halimi said Makor will look to scoop up bankers made redundant by larger firms. “Banks are reorganizing their resources and cutting off hundreds of salesmen,” he told Financial News. “There is plenty of talent looking for a home.”
Applicants can only hope Makor is truly looking to add to its team, rather than hiring in droves just to fill vacated seats, like Cantor Fitzgerald. More than 40% of the traders and bankers Cantor has hired since 2009 had left as of January. Hopefully Halimi and his ex-Cantor brethren learned a thing or two about hiring and retaining talent.
Unusual Degrees (eFinancialCareers)
Nearly as many Goldman Sachs employees have studied liberal arts as finance, and the new EMEA head of M&A at UBS studied theology.
UBS is following in the footsteps of other global banks by breaking down the walls between its corporate client solutions and investor client services units at the investment bank. Banks are encouraging collaboration between business units to generate additional revenue from current customers.
J.P. Morgan’s private equity unit, One Equity Partners, is going independent and will launch a new fund with outside investor money. New funds typically mean hiring, but J.P. Morgan reported a net loss of $182 million from private equity in the first quarter, so it may not be chomping at the bit.
Take Your Beating (Financial News)
“You just have to grind it out and take your beating while your new managers are building their track records,” Quintin Price, global head of BlackRock's actively managed strategies, said about the firm’s new, yet still underwhelming U.S. equities team. BlackRock has replaced roughly 80% of its U.S. equities portfolio managers over the last 18 months.
With Deputy Governor Paul Tucker and other high-ranking officials stepping down, incoming Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has a lot of hiring to do. Know any good policy makers?
In Need of a New Home (NY Post)
Brokerage firm John Thomas Financial, facing mass employee defections and several regulatory probes, is leaving its iconic home at 14 Wall Street. Down to just a few dozen employees, CEO Tommy Belesis appears on the ropes. Now the fight begins for the posh 38,705-square-foot office space.
Reigning Champ (FIN Alternatives)
For the second year in a row, Goldman Sachs has been named the hedge fund world’s top American broker.
Buzz Around the Office
I’m a New York Mets fan. If you ever wanted to know what that feels like, it’s something like this.
List of the Day: Getting Pushed Out
Think your boss is trying to force you out? Here are three tell-tale signs that they’re doing just that.
- They move your work space to isolate you.
- You are kept out of the loop on company developments.
- You only communicate through email.
