Bear Stearns has revamped its global credit derivatives operation, strengthening its London office and setting up a structured products hedge fund. The firm has lured Martin Bates, executive director at Morgan Stanley in London, to build a flow credit sales team that will complement its recent hires on the trading side. In addition, it has transferred two senior New York officials to new roles. Ralph Cioffi, senior managing director and head of structured credit product management and the insurance coverage team, is heading to Bear Stearns Asset Management to start a structured credit and finance hedge fund. Meanwhile, Martin St Pierre, senior managing director, has transferred to London as global head of structured credit derivatives.
Cioffi said his former responsibilities are being absorbed by existing members of the team, but declined comment on the fund.
Bear Stearns sees London and credit derivatives in particular as markets in which it can build up and quickly reap rewards, according to officials. Bates built a well respected team at Morgan Stanley and is expected to build a team of around six to 10 sales staff at Bear Stearns. This is the next step for the firm, which hired Mark Timmis, director and head of credit derivatives trading at Credit Suisse First Boston, earlier this summer (DW, 6/15). Bates will report to Peter Albano, senior managing director and head of fixed income and derivatives sales for Europe in London. Albano declined comment.
Officials familiar with the firm said Bear Stearns is focusing on the credit derivatives market because it has always prided itself on its trading and structuring ability, which are the two main components of credit derivatives. In addition, it does not require a lot of capital.
The move is a continuation of the firm's efforts to bulk up the London office, which started with the appointent of Michel Pérétie as head of fixed income and derivatives for Europe and Asia in London three years ago.
Cioffi is well regarded in the structured credit arena. He is the latest in a string of high profile structurers to be lured to hedge fund management. Andrew Feldstein, former managing director and co-head of North American structured products and derivatives marketing at JPMorgan in New York, is readying his hedge fund debut (DW, 4/20) while Anand Parekh, former managing director and head of Deutsche Bank's North America structuring group, also recently joined hedge fund giant Citadel Investment Group (DW, 8/10).
