eFinancialCareers

The threat of defections is reportedly shaping up as a critical obstacle to Lehman Brothers' move to shore up its balance sheet by selling a controlling stake in its asset management division. Multiple scenarios for Lehman Brothers have moved in and out of focus in recent days, running the gamut from asset sales to an Asian strategic partner to a hostile takeover. The swirl of disparate media reports reflect an institution... Read more

To the gunslingers hauling in the revenues on the trading floor, it might seem obvious that they’re paid more than the bank's back-office staff. But a recent report suggests this imbalance is unfair and should be rectified. A wide-reaching 176-page report issued earlier this month by the Counterparty Risk Management Policy Group – whose members include Goldman Sachs, HSBC and Morgan Stanley – says that the contribution operations and risk management... Read more

Merrill Lynch froze hiring through year-end. Meanwhile, boutique banks scoop up talent from large institutions. Hedge funds are deluged with candidates. Mutual fund firm Ariel laid off 18 people, 20 percent of its staff. *** Merrill Lynch froze hiring, including replacement hires, for the remainder of 2008, according to media reports. Retail brokers are exempt, but all other hires require prior approval from a member of Merrill's management committee. An internal memo... Read more

Merrill Lynch froze new hiring, including replacement hires, for the remainder of 2008, according to media reports. Retail brokers are exempt. Any other new hires must be approved by a member of Merrill's management committee, according to an internal memo from Greg Fleming, the bank's president Thomas Sanzone, the chief administrative officer. "As we focus on returning the firm to profitability, it is extremely important that we all manage expenses prudently,"... Read more

Trading up for talent, banking boutiques are feasting on Wall Street's castaways. While many laid-off bankers seek a new home within the vibrant hedge fund sector, smaller sell-side firms also are dipping into the pool of top candidates unleashed by the industry downturn. A recent Reuters story points to Thomas Weisel Partners, Wedbush Morgan Securities, and Evercore Partners as boutique firms engaging in opportunistic hiring lately. San Francisco-based investment bank Thomas Weisel... Read more

Wall Street will accelerate layoffs this year, shrink severance packages and retention efforts, and defer more pay, according to the second-quarter report from influential compensation consultant Johnson Associates. As for bonus expectations, they'll melt further if asset write-downs exceed current projections. A "crescendo of layoffs is expected as firms acknowledge select business reductions may be permanent," the report says. In turn, Johnson sees cost-cutting leading to smaller severance packages and... Read more

Bankers and traders no longer needed on Wall Street increasingly are being given another option – move overseas. Big investment banks are moving both key executives and some of their most junior employees to Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Latin America, the New York Times reports. While such transfers in part reflect cost-cutting pressures, banks also are fortifying their businesses beyond New York and London in order to take advantage... Read more

Who says it's only the founders of hedge fund firms that have a shot at a nine-figure payday? Fortress Investment Group granted star macro hedge fund manager Adam Levinson 31 million shares of the publicly traded firm, valued at $300 million. The grant places Levinson among five other executives who together hold a controlling interest in Fortress, says The Wall Street Journal. Its purpose is to encourage the portfolio manager to... Read more

HSBC Securities hired Evan Hazell, a top energy investment banker, to be a managing director in its Calgary office, reports the Globe and Mail. Hazell leaves Citigroup, which had scaled back plans to expand its energy coverage because of the credit crisis. Before joining Citi, Hazell worked at Harrison Lovegrove, an advisory firm specializing in energy, and RBC Dominion Securities. Hazell is one of several new additions at HSBC, which has... Read more

Wall Street will accelerate layoffs this year, shrink severance packages and retention efforts, and defer more pay. As for bonus expectations, already down 25 - 35 percent year-on-year, they'll melt further if asset write-downs exceed current projections. Those are the words from Johnson Associates, a compensation consultant whose clients include many large financial institutions. The firm's second-quarter report spotlights the downside risk to its own projections for 2008 bonuses. It... Read more

The investment firm says it's plowing savings from a previous 10 percent staff reduction, toward hiring top talent cut loose by rival firms. As securitization deals evaporate, Cadwalader law firm lays off 96 attorneys, primarily real estate finance and securitization specialists. UBS names co-heads of prime brokerage in Europe. *** After cutting its payroll by $1 billion by eliminating 4,800 jobs, Morgan Stanley said last week it intends to reinvest as much... Read more

The days of Canadian financial services firms going on hiring binges are long gone, but unlike in the U.S., major layoffs aren't looming. Officials at the Investment Industry Association of Canada expect firms to continue hiring this year, though not as robustly as they have in the past, says Executive Director Ian C.W. Russell. Many companies are also reluctant to let go employees, especially those who've received a large investment... Read more

Negotiating compensation is a delicate dance that begins when you first apply for a job. Often, candidates are asked for information they may not wish to provide at the outset, when a job posting asks for their current or most recent compensation. "I have real reservations about disclosing comp without knowing who the other party is," says New York career counselor Roy Cohen. On the other hand, if a company... Read more

New York City officials see Wall Street bonuses shrinking more than 30 percent, while the state forecasts a more modest 20 percent pullback. In Chicago, risk management jobs are booming. *** With 2008 past the halfway mark, the latest year-end bonus projections point to a plunge of more than 30 percent from 2007 - an even gloomier view than three months ago, when Wall Street was digesting the Bear Stearns fiasco. The... Read more

Canadians working in the securities industry don't want their work to be their life, or their life to be their work - even at a time when employers are trying to do more with less. Twenty six percent of CFOs recently polled by Accountemps said heavy workloads were the greatest source of work-related concerns for finance and accounting professionals in Canada. Work/life balance ranked second in the survey of 270 finance... Read more

With 2008 past the halfway mark, the latest year-end bonus projections point to a plunge of more than 30 percent from 2007 – an even gloomier view than three months ago, when Wall Street was digesting the Bear Stearns fiasco. New York City's comptroller sees bonuses shrinking "in excess of 30 percent" this year, Frank Braconi, the chief economist in the comptroller’s office, told the New York Times. "That would amount... Read more