As Goldman Sachs hires in FICC, some of its best young staff are leaving

As you will probably know, Goldman Sachs wants to revivify its fixed income currencies and commodities (FICC) business.  After several quarters of miserable performance, the U.S. bank has a plan to achieve an additional $1bn in FICC revenues. To this end, it's adding new people: as CFO Marty Chavez noted in January, Goldman doubled its external recruits in 2017 and the FICC business in particular has been subject to "net hiring".

While Goldman hires people in, however, some of its most valued up-and-coming staff are leaving. Insiders warn that this could store up problems for the bank in future.

Two exits stand out in particular. Stanley Sheriff, one of Goldman's top junior macro traders is said to have quit the bank after bonuses were paid last month. Sebastien Angles-Dauriac, a senior structurer in the macro division, is also understood to have gone. Sheriff joined Goldman in 2014 after graduating from the London School of Economics and is said by headhunters to have been a rising star at the bank. Angles-Dauriac joined from UBS in 2006.

It's not clear where Sheriff or Angles-Dauriac are going next. Goldman didn't respond to a request to comment on their exits. Neither man is currently listed on the bank's system. Seb Fassam, a junior swaps trader who joined Goldman from Barclays in 2016 is also understood to have gone.

One headhunter said juniors at Goldman are "sorrowful" after the bank skimped on bonuses. In place of generous compensation, Goldman promoted its biggest ever pool of managing directors in 2017. However, it will now be another two years before the next pool of MDs is promoted. Some people at the bank seem to be of the opinion that it's not worth the wait.

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