Bear Stearns International has hired Reza Rezaeian, convertible arbitrage and default swap trader at Enron Credit in London, as a convertible asset swaps trader. Rezaeian said credit-default swap traders previously handled convertible asset swaps and he is the first and only planned full-time hire.
The firm is now dedicating more resources to it as the convertible bond market grows and hedge funds become a larger part of the market, Rezaeian said. "It's a product the Street is looking at more as convertible issuance increases and hedge funds look to swap out credit risk," Rezaeian said. He reports to Andrew Whittle, senior managing director and head of credit derivatives, who did not return calls.