Morning Coffee: New life of the Goldman Sachs partner flying Ryanair. Sleeping giant of FX jobs revives
Flying Ryanair and being a partner at Goldman Sachs are rare bedfellows. Goldman Sachs partners earn salaries of $950k, plus bonuses, plus returns from Goldman funds they've invested in. Even when they've left Goldman, they can earn money through the Goldman Sachs alumni fund. Ryanair is a budget airline and is known for cramped seating and flights to Spain for £15 ($19).
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Even so, one former Goldman Sachs partner has a new Ryanair existence. He's also started wearing a Swatch and jeans.
Andrea Vella wasn't just any partner at Goldman Sachs. Six years ago, he was co-head of Goldman Sachs' Asia investment bank. Based in Hong Kong, he had a house in Repulse Bay and his wife could be seen driving a Maserati. He worked hard, he played hard. He climbed mountains and had an "incredible ability to take a mathematical problem and simplify it for the layman." He was 'smart, competitive and driven.' He had an ego.
But then, Vella was suspended from Goldman Sachs and barred from working in banking by the US Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve said Vella failed to pass on information about the 1MDB corruption scandal. Vella denied the allegations but accepted his debarment in order to "move on." At one point, Goldman wanted to reclaim his bonuses; it's not clear whether this happened.
Even though he's flying Ryanair these days, Vella doesn't exactly seem poor. Bloomberg says he has an apartment with "retractable glass doors" near London's Hyde Park. He has various investments, including the mandatory data centres, plus nuclear energy, psychedelics and a hospital chain. His wife and children live in Rome, so maybe he takes £55 flights to meet them. However, four times a year, he flies by private jet to things like parties in Ibiza. Even Vella's Swatch is a status symbol: ex-Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein was known to wear one too.
Separately, FX traders might soon be able to afford more than a Swatch and budget airlines. Bloomberg reports that they're having a moment as Trump's tariffs contribute to currency volatility. January was the busiest month for FX options trading for five years. Wells Fargo has been hiring in FX. So has Citi. “FX has been a sleeping giant, but we’re emphasizing it in portfolios," says one asset manager.
It may be too late for some. Brevan Howard lost money in January after betting on currency volatility that didn't materialise when tariffs were delayed. It's not clear whether the Brevan portfolio managers who made those bets are still around. If they are, maybe they can make amends.
Meanwhile...
Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan had his pay increased from $29m in 2023 to $33.5m for 2024 after BofA's share price rose 30%. (Bloomberg)
RBC Capital is building out its investment bank in Europe and has restructured its team. Trevor Gardner is leading global investment banking coverage, Jim Wolfe is leading capital markets and Ben Mandell is leading M&A. (Financial News)
Brookfield wants to hire 15 people for a syndication team offloading private debt. (Bloomberg)
Morgan Stanley is no longer a top three M&A advisory bank. That accolade now goes to Goldman Sachs, followed by JPMorgan and Evercore. (Financial Times)
Boston Consulting Group expanded the size of its London office by 30% as it boosts homeworking. (Financial Times)
If you're thinking of working for a family office, you could always try BluePool Capital, which manages the fortune of billionaire Joe Tsai. Run by Oliver Weisberg, a former Citadel executive and employing ex-JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley analysts, it's been investing in a company that makes diamond encrusted running shoes. (Bloomberg)
A reminder that Deutsche Bank at one point managed five different “strategic plans” in seven years. (Financial Times)
Evelyn de Rothschild was accused of oral rape and other assaults at his estate in Buckinghamshire but police said they couldn't interview him for medical reasons. (Bloomberg)
Is a Master's degree really worth it? “The number-one reason people get these degrees is insecurity. The feeling that if they are going to get a job—or keep their job—they need a master’s degree.” But a high proportion of Masters graduates are left worse off. (Economist)
Accenture is dropping its diversity goals. It will be "sunsetting" global employee representation goals, career development program[me]s for people of specific demographic groups and pausing submissions to external diversity benchmarking surveys. (Financial News)
The tale of the man who says he turned down Ken Griffin's personal offer for him to come and work for Citadel (Twitter/X)
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