Barclays Capital has hired Ralph Marinaccio to the new position of director, investment-grade trading. Marinaccio will focus on utilities trading, reporting to Rich Roche, director and head of investment-grade trading. Roche says he hired Marinaccio to increase the firm's commitment to investment-grade as a whole, and particularly the utilities sector, which has been hot of late. Barclays has slowly been beefing up its investment-grade sales and trading, consistent with its push to become a major U.S. fixed-income player (BW, 6/18). The firm hired Roche roughly two months ago and trader Rich Wolfe shortly afterward. John Stathis, head of global market sales and research, says no further sales or trading hires are imminent, however.
Marinaccio was previously at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein as director, head of U.S. secondary trading, and retained that title until he left, according to a Barclays spokeswoman. Neil Neilinger, head of credit products at Dresdner, confirms that Marinaccio was hired as head of investment-grade bond trading some four months ago, but says he was a senior trader when he left. Neilinger declines further comment about Marinaccio. Marinaccio says through a firm spokeswoman that he joined Barclays because the firm's commitment to the U.S. investment grade market appears very deep.