Derivs - Equity

Pierre Rousseau, global head of equities and commodities derivatives and ceo of BNP Paribas Securities Asia in Hong Kong, speaks to Derivatives Week on the firm's plans to expand in equity derivatives and structured products in the region.

Simon Leung, a v.p. in warrants trading at Citigroup in Hong Kong, has left the firm.

Azentus Capital, the new firm launched by Goldman Sachs prop-trading star Morgan Sze, has made eight more hires off of the Goldman proprietary trading desk, according to filings with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission.

UBS has hired Denis MacCarthy as head of global synthetic equities sales in London in a new role. He reports to Ricardo Honneger, global head of synthetic equities based in London.

BNP Paribas Corporate & Investment Banking has launched the IFSL Harewood U.S. Enhanced Income Fund, which targets exposure to American equities through derivatives.

The National Futures Association has hired Edward Dasso, most recently of the InterContinental Exchange, to head up surveillance of swap execution facilities.

The Singapore Stock Exchange’s over-the-counter derivatives clearinghouse, AsiaClear, cleared USD10.335 billion in OTC interest rate swaps in January and USD10.214 billion in February.

Pacific Investment Management Co. plans to launch a new fund called the Tail Risk Hedging Fund 2, according to a senior firm official at the firm.

Interest in short-term hybrid dual digital structures and fx basket products have grown in interest from hedge funds over the last week, on fears of the spreading political instability in the Middle East.

Market participants should support efforts by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to implement consolidated audit trails for futures and options trading, said William Brodsky, ceo of Chicago Board Options Exchange at the exchange’s Risk Management Conference in Dana Point, Calif., earlier this week.

Nikhil Kohli, a v.p. in strategic equity derivatives at Credit Suisse in Hong Kong, has left the firm and is set to join JPMorgan in a similar role, according to officials familiar with the move.

Endusers across the board, particularly hedge funds, have been snapping up tail risk hedges on the VIX through call spreads over the past few weeks, according to equity derivatives salespeople and VIX traders on the sidelines of Chicago Board Options Exchange’s Risk Management Conference in Dana Point, Calif., yesterday.