Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein has hired Yannick Naud, head of convertible asset swaps trading at Crédit Agricole Indosuez in London, to kick start its convertible asset swap trading desk. Dresdner has been active in this area for around two years, however, until now it executed trades on an ad hoc basis by the convertible bond team, according to a firm spokeswoman. In current market conditions, where spreads on convertibles are widening, convertible asset swaps present more interesting opportunities for clients, according to the spokeswoman.
Naud had originally been scheduled to move to New York with Crédit Agricole and head a global structured product team the firm is in the process of creating. Naud said he joined DrKW because it is offering an exciting challenge, but declined to elaborate. But, industry officials said another factor contributing to Naud's departure was doubts over how Crédit Agricole's new desk would fit in with similar operations the bank already runs.
Naud reports to Jim Peattie, global head of convertibles at Dresdner in London, who declined comment. A spokeswoman at Crédit Agricole did not return calls.