Wachovia Securities plans to open an investment-grade sales office in Boston and will also look to hire up to 20 corporate bond professionals in the coming months, according to Jim Kelligrew, managing director and head of investment--grade debt. The hiring plans are part of the firm's broader initiative to move up the investment-grade league tables, he says. "We think Boston is a key sector/city; we want to give further commitment to the Boston area," Kelligrew explains. The new positions will be in all areas of the investment-grade business, including syndicate, origination, sales, trading and research.
A confluence of factors are leading Wachovia to aim to move up the high-grade leaderboard now. Kelligrew joined at the end of the year from Banc of America Securities with a mandate to grow Wachovia's corporate bond presence (BW, 11/10). Positive credit trends are making the spread markets an attractive place to allocate resources to and the recently announced JPMorgan Chase/Bank One merger bodes well for the market share of other firms, Kelligrew says, noting that one competitor is disappearing. "In addition to the JPMorgan situation, it's the time of year; it's a great opportunity to cherry pick talent," he adds.