BARCLAYS CAPITAL
| Philippe El Asmar |
In a tough category and a region where the over-the-counter market plays second fiddle to exchange-traded derivatives, Barclays Capital's growth has been eye catching. Philippe El Asmar's investor solutions sales team has ratcheted up a whole range of deals this year, ranging from single-stock reverse convertible notes to more complex hybrid asset-class investments. "They're just everywhere right now," said one rival. The U.K. firm's structured equity trading and hedge fund sales business has also begun to establish itself this year. It has used its expertise in European dividend swaps and variance swaps as a way into the competitive market for U.S. hedge fund sales.
Barclays' commitment to industry-wide efforts to improve investors' and regulators' understanding of structured investments, such as the Structured Products Association, also won it praise from rivals.
Other Nominees:
* Bank of America * Citigroup
* Goldman Sachs * Morgan Stanley
