Now that Alvise Munari’s gone, meet the new darling of Morgan Stanley’s structured products business
Alvise Munari has left Morgan Stanley. Hired in 2010 from Bank of America Merrill Lynch on an alleged package of $4m over two years, Munari was Morgan Stanley's 'global head of equity derivatives sales and financial engineering' until he left unexpectedly on Monday. Munari said his departure was wholly intentional (“After almost 20 years in the industry, I decided to take some time off to pursue other opportunities,” he told Bloomberg), but it leaves Morgan Stanley's greatly expanded structured products business without a global sales rudder.
Historically a big cash equities sales and trading house, Morgan Stanley's structured products business made big gains under Munari. In January, the bank was named equity derivatives house of the year by Risk Magazine. And last December, Morgan Stanley was named equity derivatives house of the year by IFR Magazine. Munari featured heavily in both accolades.
Morgan Stanley declined to comment for the purpose of this article, but we understand that Munari isn't being replaced. Instead, his global sales role will be divided up between Morgan Stanley's regional equity derivative sales heads. Morgan Stanley's equities business globally is run by New York-based Ted Pick. The 'passionate and intense' Pick is reportedly a close confidant of Colm Kelleher, head of Morgan Stanley's securities business. However, Pick himself is a cash equities man and there are unconfirmed rumours of differences between himself and Munari which headhunters say are causing ripples in Morgan Stanley's structured products business in London.
Fortunately, however, Morgan Stanley has another equity derivatives star up its sleeve - except in trading instead of sales. Alexandre Fleury, European head of exotics trading at the bank, is said to be the new sweetheart. Quoted alongside Munari in Risk Magazine's piece on Morgan Stanley's winning equity derivatives business, Fleury's trading team is said to have been a big profit centre for the American bank last year. "He's seen as a superstar within the bank," said one equity derivatives headhunter, speaking anonymously.
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