eFinancialCareers

You're a private-client relationship manager responsible for $300 million in assets, but your employer is trimming both bonus allocations and back-office resources that support your activities. What are your choices? If you work for a large institution that's retrenching amid the credit crunch, jumping to a private-wealth boutique could be a viable option. Or, a mid-career private wealth manager whose current business is stagnating might think about relocating to a high-growth... Read more

Goldman Sachs recently opened a hedge fund administration office in Toronto, Ontario's provincial government announced early this month. The number of jobs was not disclosed either in the announcement or media coverage of it. "Goldman Sachs has opened its newest Goldman Sachs Administration Services (GSAS) office in Toronto with Fund Accounting and Investor Servicing areas of its hedge fund administration operations," said the statement from the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development... Read more

The flow of people and capital into the distressed debt investing sector continues to swell, as both banks and hedge fund managers target bargains among the wreckage left by the credit crunch and a possible recession. Anchorage Advisors LLC, a $7 billion hedge fund firm focused on credit and special situations, said last week it's hired Daniel Allen from Morgan Stanley. Allen, who was co-head of North American credit trading for... Read more

Wall Street's job cuts to date have only scratched the surface of what would be needed to match historical benchmarks, such as revenue per employee. According to an analysis by financial sector research boutique Portales Partners, to restore profitability banks would have to slash headcounts by 20 percent if revenue reverts to 2004 levels. The research firm compared the growth in annualized revenue (adjusted for mergers and recent write-downs) and... Read more

Citigroup reportedly is reshaping its bonus system to emphasize divisional cooperation and overall corporate performance. "We have to put a premium on partnership-like behaviour," an unnamed Citi executive told the Financial Times. The FT describes the change as a key plank in Chief Executive Vikram Pandit's strategy to revitalize the "universal banking" model by fostering synergies among investment banking, commercial banking and wealth management. Pandit reportedly asked Citi's HR chief to... Read more

Media coverage of sovereign wealth funds often focuses on their controversial investments in troubled American and European banks. Many investment professionals have a different question on their minds: What are the career opportunities? At Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the marquee opportunity consists of jumping from an analyst's role in a buy-side or sell-side firm, to that of full-fledged portfolio manager. "Pretty much each of them runs their own little hedge... Read more

Bank of America said its absorption of Countrywide will eliminate 7,500 jobs over two years. The figure reportedly amounts to 12.5 percent of the combined work force. The purchase is slated to close July 1, after Countrywide shareholders signed off on it Wednesday. "Most of the reductions will occur in instances where the two companies have significant overlap such as staff support," the bank said. "Bank of America will continue to monitor... Read more

We all know about information overload. It's been around for at least 40 years, but the Internet has raised it to new levels. As a job candidate, you're forced to confront it from at least two angles. As a user of information, you have the Herculean task of filtering an ocean of job postings and Web sites to find the few nuggets that might bring you closer to your goal of... Read more

With strategic acquisitions a relative bright spot within today's lean mergers and acquisitions landscape, some laid-off investment bankers are landing as in-house dealmakers with their former corporate clients. Movement of bankers from Wall Street to corporate development slots becomes more visible during financial-sector downturns. TheDeal.com cited two recent instances. Mike Schell, a former global banking vice chairman at Citigroup, joined longtime client Alcoa as executive VP, business development and law in... Read more

Recent management changes within Credit Suisse's investment banking business provide the latest signal of the rising profile of emerging markets, the Middle East in particular. Michael Philipp, the former regional chief executive for Europe, Africa and Middle East (EMEA), recently left the bank with plans to launch a Middle East merchant banking venture, the Financial Times reported. Meanwhile, Eric Varvel - who took over as EMEA chief executive in February -... Read more

Credit Suisse is reportedly preparing another round of layoffs centered in its investment banking division, including high-yield sales and trading and leveraged loans. An anonymously sourced story in the New York Post gave no numbers or timing, but described the purported plan as cutting "muscle, not just fat." Credit Suisse's investment banking unit employs about 19,000 people worldwide. The firm announced layoffs of 500 people each in January and in April,... Read more

Financially troubled Lehman Brothers reportedly faces a new challenge – the threat of mass defections by staff who fear a major new round of layoffs. Unnamed Lehman executives view a sale of the bank as the main alternative to cutting loose as many as 5,000 of its 26,000 employees, according to CNBC. "Already fear is spreading through the senior ranks of the investment bank: Worried bankers and traders have recently been... Read more

Fishing in Wall Street's troubled waters, the biggest names in the alternative investments business are feasting on top performers recruited out of investment banks. "More than 45 traders, bankers, analysts and other executives have left the major investment banks this year to join hedge funds and private-equity firms," Bloomberg News reported. Bloomberg said it toted up the figure – which excludes people who left Wall Street to start their own companies... Read more

Goldman Sachs, still perched comfortably above the tsunami of write-downs that roil its bulge-bracket rivals, is nonetheless cutting costs in its own subdued way. Slashing perks plus a modest headcount reduction helped Goldman beat estimates for its May quarter, the New York Post reports. "Junior and mid-tier executives now fly coach instead of business class on flights shorter than four or five hours," the paper says, citing unnamed sources. It also... Read more