Big equity sales exits at JPMorgan as MDs look for lifestyle changes

There have been two major exits from JPMorgan's London equities sales team. The head of equity sales EMEA is understood to be leaving the bank. And the head of hedge fund sales in London has already quit. 

JPMorgan insiders say that Michael Wilson, the bank's EMEA head of equity sales quietly left the desk last month. Wilson is still understood to be employed by JPM, but is thought to be on a notice period. Wilson was not at his desk when we called and declined to comment. JPMorgan declined to comment on his whereabouts too. 

Alongside Wilson, JPMorgan has also lost Brian Cahill, a managing director and head of hedge fund sales in London. In a LinkedIn post two days ago, Cahill said he was leaving JPMorgan to spend some time with his wife and children and to return to his native Dublin. Cahill also said he is getting out of the finance industry and moving onto something else - although it's not yet clear what this is.

Both men spent long periods at JPMorgan. Wilson joined in 2010 after five years at SocGen, one year at Lehman and nearly seven years at Dresdner. Cahill spent his entire career at JPM after joining in 2004 following his graduation from Cork University. 

While Cahill is off to Ireland, Wilson's intentions are unknown. JPM colleagues say he has a house on the Isle of Man and often worked there for one or two days each week, so it's possible that he too many be decamping from London.

Sales jobs in investment banks are in a period of flux as banks look to shift an increased proportion of trading to electronic systems.  Junta Nakai, the former head of Asia Pacific sales at Goldman Sachs, said that during his 13 years at Goldman Sachs between 2004 and 2017, he saw the number of equities traders go from 600 to two. Surviving salespeople across the industry risk being next. 

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